Daniel Koshland is a Biochemist, has a laboratory on the UCB Campus.
Koshland's Reagent is a four membered ring, 1,2 di sulfur substituted cyclo butane.
Disulfide linkages abound in biological systems. Cysteine amino acid residues cross
link in an oxidative process. Koshland's reagent is a mild reagent
for the reaction to oxidize two cysteine amino acid residues by taking their hydrogens.
After having done so the two sulfurs are linked by a disulfide bond and the hydrogens go
with the now opened ring, ring strain being relieved and the entropy change for the
reaction is part of the driving force.