Thiolsulfinate allicin from garlic: inspiration for a new antimicrobial agent.

Consideration of the underlying features responsible for garlic-allicin's antimicrobial activity as well as its instability has prompted an investigation into substituted S-aryl alkylthiolsulfinates as a class of garlic mimic with enhanced stability. Synthesis of the targets has inspired the development of new methods for synthesizing unsymmetrical aralkyl disulfides, which are then oxidized to the targets. Some simple representatives have been synthesized, setting the scene for a full SAR study of this relatively unexplored class of thiolsulfinate.