Synthesis of fused tetrazole- and imidazole derivatives via iodocyclization

The possibility to prepare fused tetrazole- and imidazole derivatives by iodocyclization in moderate to excellent yields is demonstrated. In some examples the cyclizations were not following Baldwin's rules entirely, i.e. exo-selectivity. Nucleophilic substitution of the formed iodides gave different results depending on the hardness of the nucleophile. Thus, elimination of the iodide could be a problem but a substitution reaction with ethyl potassium xanthate and a radical reaction using acrylonitrile were tolerated. In addition, we showed that it is possible to selectively use three iodo substituents individually in one of the fused imidazole derivatives. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.