A method for regioselective cyanation of heterocycles has been developed. A number of aromatic heterocycles as well as azulene can be cyanated in reasonable to good yields by using a copper cyanide catalyst and an iodine oxidant.The nitrile functional group is found in many pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. 1,2 Sandmeyer and Rosenmund-von Braun reactions are classic methods for the synthesis of aromatic nitriles (scheme 1A). 3 However, both procedures employ a stoichiometric copper(I) cyanide reagent and prefunctionalized starting materials. Cyanation of aryl halides by employing catalytic copper or palladium is also well-known. 4 In contrast, direct cyanation through C-H bond functionalization is more attractive due to use of readily available reactants. 5 Direct cyanation can be achieved by employing an appropriate oxidant in combination with a cyanide source (scheme 1B). 6 Methods for direct cyanation of pyridines, 6b thiophenes,6c,e substituted indoles,6c,e,h pyrroles,6c,e and 2-phenylpyridines6d,f,g have been reported in the literature. However, direct transitionmetal catalyzed cyanation of acidic heterocycles such as azoles, imidazoles, and triazoles has not been described yet.6j,k We report here a method for regioselective, direct cyanation of aromatic heterocycles as well as azulene by employing copper catalysis and an iodine oxidant.Several key issues need to be addressed for achieving a general cyanation procedure. First, high regioselectivity is required for the procedure to be synthetically relevant. High regioselectivity observed in direct arylation 7 and halogenation reactions 8 (scheme 2A) is imparted by the initial deprotonation step. This protocol rules out the use of positive cyanide sources due to their incompatibility with strong bases. Consequently, simple cyanide salts such as NaCN or KCN must be employed. Second, choice of base is important. As described earlier, 7,8 tBuOLi allows for functionalization of a wide range of substrates possessing DMSO pKa's below 35-37. Third, the oxidant has to be compatible with all other reagents. It should not react with the organolithium intermediate producing byproducts that can not be converted to the * olafs@uh.edu.