APPLICATION OF CHIRAL GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH ELECTROANTENNOGRAPHIC DETECTION TO THE DETERMINATION OF THE STEREOCHEMISTRY OF A COCKROACH SEX-PHEROMONE

The coupling of an electroantennographic detector to a chiral capillar y gas chromatographic system provides a highly sensitive technique for the determination of pheromone stereochemistry. Electronic modificati on of the usual electroantennographic detector enables the detector to respond to the relatively broad peaks produced by chiral gas chromato graphic systems. By using this methodology, supellapyrone, a female se x pheromone of the brownbanded cockroach Supella longipalpa (Orthopter a: Blattellidae), is shown to be 2'R,4'R-dimethylheptanyl)-3-methyl-2H -pyran-2-one.