Studies of Synthesis, Characterization and Pheromone Release from Alginate-Chitosan Polymer Spheres. Its Application in Megaplatypus mutatus control.

G VALLADARES; P GONZALES AUDINO; M STRUMIA

Huerta Grande

Encuentro; 2nd Latin American Meeting of Chemical Ecology; 2012

Megaplatypus mutatus is a beetle of the Platypodidae family causing major economic losses in productive forest poles of Argentina due to tunneling inside the trunks of trees. This species uses a blend of pheromones as a sexual caller identified as 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol (sulcatol), 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (sulcatone) and 3-pentanol. The objective of the present work was to synthesize and characterize polymeric devices for controlled release of one of the compounds of the pheromonal blend (sulcatol) and in this way know their potential application as devices in the control of this pest. Polymeric spheres were synthetized using a combination morphology of a core of alginate and a shell of chitosan. These polymers were chosen due to its natural origin, its biodegradability, and their recognized ability in the controlled release of compounds from different devices.