Preparation of highly functionalized 1,5-disubstituted tetrazoles via palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling

The preparation of a range of 1,5-disubstituted tetrazoles has been achieved through palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling. Using appropriately substituted 5-p-toluenesulfonyltetrazoles as substrates (obtained by cycloaddition of a substituted azide with p-toluenesulfonyl cyanide), this methodology provides access to a variety of highly substituted tetrazoles that would be difficult to access otherwise. The procedure is compatible with functional groups commonly found in drug-like molecules, and has been used to generate a number of compounds of potential biological interest.