Novel Microwave-assisted Synthesis of the Organotellurium Compound Ammonium Trichloro (dioxoethylene-O,O\') Tellurate (AS101)

Over recent years, heating and driving chemical reactions by microwave (MW) energy has been a significant interest in the scientific community, in particular applied to microwave-assisted organic synthesis (MAOS) and drug discovery. Ammonium trichloro[1,2-ethanediolato-O,O\']-tellurate (AS101) is the most important synthetic Te compound from the standpoint of its biological activity. It is a potent immunomodulator with a variety of potential therapeutic applications. Continuing with our studies on MAOS we draw our attention to this compound. The effect of microwave power, synthesis temperature and time on AS101 obtention was examined in this work. An easy, efficient and fast procedure for syntheses of AS101 by MAOS is presented. We believe that the proposed procedure has the potential to evolve to incorporate new processes for obtaining AS101 derivatives, since the optimization of newly discovered lead compounds, relies upon the advancement of synthetic technologies.