chemistry

Sulfoxaflor

Sulfoxaflor 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 Sulfoxaflor rather than just read about it. In short: Sulfoxaflor, also marketed as Isoclast, is a systemic insecticide that acts as an insect neurotoxin. A pyridine and a trifluoromethyl compound, it is a member of a class of chemicals called sulfoximines, which act on the central nervous system of insects.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sulfoxaflor, also marketed as Isoclast, is a systemic insecticide that acts as an insect neurotoxin. A pyridine and a trifluoromethyl compound, it is a member of a class of chemicals called sulfoximines, which act on the central nervous system of insects.

Mechanism of action Sulfoxaflor is a systemic insecticide, acts as a neurotoxin to affected insects, and kills through contact or ingestion. Sulfoxaflor is classified for use against sap-feeding insects as a sulfoximine, which is a sub-group of insecticides that act as nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) competitive modulators. Sulfoxaflor binds to nAChRs in place of acetylcholine. Sulfoxaflor binding causes uncontrolled nerve impulses resulting in muscle tremors followed by paralysis and death. Other nAChR competitive modulator sub-groups that bind differently on the receptor than sulfoximines include neonicotinoids, nicotine, and butenolides. Because sulfoxaflor binds much more strongly to insect neuron receptors than to mammal neuron receptors, this insecticide is selectively more toxic to insects than mammals.

Off-target effects Application is only recommended when pollinators are not likely to be present in an area as sulfoxaflor is highly toxic to bees if they come into contact with spray droplets shortly after application; toxicity is reduced after the spray has dried.

Registration On May 6, 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the first two commercial pesticide products that contain sulfoxaflor, marketed under the brand names "Transform" and "Closer", to the Dow Chemical Corporation. On September 10, 2015 the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the EPA's approval of sulfoxaflor, citing insufficient evidence from studies regarding bee health to justify how sulfoxaflor was approved. Beekeepers and environmental groups supported the decision, saying that the EPA must assess the health of entire hives, not just individual bees. On October 14, 2016, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved new registrations for sulfoxaflor, "Transform" and "Closer", to the Dow Chemical Corporation. Previously, the Dow Chemical Corporation owned and sold these products. However, as of June, 2019, the agricultural wing of the Dow Chemical Corporation was split into an independent public corporation called Corteva Agriscience, who now sells the sulfoxaflor-based pesticides. On July 12, 2019, the EPA announced it will allow the use of sulfoxaflor, citing new studies that show lower harm levels to bees than other available pesticides. The EPA concluded that sulfoxaflor would lessen the danger to bees since industry-backed studies assessed it dissipated more quickly and required few applications than other pesticides. On December 21, 2022, the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the EPA broke the law in allowing new uses of sulfoxaflor because it failed to assess its risks to endangered species nor give the public a chance to comment on the decision. The court then ordered the EPA to allow the public 180 days to comment on expanding the uses of sulfoxaflor. The California registration for sulfoxaflor was overturned following a lawsuit filed in 2020 against the state's Department of Pesticide Regulation by beekeepers and environmental groups. Sulfoxaflor is currently registered in 47 countries, including US, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, India, China and Australia. The registration of Closer and Transform in France was overturned by a court decision in November, 2017.

See also Imidacloprid effects on bees Insecticide Neonicotinoid Pesticide toxicity to bees

References

External links The EPA’s Final Decision on the New Active Ingredient Sulfoxaflor Dow AgroSciences Receives U.S. EPA Registration for Sulfoxaflor Dow AgroSciences Receives U.S. EPA Registration for Sulfoxaflor (Press release) Sulfoxaflor may put dozens of species at risk of extinction

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sulfoxaflor

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sulfoxaflor 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 Sulfoxaflor 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 Sulfoxaflor 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 Sulfoxaflor

In research: Sulfoxaflor 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 Sulfoxaflor 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: Sulfoxaflor is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cyanamides, Disubstituted pyridines, Neonicotinoids, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sulfoxaflor 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 Sulfoxaflor in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sulfoxaflor 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 Sulfoxaflor out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sulfoxaflor in simple terms?

Why does Sulfoxaflor 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 Sulfoxaflor?

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 Sulfoxaflor.