Synthesis, Insecticidal Activity and Nanoencapsulation Studies of Alkoxy Alcohols from Eugenol

Abstract

The synthesis of three alkoxy alcohols with different chains was carried out from eugenol oxirane. These derivatives were evaluated against their effect on the viability of the insect cell line Sf9 (Spodoptera frugiperda). The molecules under study displayed mild-cytotoxic activity towards insect cells, equivalent to the commercial insecticide chlorpyrifos. Nanoencapsulation studies of the most active compound against Sf9 were performed using liposomes of egg-phosphatidylcholine containing 30% cholesterol. The encapsulation efficiency is around 93%, and the release profile for 24 h follows a Korsmeyer–Peppas model.

Keywords

• eugenol alkoxy alcohols
• nanoencapsulation
• bioinsecticides
• essential oils
• natural products
• insecticides