Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, and computational studies of 2-cyano-6-hydroxybenzothiazole: A key synthetic intermediate of firefly luciferin

Firefly luciferin is widely applied as a biotechnological tool for visualizing various biological processes in vitro and in vivo. Chemically, 2-cyano-6-hydroxybenzothiazole, as a key synthetic intermediate of firefly luciferin, is obtained from 2-cyano-6-methoxybenzothiazole by changing the methoxy with a hydroxy group. However, this approach is costly and not suited for large-scale synthesis. Here we report cost-effective and efficient syntheses of 2-cyano-6- hydroxybenzothiazole through the catalytic Sandmeyer-type cyanation reaction. Our approach employs diazonium tetrafluoroborate salt of 2-amino-6-hydroxybenzothiazole as a cyanation substrate.