A one-step reductive ligation mediated disulfide formation of S-nitrosothiols was developed. This reaction involves the reaction of the S-nitroso group with phosphine-thioesters to form sulfenamide and thiolate intermediates, which then undergo a fast intermolecular disulfide formation to form stable conjugates. This reaction can be used to design new biosensors of S-nitrosated proteins.

The application of imidazolinium and amidinium salts as soft Lewis acid organocatalysts is described. These salts were suitable catalysts for the activation of unsaturated thioesters in a Diels-Alder reaction and in the ring opening of thiiranes and epoxides. The products were isolated in good yields. The mild catalysts did not cause desulfurization of the products containing a thiol or thiocar...

Various ketones, esters, amides, and thioesters add in high yield to dimethyl acetals in the presence of silyl trifluoromethanesulfonates and an amine base. Acetals derived from aryl, unsaturated, and aliphatic aldehydes are all effective substrates. The reaction proceeds in a single reaction flask, with no purification of the intermediate enol silane necessary.

Acrylic esters, thioesters and N-acryloyl pyrrole have been identified as effective electrophiles in the enantioselective Michael addition reaction with beta-keto ester pro-nucleophiles catalysed by a cinchona alkaloid derived bifunctional organocatalyst; enantiomeric excesses of up to 98% and yields of up to 96% can be obtained for a range of Michael acceptors and pro-nucleophiles.

Palladium-catalyzed ring-opening thiocarbonylation of vinylcyclopropanes (VCPs) with thiols and carbon monoxide affords the corresponding unsaturated thioesters in moderate to excellent yields. This reaction provides a general method for the ring-opening thiocarbonylation of VCPs. It further demonstrates the utility of transition metal catalysts for the synthesis of organosulfur compounds.

Using a recently discovered peptide ligase, butelase 1, we developed a novel method to access protein thioesters in good yield. We successfully combined it with native chemical ligation and sortase-mediated ligation in tandem for protein C-terminal labeling and dual-terminal labeling to exploit the orthogonality of these three ligation methods.

Various ester and thioester derivatives of hippuric acid have been prepared which were substrates of both beta-lactamases and DD-peptidases. The thioesters were more rapidly hydrolysed by nearly all the enzymes. Surprisingly, the enzymes acted rather efficiently on substrates which did not contain any chiral centre.

Transformation of aromatic thioesters into arylboronic esters was achieved efficiently using a rhodium catalyst. The broad functional-group tolerance and mild conditions of the method have allowed for the two-step decarboxylative borylation of a wide range of aromatic carboxylic acids, including commercially available drugs.

The synthesis of amide C N bonds through nucleophilic acyl substitutions constitutes one of the most fundamental transformations in chemical synthesis. Recently, the Staudingertype ligation of carboxylic acid derivatives (e.g., acid chlorides, anhydrides, acyl selenides, and thioesters) and azides has become a preeminent strategy for amide C N bond construction (Scheme 1a). However, the generat...