S-nitrosothiols: Materials, reactivity and mechanisms

The article provides a comprehensive view of S-nitrosothiols, chemical beha viour, the pathways leading to their synthesis, their spectral properties, analytical methods of detection and determination, chemical and photochemic al reactivity, kinetic aspects and suggested mechanisms. The structure para meters of S-nitrosothiols and the parent thiols are analysed with respect t o their effect on the strengthening or weakening the S-NO bond, and in cons equence on the S-nitrosothiol stability. This depends also on the ease of S -S bond formation in the product disulphide. These structural features seem to be crucial both to spontaneous as well as to Cu-catalysed decomposition . Principal emphasis is given here to the S-nitrosothiols' ability to act a s ligands and to the effect of coordination on the ligand properties. The c hemical and photochemical behaviours of the complexes are described in more detail and their roles in chemical and biochemical systems are discussed. The aim of the article is to demonstrate that the contribution of S-nitroso thiols to chemical and biochemical processes is more diverse than supposed hitherto. Nevertheless, their role is predictable and, based on the correla tion between structure and reactivity, many important mechanisms of biochem ical processes can be interpreted and various applications designed.