We are interested in pyridoyl urea and analogous derivatives as monocyclic models of guanine and pterine.1 A literature search revealed a scarcity of data on these unsubstituted acylurea derivatives and, in particular, a dearth of synthetic work.9a,b We have, therefore, tried a few straightforward synthetic pathways to easily obtain the desired derivatives from simple precursors (Scheme 1). ... The methyl ester gave the most encouraging results; specifically, when reacted with ...
