Synthesis of 1,3-oxazoles via Van Leusen reaction in a pressure reactor and preliminary studies of cations recognition

Six 1,3-oxazoles were synthetized in moderate to good yields by Van Leusen reaction in a pressure reactor. The methodology allowed to decrease the reaction times reported in the literature from hours to 20 minutes. In addition, preliminary qualitative recognition of cations with some synthetized oxazoles such as Hg²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn^2+, Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺ was done and a “turn off” effect was observed with Ni²⁺. Finally, the 1,3-oxazoles could be of biological relevance because they are considered privileged nucleus in medicinal chemistry and therefore will be useful to obtain pharmacophoric hybrid molecules.