A short and general synthesis of 1,3-dihydro-6-heteroaryl-5-perfluoroalkyl-2H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-ones

Trifluoro or pentafluoroacylation of heteroaryl-enamines 2a,b gave the corresponding perfluoroacylated heteroaryl-enamines 3a-c . Heating the latter compounds with diethyl iminomalonate gave 2-amino-3-pyridinecarboxylates 4a-c . Hydrolysis to the free acids 5a-c , and reaction with diphenylphosphoryl azide afforded the desired 1,3-dihydro-6-heteroaryl-5-perfluoroalkyl-2H-imidazo4,5-b]pyridin-2-ones 6a-c .