Green aspects during synthesis, application and chromatographic analysis of chiral pesticides

The agro-industry uses large quantities of chiral pesticides to mitigate the detrimental effects of pests on crops. Pesticides play a very important role of insuring food security in the world but this benefit may be eroded if principles of green chemistry are not embraced during their synthesis, application and analysis. Commercial chiral pesticide formulations are, usually, synthesised and sold as racemates. The enantiomers of the chiral pesticides in these racemic mixtures usually have enantioselective bioactivities on target organisms. One enantiomer, usually, will be active on the target organism while others are inactive and are discharged into the environment, posing serious pollution problems. This is a serious environmental problem and can be rectified through embracing general principles of green chemistry. This paper reviews the aspects that can enhance greenness during synthesis and the subsequent application of chiral pesticides during pest management in the agro-industry. Particular emphasis is placed on stereo-selective synthesis of chiral pesticides and the application of their enantiopure formulations. The green aspects during chromatographic separation of enantiomers of chiral pesticides are also discussed. These include the use of green mobile and chiral stationary phases during chromatographic analysis of chiral pesticides.