chemistry

Methyl isonicotinate

Methyl isonicotinate is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Methyl isonicotinate rather than just read about it. In short: Methyl isonicotinate is a toxic compound, which is used as a semiochemical. Other names for this compound are 4-pyridine carboxylic acid, and isonicotinic acid methyl ester.

Key takeaways

Methyl isonicotinate belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Methyl isonicotinate to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Methyl isonicotinate from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Methyl isonicotinate is a toxic compound, which is used as a semiochemical. Other names for this compound are 4-pyridine carboxylic acid, and isonicotinic acid methyl ester. This compound is slightly toxic to the human body. It has an irritating effect on the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract. Moreover, the compound is used as the active ingredient in several sticky thrips traps to monitor and catch thrips in greenhouses.

History Methyl isonicotinate, a patented 4-pyridyl carbonyl compound, was found to be a useful semiochemical that does not use any type of pheromone. Research has been performed to investigate how this chemical can be used for the management of thrip-pests.

Structure and reactivity Methyl isonicotinate is a 4-pyridyl carbonyl compound consisting of a pyridine ring attached to a methyl ester group. No data were available for the reactivity of methyl isonicotinate.

Synthesis In order to synthesize methyl isonicotinate several substances need to react with one another. These compounds are isonicotinic acid, methanol, sulfuric acid, and sodium carbonate.

Mechanism of action Methyl isonicotinate influences the movement of thrips.

Uses Methyl isonicotinate is used as a laboratory chemical, where it aids in the synthesis of other substances.

Efficacy and side effects

Efficacy Sticky blue and yellow thrip traps are used to monitor pests on crops. Methyl isonicotinate is the active ingredient in for example LUREM-TR (Koppers biological systems) and is used to detect a pest in an early stage. The addition of methyl isonicotinate to thrip control methods can increase the success of the trap. The compound affects the movement of thrips as walking and take-off behavior increases. More movement leads to more captured thrips on sticky traps. Usage of methyl isonicotinate in traps can increase the catches up to 20 times depending on the species and the conditions. In addition, the increased movement of thrips increases the exposure of the species to insecticides or biopesticides. There are 10 thrip species known to react to methyl isonicotinate:

Adverse effects Methyl isonicotinate is known for causing skin corrosion. In low concentration, this compound leads to irritation of the skin. An acute symptom is redness of the skin, but the effects of the substance can be delayed. If the skin has been in contact with the substance, the skin should be flushed with running water for at least 20 minutes and the person should see a doctor. In addition, it causes significant damage to the eye. When the eye has been contaminated with this compound, flush the eyes with running water for a minimum of 15 minutes straight away. During this process, the eyelids should be open. After, it is advised that the person should call an emergency medical center. Also, the respiratory tract may be affected when the system comes in contact with large amounts of methyl isonicotinate. Medical attention is needed. After overexposure one might experience nausea, a headache, dizziness, tiredness, or even vomiting. Lastly, methyl isonicotinate is a combustible liquid.

Toxicity There are different studies performed on the acute toxicity of methyl isonicotinate. The acute toxicity relates to effects that occur after exposure to a substance or mixture. In the studies on acute toxicity of methyl isonicotinate, the effects were observed in vivo in rodents.

Oral toxicity studies in rats To examine the oral toxicity of methyl isonicotinate, studies were performed to estimate the LD50. Based on the studies supported by Tsarichenko (1977), U.S. Library of Medicine (2017) and Gestis Substance Database (2017), Sprague-Dawley male and female rats were treated with methyl isonicotinate by oral gavage route. According to the estimated LD50 of 3906 mg/kg, methyl isonicotinate is classified as category V on GLP criteria for acute oral toxicity. Category V substances are identified as causing relatively low acute toxicity hazard. However, the substances could present a danger to vulnerable populations. In a treatment with isonicotinate acid, the rats showed clinical signs such as suppression of the general motor activity, an impairment of motor coordination and an assumption of a lateral position. These signs were all observed at a LD50 of 5000 mg/kg.

Dermal toxicity in rabbits The dermal toxicity was estimated based on a study supported by Cosmetic ingredient review (2005) on methyl isonicotinate. In this study, rabbits were used to estimate the LD50 for the dermal toxicity of methyl isonicotinate. The rabbits were treated with methyl isonicotinate by dermal application. This study resulted in an estimated LD50 of 3828 mg/kg. Conclusively, methyl isonicotinate can be classified as category V for acute dermal toxicity.

Effects on animals The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) mentions some effects on animals: Short term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates, aquatic algae, cyanobacteria, and micro-organisms. No other effects on animals were found during the data-search. Furthermore, as mentioned before, the compound can serve as a semiochemical in thrips, affecting their movement and therefore increasing the functionality of traps.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Methyl isonicotinate

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Methyl isonicotinate claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Methyl isonicotinate before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Methyl isonicotinate ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Methyl isonicotinate

In research: Methyl isonicotinate appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Methyl isonicotinate in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Methyl isonicotinate is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Isonicotinate esters, Methyl esters, Semiochemicals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Methyl isonicotinate outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Methyl isonicotinate in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Methyl isonicotinate means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Methyl isonicotinate out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Methyl isonicotinate in simple terms?

Methyl isonicotinate is a toxic compound, which is used as a semiochemical. Other names for this compound are 4-pyridine carboxylic acid, and isonicotinic acid methyl ester.

Why does Methyl isonicotinate matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Methyl isonicotinate?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Methyl isonicotinate.