Please check our new research article published in the New Journal of Chemistry (IF 3.925), a collaborative effort of BioSIM with the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto, and with the Centers of Physics and Chemistry of the University of Minho on the development of new insecticides based on natural compounds.
Synthesis, computational and nanoencapsulation studies on eugenol-derived insecticides
Catarina M. M. Coelho, Renato B. Pereira, Tatiana F. Vieira, Cláudia M. Teixeira, Maria José G. Fernandes, Ana Rita O. Rodrigues, David M. Pereira, Sérgio F. Sousa, A. Gil Fortes, Elisabete M. S. Castanheira and M. Sameiro T. Gonçalves
New Journal of Chemistry | DOI: 10.1039/D2NJ01893D
Abstract:
A new set of alkoxy alcohols were synthesised by the reaction of eugenol oxirane with aliphatic and aromatic alcohols. These eugenol derivatives were evaluated against their effect upon the viability of an insect cell line Sf9 (Spodoptera frugiperda). The most promising compounds, 4-(3-(tert-butoxy)-2-hydroxypropyl)-2-methoxyphenol and 4-(2-((4-fluorobenzyl)oxy)-3-hydroxypropyl)-2-methoxyphenol, were submitted to in silico assays to predict possible targets. Using an inverted virtual screening approach, 23 common pesticide targets were screened and the top 2 targets predicted were further analyzed using molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations. In addition, these eugenol derivatives were subjected to encapsulation and release assays using liposome-based nanosystems of egg phosphatidylcholine : cholesterol (7 : 3), with encapsulation efficiencies of higher than 90% and release profiles well described by both Korsmeyer–Peppas and Weibull models.
