Divergent and regioselective synthesis of 1,2,4- and 1,2,5-trisubstituted imidazoles

The development of a divergent and regioselective synthesis of 1,2,4- and 1,2,5-trisubstituted imidazoles from N-alkylation of 1-(N,N-dimethylsulfamoyl)-5-iodo-2-phenylthio-1H-imidazole is reported. The N-sulfamoyl-1H-imidazole provides a platform to enable the access to 1,2,4- and 1,2,5-trisubstituted imidazoles in a regioselective manner that could be applied to synthesize biologically active compounds.