In the context of a research program aimed at elucidating the properties of the 5H-imidazo [2, 1-c][1, 4] benzodiazepine system, a series of 11-aryl-5H-imidazo [2, 1-c][1, 4] benzodiazepines (3a–i) and their 10, 11-dihydro-derivatives (4a–i) has been synthesized. The synthetic strategy includes the preparation of the aryl-[1-(2-nitrobenzyl)-1H-imidazol-2- yl] methanones (5a–i) followed by their reduction and subsequent cyclization. Affinities of ...