Efficient Catalytic Oxidation of 3-Arylthio- and 3-Cyclohexylthio-lapachone Derivatives to New Sulfonyl Derivatives and Evaluation of Their Antibacterial Activities

New sulfonyl-lapachones were efficiently obtained through the catalytic oxidation of arylthio- and cyclohexylthio-lapachone derivatives with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a Mn(III) porphyrin complex. The antibacterial activities of the non-oxidized and oxidized lapachone derivatives against the Gram-negative bacteria and the Gram-positive bacteria were evaluated after their incorporation into polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) micelles. The obtained results show that the PVP-formulations of the lapachones - and of the sulfonyl-lapachones and reduced the growth of .