Reactions of 3,4-Dichloro-N-R-maleimides with Substituted 2-Thiouracils

Reactions of 3,4-dichloro-N-R-maleimides with substituted thiouracils at 40°C gave a 1:1 mixture of isomers of pyrrolothiazolopyrimidinetriones. Under conditions of thermodynamic control (100°C, 5 h) only pyrrolo[3',4':4,5]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-4,6,8-triones were formed, hydrolysis of which followed by decarboxylation gave 5-oxo-5H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-2-carboxamide. The structure of N²-phenyl-6-methyl-5-oxo-5H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-2-carboxamide was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Analogous cyclization of 3,4-dichloro-N-R-maleimides with 2-thioxoquinazol-4-one also gave a mixture of two isomers which were successfully separated by fractional crystallization.