Glutathione (γ-Glu-Cys-Gly, GSH,
1) forms a binary zinc complex of the type L
2Zn
3 (
1.1) which is polymeric. Its triply blocked and purely S-functional form [4-NO
2Bz]-γ-Glu(Cys-Gly-OEt)-OEt (
2) yields a polymeric complex of the type L
2Zn (
2.1) and a monomeric pyrazolylborate zinc complex of the type TpZn
SR (
2.2). Doubly O-protected GSH was converted with histidine and cysteine to the difunctional tetrapeptides NAc-His-γ-Glu(Cys-Gly-OEt)-OEt (
3) and NAc-Cys-γ-Glu(Cys-Gly-OEt)-OEt (
4). Peptide
3 could be converted to the oligomeric zinc halide complex of the type L·ZnCl (
3.1). The zinc complexation of peptide
4 was investigated by potentiometric titrations, revealing that the dominating species in solution are [ZnL(LH)]
− and [ZnL
2]
2−, both with a ZnS
4 coordination. In contrast, the isolated complex was found to be the polymeric species of composition LZn (
4.1). With pyrazolylborate zinc units a monomeric dizinc complex of the type TpZn
S
S
ZnTp (
4.2) was obtained. N-protected GSH was extended by two histidine or cysteine units to the pentapeptides H-γ-Glu(Cys-Gly-His-OMe)-His-OMe (
5) and H-γ-Glu(Cys-Gly-Cys-OMe)-Cys-OMe (
6). Complex
5 and
6 formed ill-defined polymeric zinc complexes. For
5 a species of the type [L·Zn]ClO
4 and for
6 a species of the type [L
3Zn
5]CF
3COO could be obtained analytically pure.