Recent Advances in the Synthesis and Applications of 2-Arylbenzothiazoles

This review firstly covers the applications of 2-arylbenzothiazoles as amyloid imaging agents, antitumor agents, and organic luminescent materials. Then we review the recent advances in the synthesis of 2-arylbenzothiazole derivatives. On the one hand, we introduce the approaches for construction of the 2-arylbenzothiazole core, including the following categories: (i) classic condensation of 2-aminothiophenols, (ii) direct arylation of benzothiazoles, (iii) intramolecular cyclization of thiobenzanilides, and (iv) tandem cyclization of anilines/ nitroarenes with elemental sulfur or sulfides. On the other hand, the transition-metal-catalyzed direct C-H functionalizations of 2-arylbenzothiazoles are also involved in this review.