thioester
Sign in to savethumb|class=skin-invert-image|right|150px|General structure of a thioester, where R and R' are organyl groups, or H in the case of R. In organic chemistry, thioesters are organosulfur compounds with the molecular structure . They are analogous to carboxylate esters () with the sulfur in the thioester replacing oxygen in the carboxylate ester, as implied by the thio- prefix. They are the product of esterification of a carboxylic acid () with a thiol (). In biochemistry, the best-known thioesters are derivatives of coenzyme A, e.g., acetyl-CoA. The R and R' represent organyl groups, or H in the
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Synthesis
- Reactions
- Biochemistry
- Thioesters and the origin of life
- Thionoesters
- See also
- References
thumb|class=skin-invert-image|right|150px|General structure of a thioester, where R and R' are organyl groups, or H in the case of R. In organic chemistry, thioesters are organosulfur compounds with the molecular structure . They are analogous to carboxylate esters () with the sulfur in the thioester replacing oxygen in the carboxylate ester, as implied by the thio- prefix. They are the product of esterification of a carboxylic acid () with a thiol (). In biochemistry, the best-known thioesters are derivatives of coenzyme A, e.g., acetyl-CoA. The R and R' represent organyl groups, or H in the case of R.
==Synthesis== One route to thioesters involves the reaction of an acid chloride with an alkali metal salt of a thiol: