DIARY OF A BIOCHEM MAJOR

Aw this little guy looks so innocent! Just a fluorine, sulfur, a methyl group and two oxygens! How could this molecule be dangerous at all?

Wrong. This molecule is like the little kid in horror movies, it acts cute and harmless until it rips your face off. Well methyl fluorosulfonate, also known as “magic methyl”, won’t rip your face off, but will stick methyl groups all over it. Magic methyl is a great methylating agent, the fluoro-sulfur group is a fantastic leaving group (for those of you out there that haven’t taken orgo, a leaving group is basically something, that well, leaves part of the molecule to create a more reactive species). That doesn’t sound too bad until you think what would happen to your cells. Cells are finicky little buggers. Heck they can die if you give them a funny look. Sticking methyl groups on the cell’s membrane is the equivalent of taking a pin and stabbing a water balloon a few thousand times and hoping it still holds. Here’s the fun part too, it only takes a concentration of 5-6 ppm to kill you. Nothing like some pulmonary edema to start the day off right?