Catalytic thiomethylation of indoles.

The catalysis of direct thiomethylation of 1H-indole and tryptophan under the action of the formaldehyde—mercaptan reagent system in the presence of acids and bases, phosphorus oxide and the oxidative system I2/NaOH was studied. A mechanism for the catalysis of the multicomponent thiomethylation reaction was proposed based on the results of mass spectrometric study of intermediate compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]