Interactions of insecticides with DNA–RNA bases and environmental conditions

Abstract

The toxicological effects of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and the stability of methoprene under environmental conditions were investigated in this study by Density Functional Theory. DDT is known to be very persistent in the environment and accumulate in fatty tissues concluding with serious health issues such as birth defects, metabolic disorders, cancers, impaired immune and reproductive systems. Therefore results of the interactions between DDT and DNA–RNA bases were presented at the first part of this study. While there is no deterioration in the structure of DDT or DNA–RNA bases, DDT binds to DNA–RNA bases with high binding energy values which may cause aggregation or trigger DNA methylation. It is important in terms of explaining the interaction of DDT on the basis of DNA–RNA bases for the first time. In the second part, methoprene which is widely used as larvicide in the aquatic mosquito habitats was investigated. Because the chemical stability of the methoprene is an important phenomenon which might present a valuable information in mosquito control efforts, the effects of temperature and atom/molecules which are commonly exist in aquatic nature (Ca, Cl, Mg, Na, CO, CO2, CO3, H2, H2O, H2S, HCO3, N2, NH3, O2, SO4) on methoprene were presented. These atoms/molecules bind to methoprene with low binding energies however, the binding of the molecules to methoprene was disrupted by 313 K (40[Formula: see text]C).