The challenge to develop enantioselective analytical methods to quantify residues of chiral drugs (CDs) in environmental matrices is an actual and imperative issue. It is well known that enantiomers may differ in their biological activities; nevertheless, most environmental analytical methods still ignore the stereochemistry and the discrimination of the enantiomers. The knowledge about their occurrence and ecological impact in biota is crucial for an accurate risk assessment. This critical review highlights the importance of analysing CDs in environmental matrices for various applications, emphasizing methodological trends. Chromatographic methodologies are the most used and include liquid (LC), gas (GC), supercritical fluid (SFC) and capillary electrophoresis. LC is still the most widely used though trends for greener approaches and the development of GC and SFC methods are also future directions. Some of the most recent applications, namely for environmental monitoring of surface and wastewater, biodegradation studies and forensic analysis, are presented and critically discussed.

开发对映选择性分析方法以量化环境基质中手性药物（CD）残留的挑战是一个现实而当务之急的问题。众所周知，对映异构体的生物学活性可能不同。然而，大多数环境分析方法仍然忽略了对映异构体的立体化学和区别。有关它们在生物区系中的发生和生态影响的知识对于准确的风险评估至关重要。这篇重要的评论强调了分析环境基质中CD的各种应用的重要性，强调了方法学上的趋势。色谱法是最常用的方法，包括液体（LC），气体（GC），超临界流体（SFC）和毛细管电泳。LC仍然是使用最广泛的方法，尽管绿色方法的趋势以及GC和SFC方法的发展也是未来的方向。介绍并严格讨论了一些最新的应用程序，即用于表面和废水的环境监测，生物降解研究和法医分析。