Cornforth Rearrangement

J. W. Cornforth, The Chemistry of Penicillin (Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1949) p 700.

Thermal rearrangement of 4-carbonyl substituted oxazoles to their isomeric oxazoles via the postulated dicarbonyl nitrile ylides:

Mechanistic study: M. J. S. Dewar, I. J. Turchi, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 96, 6148 (1974). Scope and limitations: eidem, J. Org. Chem. 40, 1521 (1975). Extension to the synthesis of 5-aminothiazoles: S. L. Corrao et al., ibid. 55, 4484 (1990). Synthetic application: G. L'abbé et al., J. Chem. Soc. Perkin Trans. I 1993, 2259.