QUANTITATIVE STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY STUDIES OF INSECT GROWTH-REGULATORS .11. STIMULATION AND INHIBITION OF N-ACETYLGLUCOSAMINE INCORPORATION IN A CULTURED INTEGUMENT SYSTEM BY SUBSTITUTED N-TERT-BUTYL-N,N'-DIBENZOYLHYDRAZINES

The ability to stimulate N-acetylglucosamine (GluNAc) incorporation in-vitro of a number of N-tert-butyl-N,N'-dibenzoylhydrazines having various substituents on both phenyl rings was measured in cultured integument excised from the rice stem borer (Chile suppressalis Walker). The relationship between in-vitro and larvicidal potency was approximately linear. The substituent effects on variations in the potency were similar between in-vitro and larvicidal activities. An inhibitor of oxidative detoxication, piperonyl butoxide, had no synergistic effects on the in-vitro potency. The ability of some dibenzoylhydrazines to inhibit GluNAc incorporation at exposure periods longer than the optimum for stimulation was also measured in a similar cultured integument system. The relationship between the inhibitory and stimulatory potency indices was linear, indicating that the larvicidal activity of dibenzoylhydrazines is closely related to its ability to stimulate as well as to inhibit GluNAc incorporation into the larval cuticle.