Selective deprotection and amidation of 2-pyridyl esters via N-methylation

The 2-pyridyl residue serves as a protecting group for various carboxylic acids. The protecting group is selectively cleaved under mild conditions via N-methylation of the pyridyl group. During the deprotection process, the various functional groups as well as the other ester moieties remain intact. The N-methylated active esters can be subsequently transformed into amides.