Synthesis of N-aryl 2-chloroacetamides and their chemical reactivity towards various types of nucleophiles

The synthesis of various N-aryl 2-chloroacetamides has been described through chloroacetylation of the corresponding aryl amine. The chemical reactivity of N-aryl 2-chloroacetamides is attributed to the easy replacement of its chlorine atom by nucleophiles (namely; oxygen, nitrogen and/or sulfur). Furthermore, this nucleophilic substitution may accompanied by intramolecular cyclization to furnish miscellaneous heterocyclic systems as imidazole, pyrrole, thiazolidine-4-one and thiophene.