Chiral Analysis of Ibuprofen Residues in Water and Sediment

Thousands of organic compounds are present in our water resources and exist in dynamic equilibrium with sediment. Among them are drug and pharmaceutical residues. Many of these residues are chiral, and their metabolites or degradation products may also be chiral in nature. Therefore, the determination of chiral ratio of these chiral compounds is required to predict the exact toxicities. The present article describes the presence of ibuprofen, the third most popular clinically used drug in the world, in water resources, its enantiomeric degradation, and the monitoring of chiral ratio of ibuprofen enantiomers and its degradation products. Attempts have also been made to describe the future scope of chiral analyses of drug and pharmaceutical residues in the environment.