Regiocontrolled gold-catalyzed [2+2+2] cycloadditions of ynamides with two discrete nitriles to construct 4-aminopyrimidine cores.

Reported herein is the novel gold-catalyzed intermolecular [2+2+2] cycloaddition of ynamides with two discrete nitriles to form monomeric 4-aminopyrimidines, which are pharmaceutically important structural motifs. The utility of this new cycloaddition is demonstrated by the excellent regioselectivity obtained using a variety of ynamides and nitriles.