Tele-substitution Reactions in the Synthesis of a Promising Class of 1,2,4-Triazolo[4,3-a]pyrazine-Based Antimalarials.

We have discovered and studied a tele-substitution reaction in a biologically important heterocyclic ring system. Conditions that favour the tele-substitution pathway were identified: the use of increased equivalents of the nucleophile or decreased equivalents of base, or the use of softer nucleophiles, less polar solvents and larger halogens on the electrophile. Using results from X-ray crystallographic and isotope labelling experiments, a mechanism for this unusual transformation is proposed. We focused on this triazolopyrazine as it is the core structure of the in vivo active anti-plasmodium compounds of Series 4 of the Open Source Malaria consortium.