Degradation and Surfactants

in 1939, the insecticidal properties of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltri-chlorethane. Formula 2.1) became known it quickly became regarded as something of a wonder chemical, and the inventors were awarded the Nobel Prize. Not only was DDT effective against the Colorodo beetle and the common housefly but it also killed malaria-carrying mosquitoes and was effective in controlling outbreaks of typhoid. 

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Yakimov MM, PN Golyshin, S Lang, ERB Moore, W-R Abraham, H Liinsdork, KN Timmis (1998) Alca-nivorax borkumensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a new hydrocarbon-degrading and surfactant-producing marine bacterium. Int J Syst Bacterial 48 339-348. 

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