Solid-phase synthesis of substituted 2-aminomethylbenzimidazoles

Resin-bound 4-fluoro-3-nitrobenzoic acid is converted by reaction with a range of amines and reduction, to substituted 1,2-diaminobenzenes, whose reaction with activated amino acids followed by acid-catalyzed cyclisation gave resin-bound benzimidazoles; Fmoc-deprotection, acylation and TFA-mediated cleavage gave substituted 2-aminomethylbenzimidazoles via a new solid support strategy.