Crystal structure of seleno-l-cystine di-hydro-chloride

Numerous crystal structures are available for the dimeric amino acid cystine. In proteins it is formed by oxidation of the -SH thiol groups of two closely spaced cysteine residues, resulting in the formation of a familiar di-sulfide bridge. The title compound [systematic name: (R,R)-1,1'-dicarb-oxy-2,2'-(diselanedi-yl)diethanaminium dichloride], C6H14N2O4Se2 (2+)·2Cl(-), is the first example of a small mol-ecule structure of the biologically important analogue with a -CH2-Se-Se-CH2- bridging unit. Bond lengths and angles of seleno-l-cystine di-hydro-chloride and its isotypic sulfur analogue l-cystine di-hydro-chloride are compared.