Desaurins are a type of sulfur-containing heterocycle. The parent is 2,4-bismethylene-1,3-dithietane. They are derived from the base-promoted condensation of carbon disulfide with "active methylene" compounds:
According to X-ray crystallography, the C<sub>4</sub>S<sub>2</sub> core of desaurins is planar. With unsymmetrical substitution (at the ends of the methylene groups), they can exist as separable cis and trans isomers.