Efficient Oxidation of Cysteine and Glutathione Catalyzed by a Dinuclear Areneruthenium Trithiolato Anticancer Complex

The highly cytotoxic diruthenium complex [(<i>p</i>-MeC₆H₄Prⁱ)₂Ru₂(SC₆H₄-<i>p</i>-Me)₃]⁺ (<b>1</b>), water-soluble as the chloride salt, is shown to efficiently catalyze oxidation of the thiols cysteine and glutathione to give the corresponding disulfides, which may explain its high in vitro anticancer activity.