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The prefix thio-, when applied to a chemical, such as an ion, means that an oxygen atom in the compound has been replaced by a sulfur atom. This term is often used in organic chemistry. For example, from the word ether, referring to an oxygen-containing compound having the general chemical structure , where R and R′ are organic functional groups and O is an oxygen atom, comes the word thioether, which refers to an analogous compound with the general structure , where S is a sulfur atom covalently bonded to two organic groups. A chemical reaction involving the replacement of oxygen to sulfur is called thionation or thiation. Thio- can be prefixed with di- and tri- in chemical nomenclature. The word derives (which occurs in Greek epic poetry as théweion and may come from the same root as Latin fumus (Indo-European dh-w) and may have originally meant "fumigation substance".

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Organosulfur chemistry

Organosulfur chemistry is the study of the properties and synthesis of organosulfur compounds, which are organic compounds that contain sulfur. They are often associated with foul odors, but many of the sweetest compounds known are organosulfur derivatives, e.g., saccharin. Nature abounds with organosulfur compounds—sulfur is vital for life. Of the 20 common amino acids, two (cysteine and methionine) are organosulfur compounds, and the antibiotics penicillin and sulfa drugs both contain sulfur.