Safe and highly efficient syntheses of triazole drugs using Cu2O nanoparticle in aqueous solutions

Triazole moiety is frequently employed in drug discovery and optimization. However, most syntheses of triazole drugs involve isolation of highly explosive azides. Herein we report safe and high efficient syntheses of triazole drugs in aqueous/organic solvent systems with Cu2O nanoparticle (Cu2O-NP) as the catalyst of azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). Since Cu2O-NP can be efficiently dispensed in aqueous and some organic solvents, the azide solutions from the previous preparation could be used directly in the next CuAAC stage without isolation. Therefore, this synthetic strategy is safe, convenient, and high yielding for the syntheses of triazole drugs.