A general procedure for the synthesis of amides via the direct condensation of carboxylic acids and amines in the presence of TiCl4 is reported. The amidation reaction was performed in pyridine at 85 °C with a wide range of substrates providing the corresponding amide products in moderate to excellent yields and high purity. The reaction proceeds with low yields when both the carboxylic acid and the amine are sterically hindered. The process takes place with nearly complete preservation of the stereochemical integrity of chiral substrates.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13065-017-0318-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.