Cysteine methyl ester explained

Cysteine methyl ester is the organic compound with the formula HSCH₂CH(NH₂)CO₂CH₃. It is a white solid substance, known as the methyl ester of the amino acid, cysteine.

Uses

Under the brand name Mecysteine, cysteine methyl ester is a commercial drug for mucolytic activity.^[1] The compound has an ability to break down or lower the viscosity of mucin-containing secretions or components of fluids by chronic and acute respiratory disorders. The drug is sold under the commercial names Delta in Paraguay, and Pectite and Zeotin in Japan.^[2]

Cysteine methyl ester is also used as a building block for synthesis of N,S-heterocycles.^{[3] [4]}

Notes and References

1. Book: Page CP . Datta ST, Xiu P . Pharmacology . 2018 . Philadelphia, PA . Elsevier . 978-0-7020-7345-8 . 40 . Fifth . Respiratory System: Mucolytics . https://books.google.com/books?id=NZ12DwAAQBAJ&dq=Mecysteine&pg=PA40 .
2. Web site: Mecysteine . Drugs.com .
3. Tanaka T, Nakashima T, Ueda T, Tomii K, Kouno I . Facile discrimination of aldose enantiomers by reversed-phase HPLC . Chemical & Pharmaceutical Bulletin . 55 . 6 . 899–901 . June 2007 . 17541189 . 10.1248/cpb.55.899 . free . 10069/14910 . free .
4. 10.1021/jo00383a014. New methods and reagents in organic synthesis. 67. A general synthesis of derivatives of optically pure 2-(1-aminoalkyl)thiazole-4-carboxylic acids. 1987. Hamada Y, Shibata M, Sugiura T, Kato S, Shioiri T . The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 52. 7. 1252–1255.