Synthesis of imidazo[1,5-c]pyrimidine derivatives

Two complementary procedures, each starting from 6-aminomethyluracil ( 2 ), have been used to prepare imidazo1,5-c]pyrimidines with a variety of substituents at positions 3, 5, 6, and 7. The starting material, 2 , can be readily prepared from commercially available 6-chloromethyluracil by reaction with anhydrous ammonia. In the first procedure, 2 is acylated and then cyclodehydrated by reaction with phosphorus oxychloride to give a separable mixture of a 3-substituted 5,7-dichloroimidazo1,5-c]pyrimidine and a 3-substituted 7-chloroimidazo1,5-c]pyrimidin-5(6H)-one. The relative product distribution is subject to some control by the choice of the acyl substituent on the starting uracil. The resulting dichloro compounds were derivatized by reaction at the 5-position with various nucleophiles, although the 7-chloro substituent is unreactive. An alternative synthetic method proceeds from 2 in six efficient steps (protection as the phthalimide, chlorination, nucleophilic substitution, deprotection, acylation, and cyclodehydration) to 3-substituted-5,7-bis(methylthio)imidazo1,5-c]pyrimidines. These compounds may also be derivatized by nucleophilic substitution at the 5-position.