| Description | Profenofos is a pale yellow liquid, bp 100 ?C/1.80 Pa, vp
0.124 mPa (25 ?C). Solubility in water is 28 mg/L (25 ?C).
It is miscible with most organic solvents. Log Kow = 4.44.
It is relatively stable in neutral and mild acid media but
hydrolyzed in alkaline media; DT50 values (20 ?C) at pH 5,
7, and 9 are 93 d, 14.6 d, and 5.7 h, respectively. |
| Chemical Properties | Profenofos is a pale yellow liquid. Profenofos is relatively
stable under neutral and slightly acidic conditions and unstable
under alkaline conditions.Profenofos has a garlic-like odor.
Profenofos has limited solubility in water
(28 mg/L at 25°C) but is completely soluble
in organic solvents (ethanol, acetone, toluene,
n-octanol and n-hexane) at 25°C. |
| Uses | A broad-spectrum organophosphorous pesticide that is used widely in cotton fields for insect control. |
| Uses | Insecticide; acaricide. |
| Uses | Profenofos is used to control insects (particularly caterpillars and
Lepidoptera eggs) and mites on cotton, maize, sugar beet, soyabean,
potatoes, vegetables, tobacco and a number of other crops |
| Definition | ChEBI: Profenofos is an organic thiophosphate, an organophosphate insecticide, an organochlorine insecticide and a member of monochlorobenzenes. It has a role as an EC 3.1.1.7 (acetylcholinesterase) inhibitor, an acaricide and an agrochemical. It is functionally related to a 4-bromo-2-chlorophenol. |
| General Description | Pale yellow liquid with garlic-like odor. Corrosive. Used as an insecticide. |
| Air & Water Reactions | Hydrolyzed under alkaline conditions. |
| Reactivity Profile | Organophosphates are susceptible to formation of highly toxic and flammable phosphine gas in the presence of strong reducing agents such as hydrides. Partial oxidation by oxidizing agents may result in the release of toxic phosphorus oxides. |
| Agricultural Uses | Profenofos: Profenofos is A U.S. EPA restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) used solely on cotton to control a number of pests including tobacco budworm, cotton aphid and bollworm, armyworm, fleahopper and whiteflies. It is not registered for residential use. Not approved for use in EU countries. Registered for use in the U.S. |
| Trade name | CGA-15324®; CURACRON®; POLYCRON®; SELECRON® |
| Carcinogenicity | In a 2 year carcinogenicity study
mice were given diets containing 0, 1, 30, or 100 ppm profenofos
(equivalent to 0, 0.15, 4.5, or 15 mg/kg/day) for 85
weeks (males) or 97 weeks (females) . No treatment related clinical signs were observed. No treatment-related
gross or microscopic lesions, tumors, or biologically significant
differences in body weight or food consumption were
observed between controls and profenofos-treated animals.
Plasma and erythrocyte cholinesterase inhibition occurred at
dose levels of 4.5 and 15 mg/kg/day.
In another carcinogenicity study, rats were fed diets containing
0, 0.3, 10, or 100 ppm profenofos (equivalent to 0,
0.015, 0.5, or 5 mg/kg/day) for 2 years, and there was no
increase in tumor incidence in any treated group compared to
the control group . |
| Environmental Fate | Plant. Dislodgable residues of profenofos on cotton leaf 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours
after application (1.1 kg/ha) were 3.5, 1.1, 0.74, 0.51 and 0.35 μg/m2, respectively (Buck
et al., 1980)
Photolytic. When profenofos in an aqueous buffer solution (pH 7.0) was exposed to
filtered UV light (λ >290 nm) for 24 hours at 25 and 50°C, 29 and 61% respectively
decomposed to 4-bromo-2-chlorophenol and 4-bromo-2-chlorophenyl ethyl hydrogen
ph
Chemical/Physical. Emits toxic fumes of bromine, chlorine phosphorus and sulfur
oxides when heated to decomposition (Sax and Lewis, 1987). |
| Metabolic pathway | The metabolic transformations of profenofos in plants and animals are
similar and occur via hydrolysis to 4-bromo-2-chlorophenol which is then
conjugated. |
| Metabolism | Profenofos
orally administered to rats is rapidly excreted, mainly in
the urine. The principal degradation route is hydrolysis to
4-bromo-2-chlorophenol followed by conjugation. DT50 in
soil is about 1 week. |
| Toxicity evaluation | The acute
oral LD50 for rats is 358 mg/kg. Inhalation LC50 (4 h) for
rats is about 3 mg/L air. NOEL (2 yr) for rats is 0.3 mg/kg diet (0.015 mg/kg/d). ADI is 0.01 mg/kg b.w. |
| Degradation | Profenofos is stable under neutral and slightly acid conditions but it is
hydrolysed in alkaline solution. The DT50 values at pH 5, 7 and 9 (20°C)
were 93 days, 14.6 days and 5.7 hours, respectively (PM). |
