A method for total synthesis of thiangazole (1), a tris-thiazoline-oxazole metabolite, is described. The key intermediate 9, a linear tetrapeptide amide composed of three S-benzyl-2-methylcysteine residues and a O-benzyl-threonine amide, was synthesized in 4 steps using 2-chloro-1,3-dimethyl-imidazolidium hexafluorophosphate(CIP)mediated activation. The successive thiazoline/oxazole rings were constructed by TiCl4- mediated cyclodehydration followed by acid-catalyzed Robinson-Gabriel reaction without difficulty. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.