Breaking a Couple: Disulfide Reducing Agents

• Published in: Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology Vol. 21; no. 14; pp. 1947 - 1954
• Main Authors: Mthembu, Sinenhlanhla N., Sharma, Anamika, Albericio, Fernando, Torre, Beatriz G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 16-07-2020
• Subjects: Chemical reduction; Coupling; Cysteine; cystine; Disulfide bonds; disulfide bridges; Free form; Protecting groups; Reagents; Reducing agents; solid-phase peptide synthesis; Substrates; solid-phase peptide synthesis; Cysteine; disulfide bridges; reducing agents; cystine
• ISSN: 1439-4227; 1439-7633
• DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202000092

Cysteine is present in a large number of natural and synthetic (bio)molecules. Although the thiol side chain of Cys can be in a free form, in most cases it forms a disulfide bond either with a second Cys (bridge) or with another thiol, as in the case of protecting groups. Efficient reduction of these disulfide bridges is a requirement for many applications of Cys‐containing molecules in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry. Here we review reducing methods for disulfide bonds, taking into consideration the solubility of the substrates when selecting the appropriate reducing reagent.
Breaking bridges: The efficient reduction of disulfide bridges between two cysteine residues or a cysteine and a protecting group is a requirement for many applications of cysteine‐containing molecules in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry.