Water → 5-Methoxy[1,3]thiazolo[5,4-b]pyridin-2-amine

In a 500 ml, 3-neck flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, dropping funnel and thermometer, acetic acid (100 mL) was added and cooled in an ice bath. Potassium thiocyanate (40 g, 412 mmol) and 6-methoxypyridin-3-amine (6.2 g, 49.9 mmol) were added to the reaction mixture. The reaction was cooled in an ice-salt bath until the reaction temperature reached <0° C. A solution of bromine (8 mL, 156 mmol) in acetic acid (30.0 mL) was added dropwise over 2 hours at a rate that maintained the reaction temperature <0° C. Mechanical stirring was required. After the addition was complete, the mixture was left to stir and allowed to slowly warm to room temperature overnight. Water (30 mL) was then added and the mixture was heated to 85° C. in an oil bath. This mixture was then filtered while still hot. The orange filter cake was returned to the reaction flask, and an additional 50 ml acetic acid was added. The mixture was heated again to 85° C., and then filtered while still hot once more. The combined filtrates were cooled in an ice bath and neutralized to pH 8 with conc. ammonium hydroxide. A purple precipitate formed which was then collected by filtration to afford 5 g of crude material. This crude material was recrystallized from methanol (40 mL) to yield 5-methoxythiazolo[5,4-b]pyridin-2-amine (3 g, 16.55 mmol, 33.1% yield) as purple crystals. 1H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ ppm 7.60 (1 H, d, J=8.42 Hz), 7.41 (2 H, s), 6.67 (1 H, d, J=8.78 Hz), 3.81 (3 H, s).