Set Of Analytes Research Articles

Chemometric approach to open validation protocols: Prediction of validation parameters in multi-residue ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry methods

The recent technological advancements of liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry allow the simultaneous determination of tens, or even hundreds, of target analytes. In such cases, the traditional approach to quantitative method validation presents three major drawbacks: (i) it is extremely laborious, repetitive and rigid; (ii) it does not allow to introduce new target analytes without starting the validation from its very beginning and (iii) it is performed on spiked blank matrices, whose very nature is significantly modified by the addition of a large number of spiking substances, especially at high concentration. In the present study, several predictive chemometric models were developed from closed sets of analytes in order to estimate validation parameters on molecules of the same class, but not included in the original training set. Retention time, matrix effect, recovery, detection and quantification limits were predicted with partial least squares regression method. In particular, iterative stepwise elimination, iterative predictors weighting and genetic algorithms approaches were utilized and compared to achieve effective variables selection. These procedures were applied to data reported in our previously validated ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry multi-residue method for the determination of pharmaceutical and illicit drugs in oral fluid samples in accordance with national and international guidelines. Then, the partial least squares model was successfully tested on naloxone and lormetazepam, in order to introduce these new compounds in the oral fluid validated method, which adopts reverse-phase chromatography. Retention time, matrix effect, recovery, limit of detection and limit of quantification parameters for naloxone and lormetazepam were predicted by the model and then positively compared with their corresponding experimental values. The whole study represents a proof-of-concept of chemometrics potential to reduce the routine workload during multi-residue methods validation and suggests a rational alternative to ever-expanding procedures progressively drifting apart from real sample analysis.

Multivariate analysis of chromatographic retention data as a supplementary means for grouping structurally related compounds

In the present study a series of 45 metabolite standards belonging to four chemically similar metabolite classes (sugars, amino acids, nucleosides and nucleobases, and amines) was subjected to LC analysis on three HILIC columns under 21 different gradient conditions with the aim to explore whether the retention properties of these analytes are determined from the chemical group they belong. Two multivariate techniques, principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis (DA), were used for statistical evaluation of the chromatographic data and extraction similarities between chemically related compounds. The total variance explained by the first two principal components of PCA was found to be about 98%, whereas both statistical analyses indicated that all analytes are successfully grouped in four clusters of chemical structure based on the retention obtained in four or at least three chromatographic runs, which, however should be performed on two different HILIC columns. Moreover, leave-one-out cross-validation of the above retention data set showed that the chemical group in which an analyte belongs can be 95.6% correctly predicted when the analyte is subjected to LC analysis under the same four or three experimental conditions as the all set of analytes was run beforehand. That, in turn, may assist with disambiguation of analyte identification in complex biological extracts.

Evaluation of differences between Chiralpak IA and Chiralpak AD-RH amylose-based chiral stationary phases in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases can be used for the enantioselective separation of a wide range of structurally different compounds. These phases are available with chiral selectors coated or immobilized on silica gel support. The means of attachment of the chiral selector to the carrier can influence the separation performance of these stationary phases. This paper deals with evaluation of differences in the separation abilities of coated Chiralpak AD-RH versus immobilized Chiralpak IA amylose-based stationary phases in the reversed-phase mode of high-performance liquid chromatography. A set of chiral analytes was separated under acidic and basic conditions. Differences were observed in the enantioseparation potential of the tested phases. The linear-free energy relationship and additional evaluation of ionic interactions were used to ascertain whether the interactions that participate in retention and enantioseparation are affected by the means of preparation of these phases. All the interactions covered by the linear-free energy relationship were significant for the studied phases and their absolute values were almost always higher for the coated phase. Ionic interactions were found to be more important on the immobilized stationary phase but did not contribute to any improvement in the enantioselective separation performance.

