Aldicarb

Last updated
Aldicarb
Aldicarb-2D-skeletal.png
Aldicarb-3D-balls.png
Names
IUPAC name
2-Methyl-2-(methylthio)propanal O-(N-methylcarbamoyl)oxime
Other names
Temik
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.003.749 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
EC Number
  • 204-123-2
KEGG
PubChem CID
RTECS number
  • UE2275000
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C7H14N2O2S/c1-7(2,12-4)5-9-11-6(10)8-3/h5H,1-4H3,(H,8,10)/b9-5+ Yes check.svgY
    Key: QGLZXHRNAYXIBU-WEVVVXLNSA-N Yes check.svgY
  • InChI=1/C7H14N2O2S/c1-7(2,12-4)5-9-11-6(10)8-3/h5H,1-4H3,(H,8,10)/b9-5+
    Key: QGLZXHRNAYXIBU-WEVVVXLNBS
  • CNC(=O)O/N=C/C(C)(C)SC
Properties
C7H14N2O2S
Molar mass 190.26 g·mol−1
Appearancecolorless crystals
Odor faint sulfur odor
Density 1.195 g/cm2
Melting point 99.5 °C (211.1 °F; 372.6 K)
Boiling point 251 °C (484 °F; 524 K)
0.573 g/100 mL
Solubility soluble in acetone, benzene, chlorobenzene, diethyl ether, isopropyl alcohol, methylene chloride, toluene
slightly soluble in xylene
Hazards
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC):
0.84 mg/kg (oral, rats) [1]
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Aldicarb is a carbamate insecticide which is the active substance in the pesticide Temik. It is effective against thrips, aphids, spider mites, lygus, fleahoppers, and leafminers, but is primarily used as a nematicide. [2] Aldicarb is a cholinesterase inhibitor which prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine in the synapse. Aldicarb is considered "extremely hazardous" by the EPA and World Health Organization and has been banned in more than 100 countries. [3] In case of severe poisoning, the victim dies of respiratory failure.

Contents

Aldicarb was first synthesized in 1965 by Payne and Weiden, and was sold on the market for the first time in 1970. [4] The synthesis of aldicarb results in both the E and Z isomers. [5]

Aldicarb is effective where resistance to organophosphate insecticides has developed, and is extremely important in potato production, where it is used for the control of soil-borne nematodes and some foliar pests. Its high level of solubility restricts its use in certain areas where the water table is close to the surface.

Regulatory status

In the United States, aldicarb was approved by the EPA for use by professional pesticide applicators on a variety of crops, including cotton, beans, and others. It is not approved for household use. [6] The EPA started limiting the main aldicarb pesticide, Temik 15G, in 2010, requiring an end to distribution by 2017.[ citation needed ] Discontinuation of the use on citrus and potatoes began in 2012, with a complete phase out of the product expected by 2018. [7] A new aldicarb pesticide named AgLogic 15G, was approved by the EPA in December 2011 and is said to be entering the market in 2015. [8] [ needs update ] It will be registered for use on cotton, dry beans, peanuts, soybeans, sugar beets, and sweet potatoes.[ needs update ]

Tres Pasitos, a mouse, rat, and roach killer that contains high concentrations of aldicarb, has been illegally imported into the United States from Mexico and other Latin American countries. The product is highly toxic to animals and people, and according to the EPA "should never be used in [the] home." [9]

Most commonly, aldicarb causes toxic symptoms when it is ingested through food that has been tainted with the insecticide. [5] Once in the body, aldicarb is broken down into aldicarb sulfone and aldicarb sulfoxide. Hydrolysis of aldicarb leads to aldicarb oximes and aldicarb nitriles to reverse the toxicity. [10]

Aldicarb is classified as an extremely hazardous substance in the United States as defined in Section 302 of the U.S. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11002), and is subject to strict reporting requirements by facilities which produce, store, or use it in significant quantities. [11] The use of aldicarb has been prohibited in Europe since 2003 due to concerns over the impact on non-target organisms. [12]

History

Aldicarb is manufactured by Bayer CropScience, but was formerly owned and produced by Union Carbide. Union Carbide's agricultural chemicals division was sold to Rhône-Poulenc. Later, Aventis Cropscience was formed from Hoechst AG and Rhone-Poulenc Agrochemical, which lasted until Bayer acquired it in 2002.

