Synthesis of 5-amino-2-selenoxo-1,3-imidazole-4-carboselenoamides by the reaction of isoselenocyanates with aminoacetonitriles

Reaction of isoselenocyanates with aminoacetonitriles afforded 4-amino-2-selenoxo-1,3-imidazole-2-selenones, whereas reaction with aminopropionitriles led to selenoureas. We confirmed that it is easy to distinguish between selenoamides and selenoureas by comparison of their chemical shift differences in the (77)Se NMR spectra. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.