Esther L. Schneider

Deuteration of the melon fly attractant, cue-lure, and its effect on olfactory response and infra-red absorption

Abstract The structure of cue-lure [4-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone acetate], a potent attractant for the male melon fly, Dacus cucurbitae Coquillett, was systematically altered by replacing atoms of hydrogen with deuterium in various parts of the molecule. The positions of substitution were established from the nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the compounds. The deuterium substitutions did not affect the attractiveness of the compound to the male melon fly. The far i.r. spectra, believed by some investigators to be related to the olfactory properties of molecules, were determined for the deuterated and undeuterated compounds. Shifts in spectral position did occur as a result of deuteration. However, no relationship between olfactory response and absorption in the far i.r. region was found.