Benzosultines as Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Donors

Abstract

In order to understand precise biological roles of sulfur dioxide (SO2), reliable SO2 donors, compounds that produce SO2 under physiological conditions, are necessary. The design and development of 1-phenyl-benzosultine as an efficient SO2 donor is reported. This compound undergoes cycloreversion to generate SO2 upon dissolution in aqueous buffer at 37 °C with a yield of 89% and a half-life of 39 min and shows SO2-like biological activity in a DNA cleavage assay.