Natural products sulfur-containing

The Claus process, which involves the reaction of sulfur dioxide with hydrogen sulfide to produce sulfur in a furnace, is important in the production of sulfur from sour natural gas or by-product sulfur-containing gases (see Sulfurremoval and recovery). 

As discussed in a previous section, organoselenium chemistry has recently evolved into an area which is rich and varied. Synthetic organic chemists have been instrumental in stimulating the interest in research concerning selenium analogues of natural products which contain sulfur. The biological activity of many of these molecules has also been an area of growing interest. 

Sulfuric acid is the most important sulfur-containing intermediate product. More than 85% of the sulfur consumed in the world is either converted to sulfuric acid or produced direcdy as such (see Sulfuric acid and sulfur trioxide). Worldwide, well over half of the sulfuric acid is used in the manufacture of phosphatic fertilizers and ammonium sulfate for fertilizers. The sulfur source may be voluntary elemental, such as from the Frasch process recovered elemental from natural gas or petroleum or sulfur dioxide from smelter operations. 

Carbonyl sulfide occurs as a by-product ia the manufacture of carbon disulfide and is an impurity ia some natural gases, ia many manufactured fuel gases and refinery gases, and ia combustion products of sulfur-containing fuels (25). It tends to be concentrated ia the propane fraction ia gas fractionation an amine sweetening process is needed to remove it. 

Making paper without pollution requires that each part of the process be nonpolluting. The chemicals most commonly used in the production of pulp are NaOH and Na2 S. In modem paper mills, sulfur-containing by-products are scmbbed from the plant exhaust, and the aqueous sodium hydroxide is reclaimed and recycled. The fillers used to make paper opaque—titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate, and kaolin (a clay)—are natural, nonpolluting minerals. The polymer binders and sizers are relatively easy to recapture from the aqueous waste stream. 

Stephen Hilton obtained his B.Sc. at King s College London in 1996 followed by a Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Keith Jones and Dr Sheetal Handa. In 2002 he carried out a postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of Professor William Motherwell at University College London. In 2006 he moved to his current position at The Institute of Cancer Research as a postdoctoral fellow in Medicinal Chemistry. His research interests lie in the area of natural products containing sulfur, radical chemistry and anticancer drug targets. 

This review chapter focuses on the syntheses and reactions of these 5-membered heterocyclic ring systems containing nitrogen and sulfur (or selenium) (reported during 2006). The importance of these 71-rich heterocycles in medicinal chemistry and natural products is also covered. 

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