Synthesis of 2-Alkoxy/Thioalkoxy Benzo[d]imidazoles and 2-Thione Benzo[d]imidazoles via a Phase-Based, Chemoselective Reaction.

2-Alkoxy/thioalkoxy benzo-[d]-imidazole and 2-thione benzo-[d]-imidazole libraries were constructed in solution phase and on solid phase, respectively. The key step in this work is the phase-based chemoselective reaction of the 2-mercaptobenzo-[d]-imidazole intermediate with benzyl chloride (solution phase) and Merrifield resin (solid phase). In the solution-phase case, benzyl chloride reacted with the thiol group of 2-mercaptobenzo-[d]-imidazole, whereas in the solid-phase case, Merrifield resin was introduced at an internal amine group of benzo-[d]-imidazole. To afford the desired 2-alkoxy/thioalkoxy benzo-[d]-imidazole analogues, we used various alkyl halides, alcohols, and thiols in solution phase, and to obtain 2-thione benzo-[d]-imidazole derivatives on solid phase, we used diverse alkyl halides and boronic acids. Finally, to measure the drug potential to be orally active and the molecular diversity in three-dimensional (3D) space, we calculated physicochemical properties and displayed energy-minimized 3D structures. As a result, the libraries from solution phase and solid phase show distinct features in physicochemical properties and skeletal diversities in 3D space.