One-pot synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted 1,2,4-oxadiazoles from carboxylic acids and nitriles was optimized to parallel chemistry. The method was validated on a 141 member library; the desired products were recovered with a high success rate and in moderate yields. Practical application of the approach was demonstrated in the synthesis of bioactive compound pifexole and agonists of free fatty acid receptor 1. A library of 4 948 100 synthesizable drug-like 3,5-disubstituted 1,2,4-oxadiazoles was enumerated based on the method and available validated reagents.
Keywords: 1,2,4-oxadiazoles; carboxylic acids; nitriles; one-pot parallel synthesis; readily accessible (REAL) arrays.