Phenacylselenoesters allow facile selenium transfer and hydrogen selenide generation.

Hydrogen selenide (HSe) is a precursor to several selenium-containing biomolecules and is emerging as an important redox-active species in biology, with yet to be completely characterized roles. Tools that reliably generate HSe are key to achieving a better understanding of selenium biology. Here, we report the design, synthesis and evaluation of phenacylselenoesters as sources of HSe.