Methanethiol, formation

Significant aliphatic sulfur compounds are methional, 3-methyl-but-2-ene-1-thiol, 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-l-ol (8-124), its ester 3-mercapto-3-methylbutyl formate, methanethiol and dimethyltrisulfide. 3-Mercapto-3-methyl-l-ol also occurs in passion fruit and blackcurrant, and as a putative cat pheromone in cat urine, where it is formed as a degradation product of amino acid L-felinine (see Section 2.2.1.2.2). Of more than 70 known pyrazines, the most important compounds in roasted coffee are isopropylpyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,3-diethyl-5-methylpyrazine, 2,6-dimethyl-3-vinylpyrazine and 2-ethyl-6-methyl-3-vinylpyrazine. Pyridine and its alkyl derivatives and bicyclic pyridines have a negative impact on the quality of coffee aroma. Important aromatic... 

Decomposition of Thiols. Thiols decompose by two principal paths (i43— i45). These are the carbon—sulfur bond homolysis and the unimolecular decomposition to alkene and hydrogen sulfide. For methanethiol, the only available route is homolysis, as in reaction 29. For ethanethiol, the favored route is formation of ethylene and hydrogen sulfide via the unimolecular process, as in reaction 30. 

The addition of nucleophiles to double and triple bond systems is often a convenient way of effecting an intramolecular ring closure. Addition to cyano groups has received considerable attention, as in addition to ring formation it provides a convenient method for the introduction of an amino group. Reaction of methyl Af-cyanodithiocarbimidate with Af-methylaminoacetonitrile resulted in displacement of methanethiol and formation of (314). Sodium ethoxide treatment in DMF converted (314) into a 4-amino-5-cyanoimidazole... 

Lomans BP, P Leijdekkers, J-P Wesselink, P Bakkes, A Pol, C van der Drift, HIP op den Camp (2001) Obligate sulfide-dependent degradation of methoxylated aromatic compounds and formation of methanethiol and dimethyl sulfide by a freshwater sediment isolate, Parasporobacterium paucivorans gen. nov., sp. nov. Appl Environ Microbiol 67 4017-4203. 

Thiophenolate complexes have been discussed, however, a considerable amount of alkylthiolate zinc chemistry is also known. The zinc alkylthiolate complexes with methanethiolate, ethanethiolate, and /. so-propylthiolate have been synthesized and characterized as precursors for ZnS formation. Thermolysis studies demonstrated the formation of ZnS and release of dimethylsulfide. Reactivity was similar with only the rm-propyl derivative showing much slower reaction.523 The polyzincate Zni0S4(SEt)i2L4 is a well-characterized neutral zinc sulfur compound.524... 

Displacement of the methanethiol substituent in 224 by hydrazine, followed by cyclization onto the cyano-group led to efficient formation of the five-membered ring of 225 (Equation 60) <2003JHC547>. 

Examination of 37 basidiomycetous yeasts indicated formation of several sulfur volatiles 3-(methylthio)-l-propanol, methanethiol (MT), S-methyl thio-acetate, dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS), allyl methyl sulfide and 4,5-dihydro-3(2//)-thiophenone. The component produced in the largest amounts, 40 100 mg L-1, was 3-(methylthio)-l-propanol29 Cheeseripening yeasts are considered later (Section 11.1.2.4.5). 

Fig. 24 HF/6-31G optimised geometry and changes in group charges (relative to reactants) for the transition state for SN2 displacement of formate from AM ormyloxy-iV-methoxyform-amide 40 by methanethiol.

By far most of the reports on addition reactions of hetero-nucleophiles to activated dienes deal with sulfur-nucleophiles17,48,80,120-137, in particular in the synthesis of 7/3-sulfur-substituted steroids which, like their carbon-substituted counterparts (Section n.A), are of interest because of their ability to inhibit the biosynthesis of estrogens80,129-137. Early investigations17,120-122 concentrated on simple acyclic Michael acceptors like methyl sorbate and 2,4-pentadienenitrile. Bravo and coworkers120 observed the formation of a 3 1 mixture of the 1,6- and 1,4-adduct in the reaction of methyl sorbate with methanethiol in basic medium (equation 39). In contrast to this, 2,4-pentadienenitrile adds various thiols regioselectively at C-5, i.e. in a 1,6-fashion (equation 40)17,121,122, and the same is true for reactions of this substrate with hydrogen sulfide (equation 41), sodium bisulfite and ethyl thioglycolate17. 

Other methods that use 55 anions as precursor for the synthesis of fullerene-derivatives usually involve chemical formation of the anion. Alkylation of 55 has been accomplished, e.g. by reduction with propanethiol and potassium carbonate in DMF [91,92], sodium methanethiolate in acetonitrile [93], the naphthalene radical anion in benzonitrile[94], potassium naphthalide [95] or simply with zinc [96]. 

Owing to very low thresholds, volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) usually have prime impact on food aromas they are found in lots of natural sources, including fermented foods (e.g. wine, beer, cheese), and act as both flavours and off-flavours [249, 250]. Although their biogenetic formation has been elucidated in detail, only few biotechnological processes with potential for commercial application have been reported. The sulfur-containing amino acids L-methionine and L-cysteine are the natural precursors of a wide variety of VSCs. Methanethiol is the most frequently found VSC in cheese and can be readily oxidised to other VSCs, such as dimethyl suMde and dimethyl disulfide, or... 

Figure 7 shows the activity and selectivity towards sulfur compounds of H-NbMCM-41 with various Si/Nb ratio H-NbMCM-41 seems to be a good catalyst as far as the formation of methanethiol is concerned. All hydrogen forms of niobium-containing MCM-41 materials are very stable in the production of sulfur compounds. The reason for that is the low acidity of the material, the absence of dissociative adsorption of H2S, and very easy formation of methoxy species on the surface as demonstrated earlier on the basis of IR measurements [3,10] If the mesoporous matrix possesses A1 instead of Nb, the MeOH conversion is higher, but the selectivity to methanothiol is lower. 

The replacement of only one fluorine in 2,6-difluoropyridinc by the benzylsulfanyl group proceeds quantitatively in dimethylformamide at 0 C using potassium tert-butoxide as base.10 In fluoropyrimidincs, fluorine in the 4-position is sufficiently reactive that it can be replaced by sodium methanethiolate in methanol at —20 C to give, c.g. 1 in almost quantitative yield further examples of the replacement of fluorine by methylsulfanyl are the formation of2and3. 1... 

Free amino acids are further catabolized into several volatile flavor compounds. However, the pathways involved are not fully known. A detailed summary of the various studies on the role of the catabolism of amino acids in cheese flavor development was published by Curtin and McSweeney (2004). Two major pathways have been suggested (1) aminotransferase or lyase activity and (2) deamination or decarboxylation. Aminotransferase activity results in the formation of a-ketoacids and glutamic acid. The a-ketoacids are further degraded to flavor compounds such as hydroxy acids, aldehydes, and carboxylic acids. a-Ketoacids from methionine, branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine), or aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan) serve as the precursors to volatile flavor compounds (Yvon and Rijnen, 2001). Volatile sulfur compounds are primarily formed from methionine. Methanethiol, which at low concentrations, contributes to the characteristic flavor of Cheddar cheese, is formed from the catabolism of methionine (Curtin and McSweeney, 2004 Weimer et al., 1999). Furthermore, bacterial lyases also metabolize methionine to a-ketobutyrate, methanethiol, and ammonia (Tanaka et al., 1985). On catabolism by aminotransferase, aromatic amino acids yield volatile flavor compounds such as benzalde-hyde, phenylacetate, phenylethanol, phenyllactate, etc. Deamination reactions also result in a-ketoacids and ammonia, which add to the flavor of... 

This important flavor compound was identified in the head-space volatiles of beef broth by Brinkman, et al. (43) and although it has the odor of fresh onions, it is believed to contribute to the flavor of meat. This compound can be formed quite easily from Strecker degradation products. Schutte and Koenders (49) concluded that the most probable precursors for its formation were etha-nal, methanethiol and hydrogen sulfide. As shown in Figure 5, these immediate precursors are generated from alanine, methionine and cysteine in the presence of a Strecker degradation dicarbonyl compound such as pyruvaldehyde. These same precursors could also interact under similar conditions to give dimethyl disulfide and 3,5-dimethyl-l,2,4-trithiolane previously discussed. 

Methionine 7-lyase, in contrast, has been purified from Aeromonas sp., Pseudomonas putida and Clostridium sporogenes (361. This enzyme effects a a,y-elimination of methanethiol and ammonia from L-methionine with the direct formation of 2-ketobutyrate ... 

Methvlation of Sulfide and Methanethiol. Another pathway for DMS biogenesis involves its formation from inorganic sulfide via methylation reactions. Interest in the enzymatic methylation of sulfide and organic sulfides was initially concerned with the detoxification of thiols in animals (51). The... 

Challenger and Liu (25) found that 3-methiolpropionate or 3-mercapto-pyruvate caused DMS formation by Scopulariopsis brevicaulis. Labarre and Bory (24) observed the conversion of 2-mercaptoacetate to a mixture of HjS and methanethiol by Clostridium oedematicus but mechanisms were not investigated probably a thiol S-methyltransferase catalyzes methanethiol synthesis from sulfide or via an S-methyl derivative of 2-mercaptoacetate. 

Figure 2. Aerobic catabolism of methylated sulfides (adapted from Kelly, 1988). 1) DMSO reductase (Hyphomicrobium sp.) 2) DMDS reductase (Thiobacillus sp. 3) trimethylsulfonium-tetrahydrofolate methyltransferase (Pseudomonas sp.) 4) DMS monooxygenase 5) methanethiol oxidase 6) sulfide oxidizing enzymes 7) catalase 8) formaldehyde dehydrogenase 9) formate dehydrogenase 10) Calvin cycle for CO2 assimilation (Thiobacillus sp.) 11) serine pathway for carbon assimilation (Hyphomicrobium sp.).

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