“…Methyl l -methyl-4nitroimidazole-karboxylate (XVIIIb) was the only reported product of methylation of the silver salt of VI (32,33); the nitro styryl derivative (IV), like VII, gave a mixture of N-methyl isomers (32), and alkylation of the sodium salts of IV and its 2-methyl derivative gave mixtures of isomers (15). Ikehara et al (47) isolated XVIIIa tribenzoate as the main product of glycosidation of the chloromercury derivative of VI with 2,3,5-tri-O-benzoylribofuranosyl chloride and, in contrast, 4-methyl-5-nitro-l-P-~-ribofuranosy~imidazole tribenzoate as the main product (44%) of glycosidation of 4-methyl-5-nitroimidazole (111). These results suggest either that the position of attack varies with the type of nitroimidazole substrate, the alkylating agent, and the conditions or that the methods of isolation or detection sometimes failed to reveal a second isomer.…”