Synthesis of fused tetrazole- and imidazole derivatives via iodocyclization

The possibility to prepare fused tetrazole- and imidazole derivatives by iodocyclization in moderate to excellent yields is demonstrated. In some examples the cyclizations were not following Baldwin's rules entirely, i.e. exo-selectivity. Nucleophilic substitution of the formed iodides gave different results depending on the hardness of the nucleophile. Thus, elimination of the iodide could be a problem but a substitution reaction with ethyl potassium xanthate and a radical reaction using acrylonitrile were tolerated. In addition, we showed that it is possible to selectively use three iodo substituents individually in one of the fused imidazole derivatives.