Toxicological assessment of kretek cigarettes Part 6: The impact of ingredients added to kretek cigarettes on smoke chemistry and in vitro toxicity

Mainstream smoke (MS) from experimental kretek cigarettes with three ingredient mixes at low (typical use level) and high (2.5 or 3 times that level) inclusion rates was compared to a control kretek cigarette of identical construction (cloves and humectants), but without the addition of ingredients. 350 ingredients, commonly used in various combinations and in a limited number in a given brand in the manufacture of marketed kretek cigarettes were assessed. The MS composition of the kretek cigarettes was characterized by a comprehensive set of analytes (55 smoke constituents). Furthermore, the smoke was assessed in vitro for its cytotoxicity in the Neutral Red Uptake assay (particle phase and gas/vapor phase separately) in mouse embryo BALB/c 3T3 cells, and for mutagenicity/genotoxicity in the Salmonella typhimurium reverse mutation assay and the mammalian cell mouse lymphoma TK assay in L5178Y cells, the latter with and without metabolic activation. There were some statistically significant differences in the yield of smoke constituents (increases as well as decreases, nearly all of them less than ±20%) as a result of the addition of the ingredient mixes. However, the addition of the three different mixes of ingredients to the experimental kreteks did not change the in vitro cytotoxicity and mutagenicity/genotoxicity of the smoke, when compared to the control kretek cigarette.

Large-scale detection of metals with a small set of fluorescent DNA-like chemosensors.

An important advantage of pattern-based chemosensor sets is their potential to detect and differentiate a large number of analytes with only few sensors. Here we test this principle at a conceptual limit by analyzing a large set of metal ion analytes covering essentially the entire periodic table, employing fluorescent DNA-like chemosensors on solid support. A tetrameric “oligodeoxyfluoroside” (ODF) library of 6561 members containing metal-binding monomers was screened for strong responders to 57 metal ions in solution. Our results show that a set of 9 chemosensors could successfully discriminate the 57 species, including alkali, alkaline earth, post-transition, transition, and lanthanide metals. As few as 6 ODF chemosensors could detect and differentiate 50 metals at 100 μM; sensitivity for some metals was achieved at midnanomolar ranges. A blind test with 50 metals further confirmed the discriminating power of the ODFs.

Aspects of trapping efficiency and matrix effects in the development of a restricted-access-media-based trap-and-elute liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry method.

Online restricted access media with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry for the direct analysis of small molecules in biological fluids represents an interesting alternative to time-demanding traditional sample preparation techniques. In this study, important considerations concerning the development of a restricted access media with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry method for the analysis of dansylated estrogens in biological matrix are presented. Parameters influencing peak tailing and trapping efficiency were evaluated. The key factors included the ion strength of the mobile phase, a loading flow rate of the sample onto the trap column, and selection of a proper stationary phase of the trap column for a given set of analytes. These parameters have proven to be essential for minimizing any unwanted chromatographic peak tailing. The bulk derivatization of the analytes in the biological fluids and its relationship to the observed matrix effects was evaluated as well.

Emission rates of selected volatile organic compounds from skin of healthy volunteers.

Gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS) coupled with solid phase micro-extraction as pre-concentration method (SPME) was applied to identify and quantify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by human skin. A total of 64 C4-C10 compounds were quantified in skin emanation of 31 healthy volunteers. Amongst them aldehydes and hydrocarbons were the predominant chemical families with eighteen and seventeen species, respectively. Apart from these, there were eight ketones, six heterocyclic compounds, six terpenes, four esters, two alcohols, two volatile sulphur compounds, and one nitrile. The observed median emission rates ranged from 0.55 to 4,790 fmol cm(-2)min(-1). Within this set of analytes three volatiles; acetone, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, and acetaldehyde exhibited especially high emission rates exceeding 100 fmol cm(-2)min(-1). Thirty-three volatiles were highly present in skin emanation with incidence rates over 80%. These species can be considered as potential markers of human presence, which could be used for early location of entrapped victims during Urban Search and Rescue Operations (USaR).

Assessment of Oxidative Damage to Proteins and DNA in Urine of Newborn Infants by a Validated UPLC-MS/MS Approach

The assessment of oxidative stress is highly relevant in clinical Perinatology as it is associated to adverse outcomes in newborn infants. This study summarizes results from the validation of an Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography–tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous quantification of the urinary concentrations of a set of endogenous biomarkers, capable to provide a valid snapshot of the oxidative stress status applicable in human clinical trials, especially in the field of Perinatology. The set of analytes included are phenylalanine (Phe), para-tyrosine (p-Tyr), ortho-tyrosine (o-Tyr), meta-tyrosine (m-Tyr), 3-NO2-tyrosine (3NO2-Tyr), 3-Cl-tyrosine (3Cl-Tyr), 2′-deoxyguanosine (2dG) and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG). Following the FDA-based guidelines, appropriate levels of accuracy and precision, as well as adequate levels of sensitivity with limits of detection (LODs) in the low nanomolar (nmol/L) range were confirmed after method validation. The validity of the proposed UPLC-MS/MS method was assessed by analysing urine samples from a clinical trial in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants randomized to be resuscitated with two different initial inspiratory fractions of oxygen.

