The synthesis of optically active 2,4,5-substituted 1,3-thiazoles (peptide
thiazoles) is described. Both the chirality and the set of side chain funct
ionality in this fully-substituted scaffold are derived from a combination
of two amino acids and one organometallic reagent. Preliminary results, wit
h two specific examples, highlight the potential of this strategy for the p
reparation of a diverse set of building blocks, (C) 1999 Elsevier Science L
td. All rights reserved.