An Improved Process for Preparation of S-Acetyl-l-glutathione

An efficient one-step synthesis of S-acetyl-l-glutathione has been developed in a DMF–TFA mixed solvent with CoCl2 as catalyst. This process not only has the advantages of selective acylation of the glutathione thiol group without involving the free amino but also highlights recycling of the relatively costly solvent TFA, which improves the yield to 91% and quality to 99.7%. The reaction is cost-effective, efficient, and easy to scale-up.