To a solution of (2-pyridin-3-yl-4-trifluoromethyl-thiazol-5-yl)-carbamic acid tert-butyl ester (4.7 g, 13.6 mmol) in DMF (70 mL) at 0° C. was added sodium hydride (NaH, 0.65 g, 16.3 mmol, 60% dispersion in mineral oil) in one portion and the mixture was stirred for 50 min. Iodomethane (0.89 mL, 14.3 mmol) was added in one portion, and after 5 min the reaction mixture was warmed to room temperature and stirred for 5.5 h. Water and ethyl acetate were added, the resulting biphasic mixture was separated and the aqueous layer was extracted one time with ethyl acetate. The combined organic extracts were washed twice with brine, dried over MgSO4, filtered and concentrated to dryness under reduced pressure. The crude product was purified by silica gel column chromatography (0 to 100% ethyl acetate/hexanes) to give the desired product as a clear orange oil (2.72 g, 56%); IR (KBr) 3428, 2981, 1728, 1561 cm−1; 1H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3) δ 9.11 (d, J=2.5 Hz, 1H), 8.72 (dd, J=4.9, 1.1 Hz, 1H), 8.26 (dt, J=8.0, 1.7 Hz, 1H), 7.42 (dd, J=8.0, 4.9 Hz, 1H), 3.28 (s, 3H), 1.45 (s, 9H); ESIMS m/z 360.6 (M+1).
