Reactivity of Thiyl Radicals Generated from Thiomethoxide and Dimethyldisulfide in Microheterogeneous Media

Sodium thiomethoxide and dimethyldisulfide will be shown to be convenient sources of methyl thiyl radicals for effecting the cis-trans double bond isomerization of oleic acid to elaidic acid residues arranged in phospholipid bilayers of the microheterogeneous aqueous environment of liposomes. The methods used for methyl thiyl radical generation encompass radiolytic and photochemical methods. The convenience of these methyl thiyl radical sources will be interpreted in terms of the turn-over numbers in the radical chain cistrans isomerization reaction of unsaturated lipids.