Optimized Data Analysis Algorithm for On-Site Chemical Identification Using a Hand-Held Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR FT-IR) Spectrometer

On-site identification of organic compounds in the presence of interfering materials using a field-portable attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectrometer is presented. Identification is based on an algorithm that compares the analyte's infrared absorption spectrum with the reference spectra. The comparison is performed at several predetermined frequencies, and a similarity value (distance) between the measured and the reference spectra is calculated either at each frequency individually, or, alternatively, the average distance for all frequencies is calculated. The examined frequencies are selected to give the best contrast between the target materials of interest. In this study, the algorithm was optimized to identify three common chemical warfare agents (CWAs): O-ethyl S-[2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl] methylphosphonothioic acid (VX), sarin (GB), and sulfur mustard (bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide) (HD), in the presence of field-related interfering materials (fuels, water, and dust). Receiver operating characteristics analysis was performed in order to determine the probabilities for detection (PD) and for false alerts (PF). Challenging the algorithm with a set of data that contains mixtures of CWAs and interfering materials resulted in PD of 90% and PF of 0%, 0%, and 1% for VX, GB, and HD, respectively, using the average distance approach, which was found to be much more effective than analyzing each frequency individually. This finding was validated for all possible combinations of 2-7 peaks per material. It is suggested that this algorithm provides a reliable mean for the identification of a predetermined set of target analytes and interfering materials.

Chemometrics-assisted simultaneous voltammetric determination of ascorbic acid, uric acid, dopamine and nitrite: Application of non-bilinear voltammetric data for exploiting first-order advantage

For the first time, several multivariate calibration (MVC) models including partial least squares-1 (PLS-1), continuum power regression (CPR), multiple linear regression-successive projections algorithm (MLR-SPA), robust continuum regression (RCR), partial robust M-regression (PRM), polynomial-PLS (PLY-PLS), spline-PLS (SPL-PLS), radial basis function-PLS (RBF-PLS), least squares-support vector machines (LS-SVM), wavelet transform-artificial neural network (WT-ANN), discrete wavelet transform-ANN (DWT-ANN), and back propagation-ANN (BP-ANN) have been constructed on the basis of non-bilinear first order square wave voltammetric (SWV) data for the simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid (AA), uric acid (UA), dopamine (DP) and nitrite (NT) at a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to identify which technique offers the best predictions. The compositions of the calibration mixtures were selected according to a simplex lattice design (SLD) and validated with an external set of analytes' mixtures. An asymmetric least squares splines regression (AsLSSR) algorithm was applied for correcting the baselines. A correlation optimized warping (COW) algorithm was used to data alignment and lack of bilinearity was tackled by potential shift correction. The effects of several pre-processing techniques such as genetic algorithm (GA), orthogonal signal correction (OSC), mean centering (MC), robust median centering (RMC), wavelet denoising (WD), and Savitsky-Golay smoothing (SGS) on the predictive ability of the mentioned MVC models were examined. The best preprocessing technique was found for each model. According to the results obtained, the RBF-PLS was recommended to simultaneously assay the concentrations of AA, UA, DP and NT in human serum samples.