In August 1979, groundwater wells in Suffolk County, NY were contaminated with aldicarb residue due to irrigated potato fields nearby. Of the approximately 8,400 wells tested, 13.5% contained more than 7 ug/L of aldicarb, which exceeds standard guidelines. [13]

In July 1985, aldicarb present in watermelons grown in California caused an outbreak of pesticide food poisoning which affected over 2,000 people, and led to a temporary ban on watermelon sales. [7]

In November 2009, corn treated with Temik was placed in and around peanut fields in Eastland County, Texas, near the town of Cisco. The corn was eaten by feral hogs, deer, and other animals, prompting the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to issue a hunting ban. [14]

Toxicity in mammals

Aldicarb is a fast-acting cholinesterase inhibitor, causing rapid accumulation of acetylcholine at the synaptic cleft. The aldicarb structure is similar to that of acetylcholine, therefore improving its binding to acetylcholinesterase in the body. [4] It is widely used to study cholinergic neurotransmission in simple systems such as the nematode C. elegans .

Exposure to high amounts of aldicarb can cause weakness, blurred vision, headache, nausea, tearing, sweating, and tremors in humans. High doses can be fatal to humans because it can paralyze the respiratory system. [9]

In South Africa (where Aldicarb is popularly known as Two Step) it is widely used by burglars to poison dogs. [15] [16] [17]

Toxicity in birds

LD50 for a mallard duck is 1.0 mg/kg body weight (acute). [12] According to the Rotterdam Convention's risk assessment, "Ingestion of aldicarb granules poses a great threat to avian species; aldicarb is very toxic to birds and poses a danger to endangered species". [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbofuran</span> Toxic carbamate pesticide

Carbofuran is a carbamate pesticide, widely used around the world to control insects on a wide variety of field crops, including potatoes, corn and soybeans. It is a systemic insecticide, which means that the plant absorbs it through the roots, and from there the plant distributes it throughout its organs where insecticidal concentrations are attained. Carbofuran also has contact activity against pests. It is one of the most toxic pesticides still in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbaryl</span> Chemical compound

Carbaryl is a chemical in the carbamate family used chiefly as an insecticide. It is a white crystalline solid previously sold under the brand name Sevin, which was a trademark of the Bayer Company. The Sevin trademark has since been acquired by GardenTech, which has eliminated carbaryl from most Sevin formulations. Union Carbide discovered carbaryl and introduced it commercially in 1958. Bayer purchased Aventis CropScience in 2002, a company that included Union Carbide pesticide operations. Carbaryl was the third-most-used insecticide in the United States for home gardens, commercial agriculture, and forestry and rangeland protection. As a veterinary drug, it is known as carbaril (INN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlorfenvinphos</span> Chemical compound

Chlorfenvinphos is an organophosphorus compound that was widely used as an insecticide and an acaricide. The molecule itself can be described as an enol ester derived from dichloroacetophenone and diethylphosphonic acid. Chlorfenvinphos has been included in many products since its first use in 1963. However, because of its toxic effect as a cholinesterase inhibitor it has been banned in several countries, including the United States and the European Union. Its use in the United States was discontinued in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlorpyrifos</span> Chemical compound

In organic chemistry, chlorpyrifos (CPS), also known as chlorpyrifos ethyl, is an organophosphate pesticide that has been used on crops, animals, and buildings, and in other settings, to kill several pests, including insects and worms. It acts on the nervous systems of insects by inhibiting the acetylcholinesterase enzyme. Chlorpyrifos was patented in 1966 by Dow Chemical Company.

