Enantioseparation and enantioselective behavior of trichlorfon enantiomers in sediments.

Trichlorfon (TF), an organophosphorus insecticide, has been widely used in seawater aquaculture; it is easily degraded to the highly toxic insecticide, dichlorvos (DDVP). In this study, the enantioseparation of TF enantiomers, as well as their degradation behavior and product (DDVP) formation in mariculture pond sediments, was investigated. The results show that both TF enantiomers degrade into DDVP, which is the main degradation product. Furthermore, S-(+)-TF is preferentially degraded under natural conditions, suggesting that TF enantiomers degrade enantioselectively. Nevertheless, the degradation behavior of TF enantiomers is not enantiospecific under sterile conditions. The formation of DDVP and the enantiospecific degradation of TF enantiomers are attributed to the activities of microbes present in the sediments.