Mobile Phase Ph and Organic Modifier in Reversed-Phase LC–ESI-MS Bioanalytical Methods: Assessment of Sensitivity, Chromatography and Correlation of Retention Time with In Silico Logd Predictions

The aim of the work described herein was to undertake a systematic investigation of the effect of mobile phase pH and organic modifier in typical reversed-phase LC-MS methods with regard to ESI-MS response, chromatographic performance and correlation of retention time with in silico logD predictions. For the test set of pharmaceutical analytes investigated, ESI-MS response was generally greater when employing methanol rather than acetonitrile as the organic modifier, and increases of up to tenfold were observed dependent on the pH-buffered mobile phase employed. Deleterious effects on chromatographic performance of protonated basic analyte were observed under conditions of neutral to weakly basic pH. A qualitative correlation between plots of predicted logD and observed retention time against pH was demonstrated. In the absence of a simple and/or predictive dependence of analyte ESI-MS response on the mobile phase pH, a practical evaluation should be undertaken when absolute sensitivity is paramount. The use of in silico predictions of analyte logD to direct the development of bioanalytical assays is broadly valid, but further scrutiny is recommended in predicting the retention of ionized analyte.

Constructing a mass measurement error surface to improve automatic annotations in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry based metabolomics

Estimation of mass measurement accuracy is an elementary step in the application of mass spectroscopy (MS) data towards metabolite annotations and has been addressed several times in the past. However, the reproducibility of mass measurements over a diverse set of analytes and in variable operating conditions, which are common in high-throughput metabolomics studies, has, to the best of our knowledge, not been addressed so far. A method to automatically extract mass measurement errors from a large data set of measurements made on a quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) MS instrument has been developed. The size of the data processed in this study has enabled us to use a statistical data driven approach to build a model which reliably predicts the confidence interval of the absolute mass measurement error based on individual ion peak conditions in a fast, high-throughput manner. We show that our model predictions are reproducible in external datasets generated in similar, but not identical conditions, and have demonstrated the advantage of our approach over the common practice of fixed mass measurement error limits. Outlined is an approach which can promote a more rational use of MS technology by automatically evaluating the absolute mass measurement error based on the individual peak conditions. The immediate application of our method is integration in high-throughput peak annotation pipelines for database searches.

Comparison of multianalyte proficiency test results by sum of ranking differences, principal component analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis

Sum of ranking differences (SRD) was applied for comparing multianalyte results obtained by several analytical methods used in one or in different laboratories, i.e., for ranking the overall performances of the methods (or laboratories) in simultaneous determination of the same set of analytes. The data sets for testing of the SRD applicability contained the results reported during one of the proficiency tests (PTs) organized by EU Reference Laboratory for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (EU-RL-PAH). In this way, the SRD was also tested as a discriminant method alternative to existing average performance scores used to compare mutlianalyte PT results. SRD should be used along with the z scores--the most commonly used PT performance statistics. SRD was further developed to handle the same rankings (ties) among laboratories. Two benchmark concentration series were selected as reference: (a) the assigned PAH concentrations (determined precisely beforehand by the EU-RL-PAH) and (b) the averages of all individual PAH concentrations determined by each laboratory. Ranking relative to the assigned values and also to the average (or median) values pointed to the laboratories with the most extreme results, as well as revealed groups of laboratories with similar overall performances. SRD reveals differences between methods or laboratories even if classical test(s) cannot. The ranking was validated using comparison of ranks by random numbers (a randomization test) and using seven folds cross-validation, which highlighted the similarities among the (methods used in) laboratories. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis justified the findings based on SRD ranking/grouping. If the PAH-concentrations are row-scaled, (i.e., z scores are analyzed as input for ranking) SRD can still be used for checking the normality of errors. Moreover, cross-validation of SRD on z scores groups the laboratories similarly. The SRD technique is general in nature, i.e., it can be applied to any experimental problem in which multianalyte results obtained either by several analytical procedures, analysts, instruments, or laboratories need to be compared.

Mixed-mode chromatography with zwitterionic phosphopeptidomimetic selectors from Ugi multicomponent reaction

