2-Mercaptoethanol
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| 2-Mercaptoethanol | |
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| Chemical name | 2-Hydroxy-1-ethanethiol |
| Other names | 2-Mercaptoethanol Thioglycol β-Mercaptoethanol |
| Chemical formula | C2H6OS |
| Molecular mass | 78.13 g mol−1 |
| CAS number | [60-24-2] |
| Density | 1.11 g cm−3 |
| Melting point | −100 °C |
| Boiling point | 157-158 °C |
| SMILES | SCCO |
| Related compounds | ethylene glycol ethanedithiol |
| Refractive index | nD20 = 1.4996 |
| Disclaimer and references | |
2-Mercaptoethanol is the chemical compound with the formula HOCH2CH2SH. It is a hybrid of ethylene glycol and ethanedithiol. ME, as it is commonly abbreviated, is used to reduce disulfide bonds and can act as a biological antioxidant as it scavages hydroxyl radicals (amongst others) . It is widely used because the hydroxyl group confers solubility in water and lowers the volatility, and hence odour, of the thiol.
ME is prepared by the action of hydrogen sulfide on ethylene oxide:[1]
- CH2CH2O + H2S → HOCH2CH2SH
Contents |
[edit] Biochemical properties
Proteins are denaturated by 2-mercaptoethanol due to its ability to cleave disulfide bonds, thereby disrupting quaternary protein structure.[2]
Because of its ability to disrupt the quaternary structure of proteins, it is used in the process of protein analysis.
[edit] Biomedical consequences
It has been found that 2-mercaptoethanol is one of the few chemicals that extends the maximum as well as the median life span of mice.[3] In microgram quantities, 2-mercaptoethanol has been observed to have a number of possibly beneficial effects on experimental animals. It affects the genes.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Knight, J. J. "2-Mercaptoethanol" in Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis (Ed: L. Paquette) 2004, J. Wiley & Sons, New York. DOI: 10.1002/047084289.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Yu, B.P.; Kang, C.M., Han, J.S., Kim, D.S. "Can antioxidant supplementation slow the aging process?" Biofactors 1998, Volume 7: pages93-101. "Can antioxidant supplementation slow the aging process?
- ^ Effect of 2-mercaptoethanol on some metabolic indices of ageing of CBA/Ca inbred mice
