Optically active arthropod repellents for use against disease vectors

Optically inactive 1-[3-cyclohexen-1-ylcarbonyl] piperidine and 1-[3-cycloh exen-1-ylcarbonyl]-2-methylpiperidine are repellents against blood-feeding arthropods. Pure stereoisomers of these compounds were synthesized. and cha racterized for use in bioassays. Initial laboratory tests with the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi Listen showed that this species was repelled dif ferentially by the stereoisomers of 1-[3-cyclohexen-1-ylcarbonyl]-2-methylp iperidine. Two stereoisomers were twice as repellent as the other stereoiso mers. These results indicate that stereoisomerism influences repellent effi cacy in this class of compounds.