Synthesis and stereochemical studies of 6-substituted 1H,3H,6H,7aH-3,3-dimethylimidazo[1,5-c]thiazol-5-one-7-thiones

The reaction of (4S)-5,5-dimethyl-4-thiazolidine-carboxylic acid 1 with alkyl and aryl isothiocyanates 2 gave bicyclic thiohydantoins 3. The (2R,4S)- and (2S,4S)-mixtures of 2-substituted 5,5-dimethyl-4-thiazolidine-carboxylic acids 4 and 8 containing two centers of chirality in the analogous reaction afforded thiohydantoins 7 and 10, respectively, with (1R)-configuration. In some cases we managed to isolate the thioureido acid intermediates 6 and 9 or their triethylamine salts which afforded the corresponding bicycles 7 and 10 under thermal cyclization or acidification. The stereochemistry has been elucidated by high resolution nmr studies, optical rotation measurements and X-ray crystallography.