Potential Antitumor Agents, VII. 5‐Substituted 6‐Phenylimidazo[2,1‐ b ]thiazoles

The Vilsmeier reaction for the synthesis of the 5‐formylimidazo[2,1‐ b ]thiazoles 7–12 bearing a p ‐substituted phenyl ring in position 6 is reported. These compounds were used for the synthesis of the thiosemicarbazones 7a‐12a , tosylhydrazones 7b‐12b and 5‐hydroxymethyl derivatives 13–18 which, in turn, were used as starting materials for preparing the methylcarbamic 13a‐18a , ethylcarbamic 13b‐18b and acetic esters 13c‐18c . Preliminary results in the P‐388 leukemia test are reported.