Substituted imidazoles and purine bioisosteres have been widely studied in the literature. We endeavored to combine these heterocyclic core structures into precursors, especially 7- azaindoles, of previously unknown pharmacologically relevant lead structures. A highly flexible synthetic procedure was developed, derived from investigations of the influence of the substrates, solvents, ligand systems, and side reactions.
[Leboho, Tlabo C.; Van Vuuren, Sandy F.; Michael, Joseph P.; De Koning, Charles B. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 2014 , vol. 12, # 2 p. 307 - 315]