When a disulfide linkage is formed, the compound containing this new linkage has been oxidized.
Oxidation reaction is defined as,
i) Addition of Oxygen Atoms:
When oxygen atom is added to any compound, then the compound is said to be oxidized and the reaction is known as oxidation reaction.
Example:
Oxidation of Alcohols into carboxylic acids:
R---CH₂--OH → R---COOH
ii) Removal of Hydrogen Atoms:
When hydrogen atom(s) are removed from any compound, then the compound is said to be oxidized and the reaction is also called as oxidation reaction.
Example:
Formation of disulfide bond fro thiols:
R--S-H + R--S-H → R---S--S---R
Disulfide bond is quite popular in protein chemistry where it is formed in cystine from cystein amino acids.
