Pharmacologically active compounds in the environment and their chirality

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Environmental Science
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Pharmacologically active compounds (pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs) are significant environmental contaminants.
• Research on their environmental fate and toxicity often overlooks the critical aspect of chirality.
• Chirality influences drug distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity due to stereospecific biological interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the importance of chirality in the environmental context of pharmacologically active compounds.
• To review the current state of knowledge on chiral drugs and their environmental fate.
• To suggest future research directions concerning chiral pollutants.

Main Methods:

• Critical review of existing literature on chiral drugs in the environment.
• Discussion of major chiral drug groups with environmental relevance.
• Analysis of pharmacological action and disposition in the body as key factors.

Main Results:

• Chiral drugs exist as enantiomers with distinct biological properties and toxicities.
• Environmental degradation and biological processes can be stereoselective, altering enantiomeric composition.
• Stereoselective enrichment or depletion of enantiomers occurs in aquatic environments and biota.

Conclusions:

• Chirality significantly affects the environmental occurrence, fate, and toxicity of pharmacologically active compounds.
• Understanding enantioselective processes is essential for accurate environmental risk assessment.
• Further research is needed to address the environmental implications of chiral drug pollution.