Synthesis of representative 10-aryl-, 10-aralkyl- and 10-heteraryl-9H-naphtho[1′,2′:4,5]thiazolo[3,2-b]- [1,2,4]triazin-9-ones as potential anti-HIV agents†

To prepare the title compounds, cyclocondensation of 1-amino-2-iminonaphtho[1,2-d]thiazole (2) with some representative glyoxylic acid derivatives was investigated. Heating 2 with methyl phenylglyoxylate (3a) in methanol afforded only the open chain intermediates 4a,b. However, when this reaction was performed in re-fluxing glacial acetic acid, the expected compound, 10-phenyl-9H-naphtho[1′,2′:4,5]thiazolo[3,2-b][1,2,4]- triazin-9-one (5a) was produced in 27% yield. Similar treatment of 2 with benzyl-, 2-furyl- and 2-thienylgly-oxylic acids 3b-d gave the corresponding 10-benzyl-, 10-(2-furyl)- and 10-(2-thienyl)-9H-naphtho[1′,2′:4,5]thi-azolo[3,2-b][1,2,4]triazin-9-ones 5b-d in 48–67% yields. As by-products, 9-benzoyl- and 9-(2-thenoyl)naphtho-[1′,2′:4,5]thiazolo[3,2-b][1,2,4]triazoles 6a,d were also isolated. Compound 5a was selected for in vitro anti-HIV evaluation but found to be inactive.