Agrochemicals Laboratory
Serving as one of the development centers in the Advanced Chemicals Business Sector, the Agrochemicals Laboratory is working on the development of advanced agrochemicals that are highly functional, safe and have a low impact on the environment in order to contribute to sustainable production of food.
Agrochemical Creation
Amid rising public concerns about food safety, we are working on the research and development of active ingredients in new agrochemicals by combining unique concepts　with our precision technologies of organic synthesis and performance evaluation.
The mission of the Agrochemicals Laboratory involves high speed efficient screening of tens of thousands of compounds to find and create active ingredients for insecticides. From many chemical compounds created with novel structural designs and advanced organic synthesis technology, we find candidates for development. We utilize methods of evaluation such as efficacy trials on various insects, investigations of residual activities, evaluations under various weather conditions, or mode -of-action studies.
By combining the technologies above, we have created unique compounds such as Etofenprox (a pyrethroid-like insecticide comprised of only hydrogen, carbon and oxygen) and Dinotefuran which does not contain any chlorine and is qualitatively different from other neonicotinoid insecticides.
Widely available pyrethroid insecticides generally have high fish toxicity so they can not be used in rice paddies. However, Etofenprox can be used in rice paddies due to low toxicity for fish.
From its properties such as a wide insecticidal spectrum, high systemic activity and low phytotoxicity, Dinotefuran has enabled unique application methods such as drenching into vegetable nursery boxes or plant-foot treatment. These application methods reduce drift-risk and save labor.
As Etofenprox and Dinotefuran have low toxicities for humans or mammals, they are used widely in the human environment as pesticides, for example termite control, malaria-carrying mosquito control, and sanitary management of livestock stalls. Furthermore, we have also developed a "spot-on insecticide" for eliminating fleas from companion animals and new products for eliminating flies from the kitchen.
We also intend to release new fungicide with broad spectrum "penthiopyrad" (AFFET™ [Agricultural usage] and GAIA™ [Turf usage]).
Diagram of Dinotefuran
(Dinotefuran is the active ingredient in "STARKLE™","STARKLEMATE™" 　and "ALBARIN™" ).
Diagram of Etofenprox
(Etofenprox is the active ingredient in " TREBON™").
* STARKLE™, STARKLEMATE™, TREBON™, AFFET™ and GAIA™ are registered trademarks of Mitsui Chemicals.
In the commercialization of agrochemicals, it is essential to have formulation technologies for uniformly spreading active ingredients over crops and spreading insolluble compounds in water. Sankyo Agro conducts such formulation research.