A nematicide is a type of chemical pesticide used to kill plant-parasitic nematodes. Nematicides have tended to be broad-spectrum toxicants possessing high volatility or other properties promoting migration through the soil. Aldicarb (Temik), a carbamate insecticide marketed by Bayer CropScience, is an example of a commonly used commercial nematicide. It is important in potato production, where it has been used for control of soil-borne nematodes. Aldicarb is a cholinesterase inhibitor, which prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine in the synapse. In case of severe poisoning, the victim dies of respiratory failure. It is no longer authorised for use in the EU and, in August 2010, Bayer CropScience announced that it planned to discontinue aldicarb by 2014. Human health safety and environmental concerns have resulted in the widespread deregistration of several other agronomically important nematicides. Prior to 1985, the persistent halocarbon DBCP was a widely used nematicide and soil fumigant. However, it was banned from use after being linked to sterility among male workers; the Dow Chemical company was subsequently found liable for more than $600 million in damages.

A cholinergic crisis is an over-stimulation at a neuromuscular junction due to an excess of acetylcholine (ACh), as a result of the inactivity of the AChE enzyme, which normally breaks down acetylcholine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenthion</span> Chemical compound

Fenthion is an organothiophosphate insecticide, avicide, and acaricide. Like most other organophosphates, its mode of action is via cholinesterase inhibition. Due to its relatively low toxicity towards humans and mammals, fenthion is listed as moderately toxic compound in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization toxicity class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azinphos-methyl</span> Chemical compound

Azinphos-methyl (Guthion) is a broad spectrum organophosphate insecticide manufactured by Bayer CropScience, Gowan Co., and Makhteshim Agan. Like other pesticides in this class, it owes its insecticidal properties to the fact that it is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. It is classified as an extremely hazardous substance in the United States as defined in Section 302 of the U.S. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, and is subject to strict reporting requirements by facilities which produce, store, or use it in significant quantities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phosmet</span> Organophosphate non-systemic insecticide

Phosmet is a phthalimide-derived, non-systemic, organophosphate insecticide used on plants and animals. It is mainly used on apple trees for control of codling moth, though it is also used on a wide range of fruit crops, ornamentals, and vines for the control of aphids, suckers, mites, and fruit flies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organophosphate poisoning</span> Toxic effect of pesticides

Organophosphate poisoning is poisoning due to organophosphates (OPs). Organophosphates are used as insecticides, medications, and nerve agents. Symptoms include increased saliva and tear production, diarrhea, vomiting, small pupils, sweating, muscle tremors, and confusion. While onset of symptoms is often within minutes to hours, some symptoms can take weeks to appear. Symptoms can last for days to weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clothianidin</span> Chemical compound

Clothianidin is an insecticide developed by Takeda Chemical Industries and Bayer AG. Similar to thiamethoxam and imidacloprid, it is a neonicotinoid. Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides that are chemically similar to nicotine, which has been used as a pesticide since the late 1700s. Clothianidin and other neonicotinoids act on the central nervous system of insects as an agonist of nAChR, the same receptor as acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that stimulates and activating post-synaptic acetylcholine receptors but not inhibiting AChE. Clothianidin and other neonicotinoids were developed to last longer than nicotine, which is more toxic and which breaks down too quickly in the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methiocarb</span> Chemical compound

Methiocarb is a carbamate pesticide which is used as an insecticide, bird repellent, acaricide and molluscicide since the 1960s. Methiocarb has contact and stomach action on mites and neurotoxic effects on molluscs. Seeds treated with methiocarb also affect birds. Other names for methiocarb are mesurol and mercaptodimethur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlorethoxyfos</span> Chemical compound

Chlorethoxyfos is an organophosphate acetylcholinesterase inhibitor used as an insecticide. It is registered for the control of corn rootworms, wireworms, cutworms, seed corn maggot, white grubs and symphylans on corn. The insecticide is sold under the trade name Fortress by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demeton</span> Chemical compound

Demeton, sold as an amber oily liquid with a sulphur like odour under the name Systox, is an organophosphate derivative causing irritability and shortness of breath to individuals repeatedly exposed. It was used as a phosphorothioate insecticide and acaricide and has the chemical formula C8H19O3PS2. Although it was previously used as an insecticide, it is now largely obsolete due to its relatively high toxicity to humans. Demeton consists of two components, demeton-S and demeton-O in a ratio of approximately 2:1 respectively. The chemical structure of demeton is closely related to military nerve agents such as VX and a derivative with one of the ethoxy groups replaced by methyl was investigated by both the US and Soviet chemical-weapons programs under the names V-sub x and GD-7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiamethoxam</span> Chemical compound

