Methylation of (2-methylethanethiol-bis-3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)methane zinccomplexes and coordination of the resulting thioether: relevance to zinc-containing alkyl transfer enzymes

Methylation of the coordinated thiolate in pseudotetrahedral Zn complexes o f the form [(L3S)ZnX] by a variety of alkylating agents appears to occur vi a a nondissociative route and the resulting thioether can remain coordinate d to the metal center as it does in zinc dependent alkyl transfer enzymes s uch as the DNA repair protein, Ada, from Escherichia coli.