Structure–Activity relationships of effect of aryltin compounds on Ceratocystis ulmi

The effect of aryltin compounds (Ar₄Sn and Ar₃SnCl) on the growth of Ceratocystis ulmi, the causative agent of Dutch elm disease, was studied in shake culture. In all cases, the triaryltins were more effective than the tetra-aryltins as inhibitors of C. ulmi in vitro. Furthermore, substitution on the phenyl ring at the meta- and para- positions in the triaryltins did not have a major effect on the biocidal activity for the substituted triaryltins. Quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSARs) gave support to the idea that the species responsible for the inhibition of the fungus is the triaryltin cation. The QSARs further suggest that the interaction of the triaryltin cation with the fungal cell wall of C. ulmi is by a non-specific mechanism.