In the present contribution a novel Ugi multicomponent reaction (MCR) was used to generate zwitterionic chromatographic selectors with capability for application in mixed-mode chromatography featuring complementary selectivities in reversed-phase (RP) and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC). Aminophosphonate zwitterionic chromatographic ligands were synthesized adopting a one pot microwave assisted three-component UGI-MCR synthesis and, after purification, were immobilized by thiol-ene click chemistry on silica beads. Chromatographic characteristics of these stationary phases were evaluated by variation of experimental conditions for a set of diverse analytes with neutral, acidic, basic and zwitterionic character revealing the presence of multimodal retention capabilities (i.e. tunable retention increments from ion exchange, hydrophobic and hydrophilic interaction were observed). To further investigate and classify the retention properties of the novel stationary phases we performed a comparative chromatographic study with commercially available mixed mode, HILIC and RP columns. The resultant chromatographic data were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA). PCA revealed that the new reversed-phase/zwitterionic ion-exchangers (RP/ZWIX) are complementary to common RP, HILIC and mixed-mode phases on the market and could be a promising alternative in impurity profiling and 2D-HPLC concepts. Moreover, the adopted synthetic approach offers the capability to generate chemical diversity simply by the variation of the starting aldehyde, aminophosphonic acid and/or isonitrile components. This unique characteristics offer great possibility for the design of novel selectors for mixed mode chromatography like RP/ZWIX, HILIC, affinity and chiral chromatography.

Direct high-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of free α-, β- and γ-aminophosphonic acids employing cinchona-based chiral zwitterionic ion exchangers

We report a chiral high-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation method for free α-aminophosphonic, β-aminophosphonic, and γ-aminophosphonic acids, aminohydroxyphosphonic acids, and aromatic aminophosphinic acids with different substitution patterns. Enantioseparation of these synthons was achieved by means of high-performance liquid chromatography on CHIRALPAK ZWIX(+) and ZWIX(-) (cinchona-based chiral zwitterionic ion exchangers) under polar organic chromatographic elution conditions. Mobile phase characteristics such as acid-to-base ratio, type of counterion, and solvent composition were systematically varied in order to investigate their effect on the separation performance and to achieve optimal separation conditions for the set of analytes. Under the optimized conditions, 32 of 37 racemic aminophosphonic acids studied reached baseline separation when we employed a single generic mass-spectrometry-compatible mobile phase, with reversal of the elution order when we used (+) and (-) versions of the chiral stationary phase.

On-line simultaneous and rapid separation of anions and cations from a single sample using dual-capillary sequential injection-capillary electrophoresis

A novel capillary electrophoresis (CE) approach has been developed for the simultaneous rapid separation and identification of common environmental inorganic anions and cations from a single sample injection. The method utilised a sequential injection-capillary electrophoresis instrument (SI-CE) with capacitively-coupled contactless conductivity detection (C4D) constructed in-house from commercial-off-the-shelf components. Oppositely charged analytes from a single sample plug were simultaneously injected electrokinetically onto two separate capillaries for independent separation and detection. Injection was automated and may occur from a syringe or be directly coupled to an external source in a continuous manner. Software control enabled high sample throughput (17 runs per hour for the target analyte set) and the inclusion of an isolation valve allowed the separation capillaries to be flushed, increasing throughput by removing slow migrating species as well as improving repeatability. Various environmental and industrial samples (subjected only to filtering) were analysed in the laboratory with a 3min analysis time which allowed the separation of 23 inorganic and small organic anions and cations. Finally, the system was applied to an extended automated analysis of Hobart Southern Water tap water for a period of 48h. The overall repeatability of the migration times of a 14 analyte standard sample was less than 0.74% under laboratory conditions. LODs ranged from 5 to 61μgL−1. The combination of automation, high confidence of peak identification, and low limits of detection make this a useful system for the simultaneous identification of a range of common inorganic anions and cations for discrete or continuous monitoring applications.

Preparation and Evaluation of Benzyl Methacrylate Monoliths for Capillary Chromatography

This paper describes the comprehensive fabrication of monolithic materials for use as stationary phases in capillary liquid chromatography. Several columns were synthesized in the confines of 320 µm i.d. fused-silica capillaries by single-step in situ copolymerization of benzyl methacrylate and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA). The polymerization procedure was optimized by varying the reaction time within the range of 0.5-20 h, and by changing the composition contents of the polymeric mixture. The EDMA content showed a predominant influence on the characteristics of the columns and hence, on their chromatographic properties. The optimum value of the thermal initiator corresponded to 5 mg/mL. Changes of the porous, hydrodynamic properties and morphology of the prepared columns were thoroughly investigated and characterized. Different solvents were used as the mobile phase to demonstrate that the resulting monoliths exhibited good permeability and mechanical stability, whereas swelling and shrinking behaviors were observed and discussed. The efficiency and performance toward different sets of analytes were obtained; mixtures of aromatic hydrocarbons and phenolic compounds were successfully separated and evaluated, and adding tetrahydrofuran to the mobile phase showed improvement in both resolution and peak shapes. The characteristics of the columns were also checked in terms of repeatability and reproducibility.

