Relationship between chemical structure and rat repellency

Repellent activity is defined as the activity of a compound in preventing consumption of, or gnawing attacks upon, foodstuffs or articles containing or treated with the candidate substance. Data are presented on repellency indices of 2700 compounds, and it is shown that repellency is associated with specific functional groups attached to alkyl, aryl, or heterocyclic nuclei. Functional groups containing nitrogen, sulfur or halogens are most active, with amines, imides, thiocyanates and thiocarbamates forming some of the most active classes. Activity of any functional group may be affected by molecular weight, unsaturation, or spatial configuration of the nucleus, or by the presence of additional substituent groups.