Electronic structure and biological activity of chosen DDT‐type insecticides studied by 35Cl‐NQR

A correlation between the electronic structure and biological activity of chosen dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)-type insecticides: 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane, 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethylene, 2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethanoic acid and 4,4′-dichlorobenzophenone (used in agriculture) has been analysed on the basis of the 35Cl-nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectroscopy. The 35Cl-NQR resonance frequencies measured at 77 K have been correlated with the lethal dose (LD50) parameter that characterises the biological activity of these insecticides. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.