No abstract

Here we present a quadruple functionalization approach for the modular construction of fully substituted N 1 -aryl 3-di/trifluoro-methyl-4/5-cyanopyrazole pharmacophores from readily available hydrazonyl chlorides and dicyanoalkenes. The realization of this [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction hinges upon the employment of N-aryl di/ trifluoromethyl nitrile imines as the 1,3-dipoles to bypass external synthetic steps and dicyanoalkenes as the dipolarophiles to tune the regioselectivity. This one-pot strategy offers access to a divergent library of cyano analogues of prevalent 3-di/trifluoromethyl pyrazole pharmacophores, among which several compounds have shown potent inhibitory activity towards cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) compared with marketed drug Celecoxib.