Process for preparing 1,2,4-benzotriazine oxides

A method of synthesizing a 1,2,4-benzotriazine oxide having the structure ##STR24## wherein n is 1 and y.sup.1 and Y.sup.2 are independently either H;

• nitro;
• halogen;
• hydrocarbyl (1-14C) including cyclic and unsaturated hydrocarbyl;
• hydrocarbyloxy-hydrocarbyl (1-14C) including cyclic and unsaturated hydrocarbyloxy-hydrocarbyl, if hydrocarbyl or hydrocarbyloxy-hydrocarbyl, either unsubstituted or substituted with 1 or 2 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, hydroxy, epoxy, alkoxy (1-4C), alkylthio (1-4C), primary amino (NH.sub.2), lower alkyl (1-4C) secondly amino, dialkyl (1-4C) tertiary amino, dialkyl (1-4C) tertiary amino where the two alkyls are linked together to produce a morpholino, pyrrolidino or piperidino ring, R'COO--, R'CONH-- and thio analogs thereof, acetylaminoalkyl (1-4C), carboxy, alkoxycarbonyl (1-4C), carbamyl, alkylcarbamyl (1-4C), alkylsulfonyl (1-4C) or alkylphosphonyl (1-4C);
• or wherein Y.sup.1 and Y.sup.2 are independently either morpholino, pyrrolidino, piperidino, NH.sub.2, NHR', NR'R', O(CO)R, NH(CO)R', O(SO)R', or O(POR')R' , and wherein R' is a hydrocarbyl (1-4C) which may be substituted with one or more OH, NH.sub.2, alkyl (1-4C) secondary amino, dialkyl (1-4C) tertiary amino, morpholino, pyrrolidino, piperidino, alkoxy (1-4C), or halogen substituents,
• or a pharmacologically acceptable salt of said compound,
• said method comprising:
• treating a 3-amino-1,2,4-benzotriazine oxide having the structure ##STR25## wherein n, Y.sup.1 and Y.sup.2 are as defined above, with a lower alkyl nitrite under reductive deaminating conditions.