Crystallography of Contemporary Contact Insecticides

The active forms of contact insecticides used for combatting mosquito-borne infectious diseases are typically crystalline solids. Numerous molecular crystals are polymorphic, crystallizing in several solid forms characterized by different physicochemical properties, including bioavailability. Our la...

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Main Authors: Bryan Erriah, Xiaolong Zhu, Chunhua T. Hu, Bart E. Kahr, Alexander Shtukenberg, Michael D. Ward
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-03-01
Series:Insects
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/3/292
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author Bryan Erriah
Xiaolong Zhu
Chunhua T. Hu
Bart E. Kahr
Alexander Shtukenberg
Michael D. Ward
author_facet Bryan Erriah
Xiaolong Zhu
Chunhua T. Hu
Bart E. Kahr
Alexander Shtukenberg
Michael D. Ward
author_sort Bryan Erriah
collection DOAJ
description The active forms of contact insecticides used for combatting mosquito-borne infectious diseases are typically crystalline solids. Numerous molecular crystals are polymorphic, crystallizing in several solid forms characterized by different physicochemical properties, including bioavailability. Our laboratory recently found that the activity of crystalline contact insecticides is inversely dependent on the thermodynamic stability of their polymorphs, suggesting that efficacy can be enhanced by the manipulation of the solid-state structure. This paper argues that crystallography should be central to the development of contact insecticides, particularly because their efficacy continues to be compromised by insecticide resistance, especially among <i>Anopheles</i> mosquito populations that spread malaria. Although insecticidal compounds with new modes of action have been introduced to overcome resistance, new insecticides are expensive to develop and implement. The repurposing of existing chemical agents in metastable, more active crystalline forms provides an inexpensive and efficient method for ‘evergreening’ compounds whose risks are already well-established. We report herein seven new single-crystal structures of insecticides used for controlling infectious disease vectors. The structures reported herein include pyrethroid insecticides recommended by the WHO for indoor residual spraying (IRS)-bifenthrin, β-cyfluthrin, etofenprox, α-cypermethrin, and λ-cyhalothrin as well as the neonicotinoid insecticide thiacloprid.
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spelling doaj.art-b56d924adbef47228bb45df7064e478e2023-11-24T01:44:07ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502022-03-0113329210.3390/insects13030292Crystallography of Contemporary Contact InsecticidesBryan Erriah0Xiaolong Zhu1Chunhua T. Hu2Bart E. Kahr3Alexander Shtukenberg4Michael D. Ward5Department of Chemistry and Molecular Design Institute, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USADepartment of Chemistry and Molecular Design Institute, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USADepartment of Chemistry and Molecular Design Institute, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USADepartment of Chemistry and Molecular Design Institute, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USADepartment of Chemistry and Molecular Design Institute, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USADepartment of Chemistry and Molecular Design Institute, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USAThe active forms of contact insecticides used for combatting mosquito-borne infectious diseases are typically crystalline solids. Numerous molecular crystals are polymorphic, crystallizing in several solid forms characterized by different physicochemical properties, including bioavailability. Our laboratory recently found that the activity of crystalline contact insecticides is inversely dependent on the thermodynamic stability of their polymorphs, suggesting that efficacy can be enhanced by the manipulation of the solid-state structure. This paper argues that crystallography should be central to the development of contact insecticides, particularly because their efficacy continues to be compromised by insecticide resistance, especially among <i>Anopheles</i> mosquito populations that spread malaria. Although insecticidal compounds with new modes of action have been introduced to overcome resistance, new insecticides are expensive to develop and implement. The repurposing of existing chemical agents in metastable, more active crystalline forms provides an inexpensive and efficient method for ‘evergreening’ compounds whose risks are already well-established. We report herein seven new single-crystal structures of insecticides used for controlling infectious disease vectors. The structures reported herein include pyrethroid insecticides recommended by the WHO for indoor residual spraying (IRS)-bifenthrin, β-cyfluthrin, etofenprox, α-cypermethrin, and λ-cyhalothrin as well as the neonicotinoid insecticide thiacloprid.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/3/292deltamethrinimidaclopridbifenthrinβ-cyfluthrinetofenproxα-cypermethrin
spellingShingle Bryan Erriah
Xiaolong Zhu
Chunhua T. Hu
Bart E. Kahr
Alexander Shtukenberg
Michael D. Ward
Crystallography of Contemporary Contact Insecticides
Insects
deltamethrin
imidacloprid
bifenthrin
β-cyfluthrin
etofenprox
α-cypermethrin
title Crystallography of Contemporary Contact Insecticides
title_full Crystallography of Contemporary Contact Insecticides
title_fullStr Crystallography of Contemporary Contact Insecticides
title_full_unstemmed Crystallography of Contemporary Contact Insecticides
title_short Crystallography of Contemporary Contact Insecticides
title_sort crystallography of contemporary contact insecticides
topic deltamethrin
imidacloprid
bifenthrin
β-cyfluthrin
etofenprox
α-cypermethrin
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/3/292
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