Preparation of a Sulfurtransferase Substrate, Sodium 3-Mercaptopyruvate, from 3-Bromopyruvic Acid and Sodium Hydrosulfide

Abstract

Sodium 3-mercaptopyruvate (3-MP), which is a sulfur donor substrate for sulfurtransferases, was synthesized directly from 3-bromopyruvic acid in anhydrous methanol at 4°C, by employing sodium hydrosulfide as a sulfhydryl compound instead of hydrogen sulfide gas. The purity of 3-MP was determined to be 97.9 and 98.6% by assay with N-ethylmaleimide and with reduced sodium adenine dinucleotide and lactate dehydrogenase, respectively.