Medicinal Thiols: Current Status and New Perspectives.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Biochemistry
• Toxicology

Background:

• Thiol (-SH) functional groups in drugs provide unique properties for medical applications.
• These properties include radical scavenging, restoration of cellular thiol pools, and heavy metal chelation.
• Thiol drugs are vital for treating conditions involving oxidative stress and heavy metal poisoning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the biochemistry of established thiol drugs.
• To highlight recent (last 5 years) developments in their clinical application.
• To explore future therapeutic potential based on new understanding.

Main Methods:

• Narrative review of scientific literature.
• Focus on standard-of-care thiol drugs.
• Examination of recent reports on dosing, delivery, and applications.

Main Results:

• Established thiol drugs like N-acetylcysteine and dimercaptosuccinic acid have diverse applications.
• New research offers insights into optimizing existing treatments.
• Emerging strategies suggest expanded future clinical uses for thiol-based therapies.

Conclusions:

• Continued research into thiol drug biochemistry is crucial.
• Optimized dosing and delivery can enhance efficacy.
• Thiol drugs hold significant promise for future medical treatments.