Les 4-, 5-, 6-et 7-amino-2-metliylbe1izothiazoles (1) furent transformes en sulfochlorures correspondants 2. Par hydrolyse ceux-ci fournissent les acides sulfoniques 3 et par arnmonolyse les sulfonamides 4 (SchCma I). Un mode de preparation d u 2-m6thyl-7-nitrobenzothiazole ne laissant plus aucun doute quant a la structure du produit obtenu fut elabore (Schema VI). Enfin, les auteurs decrivent la synthbse d e colorants polymethiniques en partant des bases mentionntes et de plusieurs d e leurs derives et Btudient I'effet des substituants sur les proprietes optiques.The isomeric 4-, 5-, 6-and 7-amino-2-metliylbenzothiazoles (1) were converted into the corresponding sulfochlorides 2, which afforded the sulfonic acids 3 on hydrolysis and the sulfonamides 4 on ammonolysis (Chart I). An unequivocal synthesis of 2-methyl-7-nitrobenzothiazole has been elaborated (Chart VI). The heterocyclic bases mentioned and some derivatives were used in the synthesis of spectral sensitizing dyes. The influence of the substituents on the spectral properties of the dyes is investigated.Carbocyanines containing a benzothiazole nucleus substituted a t the 6-position with a sulfo or a sulfamyl group have been reported by Kiprianov and Ushenko [2].The benzothiazoles required as intermediates were obtained by chlorosulfonating 2-methylbenzothiazole and treating the sulfochloride 2 with water or ammonia (Chart 11). On repeating their experiments we obtained in fact a sulfochloride with the m.p. (68") reported. However, in contradiction with the statements of Kiprianov and Ushenko, this product appeared to be not homogeneous, since repeated recrystallisations from hexane raised the m.p. up to 103". Furthermore, conversion of the sulfochloride with m.p. 68" with ammonia resulted in a mixture of sulfonamides (m.p. 184", lit.[2]: I84-185"), which we were able to separate into three isomers with m.p. 214", 245" and 228" respectively. The isomer with m.p. 214" proved to be identical with the sulfonarnide obtained in the sanie way, but starting from the sulfochloride of m.p. 103".These results clearly indicate that the 2-methyl-6-chlorosulfonyl-(2c), 6-sulfo-(3c) and 6-sulfamylbenzothiazole (4c) obtained by Kiprianov and Ushenko were not free from isomers; moreover, the problem remains of determining the position of the substituents in the various isomers.In the course of an investigation of sensitising dyes bearing sulfonamido groups on different positions, we attempted to achieve the synthesis of pure 2, 3 and 4 in a * The contents ofthis paper are the subject of patent applications