diazomethane gave the N-3 methyl derivative (6) and a mixture of the N-3, O-dimethyl derivative (9), the N-1, N-3-dimethyl derivative (10) and the O-methyl derivative (11), respectively. 5-Carbamoyl-1-methylimidazolium-4-olate (7) and its 4-carbamoyl isomer (16) were prepared from 2-aminopropanediamides 8 and 15, respectively. Treatment of the imidazolium compound (10) with aqueous potassium hydroxide