Grant: Engage Grants Program

Inorganic compounds containing the element boron are well known green pesticides and herbicides. Forinstance, boric acid is a low-toxic, non-volatile mineral with insecticidal and fungicidal properties that has beenused as a 'stomach poison' for ants, cockroaches, silverfish and termites for over two hundred years. Thissimple boron compound is not believed to be metabolized in humans and animals and, as such, has low toxicityand is not carcinogenic or mutagenic. In fact, low concentrations of boron in humans are thought to bebeneficial and even reduce their risk of some forms of cancer. Other inorganic and organic compoundscontaining boron also have a wealth of bioactivities, displaying a wide range of applications. Of particularinterest to this study are the findings that organic boron salts are used in the treatment of lumber for theiranti-termitic activities. We propose to generate a family of novel, yet simple, boron compounds and examinetheir bioactivities and efficacy in treating sea-lice, while maintaining the health of the host fish.