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Concept
Sulfenic acid
Summary
In chemistry, a sulfenic acid is an organosulfur compound and oxoacid with the general formula . It is the first member of the family of organosulfur oxoacids, which also include sulfinic acids () and sulfonic acids (), respectively. The base member of the sulfenic acid series with R = H is hydrogen thioperoxide.
In contrast to sulfinic and sulfonic acids, simple sulfenic acids, such as methanesulfenic acid, CH3SOH, are highly reactive and cannot be isolated in solution. In the gas phase the lifetime of methanesulfenic acid is about one minute. The gas phase structure of methanesulfenic acid was found by microwave spectroscopy (rotational spectroscopy) to be CH3–S–O–H. Sulfenic acids can be stabilized through steric effects, which prevent the sulfenic acid from condensing with itself to form thiosulfinates, RS(O)SR, such as allicin from garlic. Through the use of X-ray crystallography, the structure of such stabilized sulfenic acids were shown to be R–S–O–H. The stable, sterically hindered sulfenic acid 1-triptycenesulfenic acid has been found to have a pKa of 12.5 and an O–H bond-dissociation energy (bde) of 71.9 ± 0.3 kcal/mol, which can be compared to a pKa of ≥14 and O–H BDE of ~88 kcal/mol for the (valence) isoelectronic hydroperoxides, ROOH.
Peroxiredoxins are ubiquitous and abundant enzymes that detoxify peroxides. They function by the conversion of a cysteine residue to a sulfenic acid. The sulfenic acid then converts to a disulfide by reaction with another residue of cysteine.
Sulfenic acids are produced by the enzymatic decomposition of alliin and related compounds following tissue damage to garlic, onions, and other plants of the genus Allium. 1-Propenesulfenic acid, formed when onions are cut, is rapidly rearranged by a second enzyme, the lachrymatory factor synthase, giving syn-propanethial-S-oxide. 2-Propenesulfenic acid, formed from allicin, is thought to be responsible for garlic’s potent antioxidant activity.
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