Development of novel and safe insecticides

Insecticides have been the subject of contention for many years, as a key approach to providing balance between the challenge of growing healthy and substantial crops for an increasing population and the need to protect human, animal populations and our overall eco-system.

Developing new, safe and effective insecticides requires a good understanding of their structures and their biological interactions, at a molecular level.

In a recent study, Syngenta investigated a range of structurally related insecticides able to modulate insect neurotransmitter receptors (nicotinic acetylcholine).  They used microfocus MX at Diamond to study the insecticide design, synthesis, and biological interactions whilst using an experimental compound and binding protein which mimics the insect-ion-channel orthosteric site (where protein binding takes place).

Discover what they found