Here we report the synthesis of a novel reagent designed to prepare 2-amino-5-nitrothiazole (ANT) amides and analogues in high yields. N-(Trimethylsilyl)-2-amino-5-nitrothiazole (N-(TMS)-ANT) was prepared in 99% yield via silylation of ANT using 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS), trimethylsilyl chloride (TMSCl), and catalytic saccharin. N-(TMS)-ANT is a superb reagent for the preparation of ANT amides in excellent yields. Notably, cyclic anhydrides and base-sensitive acyl chlorides can be utilized with N-(TMS)-ANT to furnish ANT amides that are difficult to prepare by previously reported procedures.
