thioester

Thiols form sulfides and thioesters in reactions analogous to those of alcohols. They react readily with aldehydes and ketones to form thioacetals and thioketals, respectively. Thioacetals and thioketals are more stable than the corresponding oxygen compounds and so are especially useful as protecting groups (temporarily suppressing the reactivity of…

…acids are converted to a thioester of a molecule called coenzyme A, or CoA. (A thioester is a compound in which the linking oxygen in an ester is replaced by a sulfur atom.) Oxidation of the fatty acid–CoA thioesters actually takes place in discrete vesicular bodies called mitochondria. Most cells…