Microwave-assisted traceless synthesis of thiohydantoin

An efficient, microwave-assisted method for the liquid-phase combinatorial synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted-thiohydantoin has been developed. Fmoc-protected amino acids were coupled with HO-PEG-OH and after deprotection, reacted with various isothiocyanates in microwave cavity. The PEG bound thiourea compounds underwent base mediated cyclization/cleavage step by microwave flash heating. The desired products were then liberated from the soluble matrix in good yield and purity under microwave exposure.