Acetal Derivatives Of Hydroxycitronellal: A Review On Synthesis, Characterization And Their Mosquitoe Repellent Activities

Mosquitoes represent the deadliest animal species in tropical regions because they can affect human health. Personal protection which is mosquito repellent has been used since 20th century. Mosquito repellent which contains plant-based ingredients has high demand from consumers since its efficacy is as good as synthetic ones. Citronella genus plants are originally extracted to be used in perfumery, then they were used for ingredients of plant-based mosquito repellents as they have repellent properties. Citronellalbased repellent has an effective dose such as N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide dose. However, the oil content has high volatility causing
it to reduce its efficacy because the oil evaporates. Recently, the structure of citronellal compound has been modified into hydroxycitronellal by adding some functional groups to reduce the release rate, prolong the protection time and improve the stability of the compound. The release rate properties are affected by functional groups and the molar mass of the compounds. This paper presents a summary of recent catalyst and solvent usage during synthesis, characterization and comparison of mosquito repellents.