Pyrethroid insecticides derived from 2,2-dimethyl-3-(3-phenoxybenzyloxy)propanal

Fourteen oxime ethers and eleven other unsaturated compounds derived from 2,2-dimethyl-3-(3-phenoxybenzyloxy)propanal were synthesised and their insecticidal activity against Musca domestica, Locusta migratoria, Dysdercus cingulatus, Aedes aegypti, Plutella xylostella, Drosophila melanogaster, Tetranychus urticae and Spodoptera littoralis tested. Structural variations including chain length, branching and unsaturation of the oxime ether O-alkyl group and substituent exchange at the carbon-carbon double bond of the unsaturated compounds were made in order to examine the structure-activity relationship. All biological activities were compared with the activity of the ether pyrethroid MTI-500.