Regioselective N -Trideuteromethylation of Tautomeric Polyaza Heterocycles.

Methods for regioselective N -trideuteromethylation of tautomeric polyaza heterocycles are highly sought-after. Disclosed herein is an N -trideuterated methylation reaction of imidazoles and pyrazoles with high regioselectivity and deuterium purity using easily available CF 3 SO 3 CD 3 as the -CD 3 source. This method enables the easy synthesis of important deuterium-labeled azoles, including dimetridazole- d 3 , ipronidazole- d 3 , hydroxy dimetridazole- d 3 , and ronidazole- d 3 .