Design, synthesis, and biological activities of novel 1,3,5-trimethylpyrazole-containing malonamide derivatives

Abstract

New 1,3,5-trimethylpyrazole-containing malonamide derivatives based on pyflubumide were designed, synthesized, and characterized using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and high-resolution mass spectra (HRMS). The results of preliminary bioassays showed that the target compounds possessed good activities against Tetranychus cinnabarinus, Plutella xylostella, and Aphis craccivora. Most of the target compounds exhibited moderate to good acaricidal activity against Tetranychus cinnabarinus at a concentration of 400 µg/mL, and some showed moderate activity at a concentration of 200 µg/mL; in particular, compounds 8m and 8p exhibited 70.0% mortality. In addition, some of the target compounds exhibited good insecticidal activities against Plutella xylostella at a concentration of 200 µg/mL, especially compounds 8i and 8o, which achieved 100.0% mortality at a concentration of 100 µg/mL. Interestingly, some of the target compounds exhibited potent anti-aphid activity against Aphis craccivora at a concentration of 200 µg/mL; furthermore, compounds 8p and 8q demonstrated 100.0% anti-aphid activity at a concentration of 50 µg/mL. The preliminary analyses of the structure–activity relationships (SAR) indicated that the acaricidal and insecticidal activities varied significantly depending on the type of substituent and substitution pattern, which provides guidance for the further investigation of such structural modifications.