1,2-Dithiolanes are cyclic disulfides. Some dithiolanes are natural products[1]
that can be found in foods, such as asparagusic acid in asparagus.[2] The 4-dimethylamino derivative nereistoxin was the inspiration for insecticides which act by blocking the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.[3]Lipoic acid is essential for aerobic metabolism in mammals and also has strong affinity with many metals including gold, molybdenum, and tungsten.[4] Other 1,2-dithiolanes have relevance in nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles or transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers (TMDs) (MoS2 and WS2).[5][6][7]
asparagusic acid
nereistoxin, from which insecticides including cartap and bensultap were derived
lipoic acid
1,3-Dithiolanes are important as protecting groups for carbonyl compounds, since they are inert to a wide range of conditions. Reacting a carbonyl group with 1,2-ethanedithiol converts it to a 1,3-dithiolane, as detailed below.
Protecting a carbonyl group by converting it to a 1,3-dithiolane, using 1,2-ethanedithiol
References
↑Teuber, Lene (1990). "Naturally Occurring 1,2-Dithiolanes and 1,2,3-Trithianes. Chemical and Biological Properties". Sulfur Reports9 (4): 257–333. doi:10.1080/01961779008048732.
↑Tagmatarchis, Nikos; Ewels, Christopher P.; Bittencourt, Carla; Arenal, Raul; Pelaez-Fernandez, Mario; Sayed-Ahmad-Baraza, Yuman; Canton-Vitoria, Ruben (2017-06-05). "Functionalization of MoS 2 with 1,2-dithiolanes: toward donor-acceptor nanohybrids for energy conversion" (in en). npj 2D Materials and Applications1 (1): 13. doi:10.1038/s41699-017-0012-8. ISSN2397-7132.