A straightforward microwave method for rapid synthesis of N-1, C-6 functionalized 3,5-dichloro-2(1H)-pyrazinones.

A rapid and versatile one-pot, 2 x 10 min microwave protocol for the preparation of N-1 and C-6 decorated 3,5-dichloro-2(1H)-pyrazinones was developed. Comparable reaction sequences using classical conditions require about 1-2 days of heating. The alpha-aminonitrile was first generated in a Strecker reaction and thereafter cyclized under microwave heating. The microwave approach developed offers the possibility of efficiently generating and utilizing functionalized 3-amino-5-chloro-2(1H)-pyrazinone-N-1-carboxylic acids as beta-strand inducing core structures in a medicinal chemistry context. To illustrate the usefulness of the method, the synthesis of two novel 2(1H)-pyrazinone-containing Hepatitis C virus NS3 protease inhibitors is reported.