Self-Immolative Prodrugs: Effective Tools for the Controlled Release of Sulfur Signaling Species.

H2S, persulfides (R-SSH), and related sulfur species have recently received attention due to the pronounced physiological effects they elicit. Delivering sulfur signaling molecules in a controlled manner presents many challenges, as many available donors have short half-lives, lack water solubility, and exhibit poor trigger specificity. Self-immolative prodrugs provide a unique ability to impart stability to H2S precursors and persulfides while allowing for trigger specificity by tuning the functional group installed on the self-immolative linker. This strategy has proven successful in delivering sulfur signaling species under specific conditions and may lead to the further elucidation of persulfide interactions within biological systems, affording effective therapeutics.