RESEARCH INTO FLUORINATED PYRETHROID ALCOHOLS - AN EPISODE IN THE HISTORY OF PYRETHROID DISCOVERY

An account of pyrethroid research from 1975 to 1985 at Bayer AG is giv en. The exploitation of fluorine chemistry for this purpose led to inc reased activity of known 3-phenoxybenzyl pyrethroid esters and to the commercialisation of the broad-spectrum insecticide cyfluthrin, the pa rticularly tick-toxic flumethrin and the rapid-acting household insect isides fenfluthrin and transfluthrin. The last two constituted in 1976 a novel type of pyrethroid, based on polyfluorinated benzyl alcohols, off the mainstream of published pyrethroid research. Transfluthrin, t he single isomer (1R)trans-permethric acid ester of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluor obenzyl alcohol has just been introduced to the market. The history of its discovery and structure-activity data as well as resistance consi derations regarding cyfluthrin, are presented. (C) 1998 SCI.