Thiamethoxam is the ISO common name for a mixture of cis-trans isomers used as a systemic insecticide of the neonicotinoid class. It has a broad spectrum of activity against many types of insects and can be used as a seed dressing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbophenothion</span> Chemical compound

Carbophenothion also known as Stauffer R 1303 as for the manufacturer, Stauffer Chemical, is an organophosphorus chemical compound. It was used as a pesticide for citrus fruits under the name of Trithion. Carbophenothion was used as an insecticide and acaricide. Although not used anymore it is still a restricted use pesticide in the United States. The chemical is identified in the US as an extremely hazardous substance according to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulfotep</span> Chemical compound

Sulfotep (also known as tetraethyldithiopyrophosphate and TEDP) is a pesticide commonly used in greenhouses as a fumigant. The substance is also known as Dithione, Dithiophos, and many other names. Sulfotep has the molecular formula C8H20O5P2S2 and belongs to the organophosphate class of chemicals. It has a cholinergic effect, involving depression of the cholinesterase activity of the peripheral and central nervous system of insects. The transduction of signals is disturbed at the synapses that make use of acetylcholine. Sulfotep is a mobile oil that is pale yellow-colored and smells like garlic. It is primarily used as an insecticide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terbufos</span> Chemical compound

Terbufos is a chemical compound used in insecticides and nematicides. It is part of the chemical family of organophosphates. It is a clear, colourless to pale yellow or reddish-brown liquid and sold commercially as granulate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methylfluorophosphonylcholine</span> Chemical compound

Methylfluorophosphonylcholine (MFPCh) is an extremely toxic chemical compound related to the G-series nerve agents. It is an extremely potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitor which is around 100 times more potent than sarin at inhibiting acetylcholinesterase in vitro, and around 10 times more potent in vivo, depending on route of administration and animal species tested. MFPCh is resistant to oxime reactivators, meaning the acetylcholinesterase inhibited by MFPCh can't be reactivated by cholinesterase reactivators. MFPCh also acts directly on the acetylcholine receptors. MFPCh is a relatively unstable compound and degrades rapidly in storage, so despite its enhanced toxicity it was not deemed suitable to be weaponised for military use.

References

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  2. "Temik". www.bayercropscienceus.us. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  3. Hettinger, Johnathan (21 November 2023). "EPA considers approving fruit pesticide despite risks to children, records show". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 Payne, L. K. Jr.; Stansbury, H. A. Jr.; Weiden, M. H. J. (July 1, 1966). "Synthesis and Insecticidal Properties of Some Cholinergic Trisubstituted Acetaldehyde O-(Methylcarbamoyl)oximes". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 14 (4): 356–365. doi:10.1021/jf60146a007 . Retrieved November 7, 2021.
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  7. 1 2 "Toxic Pesticide Banned after Decades of Use". Scientific American . August 18, 2010. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  8. "AgLogic/Meymik 15 G Homepage". AgLogic . AgLogic Chemical. 2014. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  9. 1 2 Avoid Illegal Household Pesticide Products, US Environmental Protection Agency
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  11. "40 C.F.R.: Appendix A to Part 355—The List of Extremely Hazardous Substances and Their Threshold Planning Quantities" (PDF) (July 1, 2008 ed.). Government Printing Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2011.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. 1 2 3 "Decision Guidance Document ALDICARB" (PDF). Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  13. International Agency for Research on Cancer (1991). Occupational Exposures in Insecticide Application, and Some Pesticides (PDF). Lyon, France: World Health Organization. pp. 93–113. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  14. Authorities Investigate Contaminated Corn in Eastland County, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Nov. 5, 2009
  15. Criminals target dogs with poison, IOL News, June 11, 2006
  16. Dog poisoning with the intention to break into houses, South Africa Today, July 10, 2014
  17. "Dog-poisoning plague hits city". News24. Retrieved 2017-04-21.