Process for preparing 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles from N-acylated alpha-amino nitriles

摘要

The invention is a process for preparing an imidazole of formula I which comprises treating an N-acylated alpha-amino nitrile with a phosphine and a carbon tetrahalide of the formula CX4, wherein X is Cl or Br, to form a haloimidazole of the formula wherein R<1 >is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C1-6alkyl, -CH2-aryl, and aryl; and R<2 >is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C1-6alkyl, -CH2-O-aryl and aryl; and X is selected from the group consisting of Cl and Br.