Tellurium-containing Thiol-peroxidase-like Antioxidants and their Catalytic Mechanism

The development of novel small molecules with effective catalytic antioxidant properties is highly sought after. A wide array of structurally diverse selenium- and tellurium-containing glutathione peroxidase mimics have been studied over the past two decades. Within this arena, organotellurium compounds generally exhibit higher catalytic properties with respect to selenium-containing analogues. Different mechanisms accounting for the thiol-peroxidase-like activity of various classes of organotellurium derivatives have been proposed. This review documents development of this area and provides an overview on the catalytic mechanisms proposed for the various classes of tellurium-containing thiol-peroxidase-like-catalysts.