A Practical Synthesis of 5-Aroyl-1-aryltetrazoles Using an Ugi-Like 4-Component Reaction Followed by a Biomimetic Transamination

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs), followed by subse- quent transformations, are fascinating tools for the rapid and effec- tive synthesis of molecular scaffolds with potential pharmacological relevance. We became interested in the prepara- tion of novel 5-aroyl-1-aryltetrazoles as (1) they still represent chal- lenging structures not easily accessible through the methods described in literature, and (2) the a-ketotetrazolic framework may be considered as a potential bioisostere of the enonic linker of chal- cones. In the present work, a novel, simple, effective and general synthesis for this class of compounds is described.