A practical synthesis of 5-aroyl-1-aryltetrazoles using an Ugi-like 4-component reaction followed by a biomimetic transamination

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs), followed by subsequent transformations, are fascinating tools for the rapid and effective synthesis of molecular scaffolds with potential pharmacological relevance. We became interested in the preparation of novel 5-aroyl-1-aryltetrazoles as (1) they still represent challenging structures not easily accessible through the methods described in literature, and (2) the -ketotetrazolic framework may be considered as a potential bioisostere of the enonic linker of chalcones. In the present work, a novel, simple, effective and general synthesis for this class of compounds is described.