Thiazolidines are a class of heterocyclic organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

s with a 5-membered saturated

Saturation (chemistry)

In chemistry, saturation has six different meanings, all based on reaching a maximum capacity...

 ring with a thioether

Thioether

A thioether is a functional group in organosulfur chemistry with the connectivity C-S-C as shown on right. Like many other sulfur-containing compounds, volatile thioethers have foul odors. A thioether is similar to an ether except that it contains a sulfur atom in place of the oxygen...

 group and an amine

Amine

Amines are organic compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are derivatives of ammonia, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituent such as an alkyl or aryl group. Important amines include amino acids, biogenic amines,...

 group in the 1 and 3 positions, respectively. It is a sulfur analogue of oxazolidine

Oxazolidine

Oxazolidine is a five-membered ring compound consisting of three carbons, a nitrogen, a hydrogen, and an oxygen. The oxygen and NH are the 1 and 3 positions, respectively. In oxazolidine derivatives, there is always a carbon between the oxygen and the nitrogen . All of the carbons in oxazolidines...

. The drug pioglitazone contains a thiazolidine ring. It is a drug usually indicated in cases of type II diabetes for decreasing blood sugar. It also decreases triglycerides and C-reactive protein levels. It lowers blood pressure and increases levels of HDL. Another drug which contains a thiazolidine ring is the antibiotic drug penicillin.

Thiazolidines may be synthesized by a condensation reaction between a thiol

Thiol

In organic chemistry, a thiol is an organosulfur compound that contains a carbon-bonded sulfhydryl group...

 and an aldehyde

Aldehyde

An aldehyde is an organic compound containing a formyl group. This functional group, with the structure R-CHO, consists of a carbonyl center bonded to hydrogen and an R group....

 or ketone

Ketone

In organic chemistry, a ketone is an organic compound with the structure RCR', where R and R' can be a variety of atoms and groups of atoms. It features a carbonyl group bonded to two other carbon atoms. Many ketones are known and many are of great importance in industry and in biology...

. The reaction is reversible. Therefore, many thiazolidines are labile towards hydrolysis in aqueous solution. Hydrolysis of the thiazolidine generates the thiol and aldehyde or ketone from which it was synthesized.