Preparation and Characterization of the Neomycin-Bonded Silica Stationary Phase for Hydrophilic-Interaction Chromatography

In this paper, a novel hydrophilic neomycin-bonded silica (Silica-NC) stationary phase for hydrophilic-interaction chromatography (HILIC) was prepared with cyanuric chloride as coupling agent. The resulting Silica-NC stationary phase was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis to prove the successful immobilization of neomycin on the surface of silica gel. A set of analytes with different properties were selected to investigate the chromatographic characteristics of the Silica-NC stationary phase under HILIC mode. The effects of mobile phase variables such as organic modifier content, ionic strength and pH values on the chromatographic behaviors of testing probes were investigated in detail. The results demonstrated that the Silica-NC phase behaved as a chromatographic packing with hydrophilic-interaction and ionic-interaction. Finally, the effective separations of nucleosides and bases, organic acids, cytokinins and sulfanilamides were achieved on the Silica-NC stationary phase under HILIC mode, indicating the excellent application potential of our developed hydrophilic Silica-NC stationary phase.

Chiral HPLC Separation on Derivatized Cyclofructan Versus Cyclodextrin Stationary Phases

Cyclodextrins (CDs) and cyclofructans (CFs) are chiral cyclic oligosaccharides. While β-CD is composed of seven glucopyranose units forming rigid cavity, hydrophobic inside, CF6 and CF7, contain six and seven fructofuranose units, respectively, creating a polar crown ether core. These basic structures can be easily derivatized to form even more potential chiral selectors that enable enantioselective separation of various chiral compounds. Chiral stationary phases (CSPs) based on CFs and CDs that were derivatized with the same derivatization group, either dimethylphenyl or R-naphthylethyl, were compared. A set of analytes with different interaction possibilities was used for characterization of retention and enantioseparation abilities of these CSPs in normal separation mode of HPLC. The results showed that both cyclic oligosaccharide structure and derivatization group influenced the retention/separation behavior of analytes. Complementary enantioseparations were obtained for some analytes.

Simultaneous enantioselective determination of triazole fungicide difenoconazole and its main chiral metabolite in vegetables and soil by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Herein is reported, for the first time, a simple and highly sensitive chiral high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous quantitative determination of difenoconazole stereoisomers and their hydroxylated metabolite difenoconazole alcohol (CGA-205375) enantiomers in vegetables and soil matrix. The separation of difenoconazole and CGA-205375 including their simultaneous enantioseparation was studied using four different polysaccharide-type chiral stationary phases (CSPs) in combination with n-hexane-polar organic alcohols mobile phase. Chiralcel OJ consisting of 25 % of cellulose tris(4-methylbenzoate) coated on wide-pore polysaccharide silica gel exhibited higher resolving ability compared to cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (Chiralcel OD) as well as to its similar amylose derivative (Chiralpak AD) CSPs for this particular set of chiral analytes. Baseline separation and simultaneous enantioseparation of difenoconazole and its metabolite CGA-205375 could be achieved under optimized separation conditions. Based on the established HPLC method, enantioselective analysis method for this fungicide and its main chiral metabolite in vegetables and soil matrix were developed and validated. Parameters including the matrix effect, linearity, precision, accuracy, and stability were evaluated. Under the optimal conditions, the mean recoveries from cucumber, tomato, and soil matrix ranged from 81.65 to 94.52 %, with relative standard deviations in the range of 1.05-8.32 % for all stereoisomers. Coefficients of determination R(2) ≥ 0.998 were achieved for each enantiomer in the cucumber, tomato and soil matrix calibration curves within the range of 0.5-50 μg mL(-1). The limits of quantification for all enantiomers in three matrices were all below 0.1 μg mL(-1). The methodology was successfully applied for simultaneous enantioselective analysis of difenoconazole stereoisomers and their metabolite in the real samples, indicating its efficacy in investigating the environmental stereochemistry of difenoconazole in food and environmental matrix.