The First Direct Oxidative Conversion of
a Selenol to a Stable Selenenic Acid:
Experimental Demonstration of Three
Processes Included in the Catalytic
Cycle of Glutathione Peroxidase
A stable selenenic acid was synthesized by direct oxidation of a selenol bearing a novel bowl-type substituent with H2O2, and its structure was
established by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Selenenyl sulfides obtained by the reaction of the selenenic acid with 1,4-dithiols were reduced
to the corresponding selenol by treatment with a tertiary amine, thus achieving the experimental demonstration of three processes included
in the catalytic cycle of glutathione peroxidase.