Spiro-pyrrolidinyl-2-oxindoles were prepared by the oxidative rearrangement of Na-acetyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carbolines (THBC) using dimethyldioxirane generated in situ. The Na-acetyl THBC substrates were obtained by Pictet-Spengler and acyl-Pictet-Spengler reactions of L-tryptophan methyl ester, followed by Na-acetylation. The stereoselectivity of the oxidative rearrangement was evaluated and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used to determine the stereochemistry of the oxindole products relative to L-tryptophan. Density functional theory calculations were consistent with a face selective, substrate controlled, epoxidation of the indolic double bond. The calculations indicated that the resulting epoxide would readily rearrange at room temperature via a concerted ring opening/ring contraction process to give the 3-substituted-2-oxindole.

The phenanthridinone heterocyclic system has attracted considerable attention in recent years due to the diverse array of physical, chemical and pharmacological properties demonstrated by natural and synthetic derivatives. As a consequence there has been considerable development of synthetic methodology for the synthesis of this and related heterocyclic ring systems. The synthetic literature is discussed and is compared with a direct arylation methodology for the intramolecular cyclization of tertiary (2-iodo)benzoylamides to generate the biaryl bond of these compounds. The efficient methodology allowed the synthesis of a number of previously unknown phenanthridinone products. The photoluminescent properties of representative examples were characterized and it is proposed that the previously unknown compound 1s reveals dual fluorescence in a manner similar to the known compound 1r.

Both primary and secondary amines react with 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene to give derivatives of 1-alkylamino-2,4-dinitrobenzene. These compounds are important intermediates for the synthesis of a diverse range of products. The methodology reported in the present study involves either the room temperature reaction or heating at 70 °C in ethanol in the presence of triethylamine. This transformation occurs via a nucleophilic substitution reaction. The 1-alkylamino-2,4-dinitrobenzene derivatives were obtained in greater than 90% purified yield. The selective reduction of dinitro compounds is an important synthetic strategy for the synthesis of intermediates for dyes, pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. The use of SnCl2 as a suspension in EtOAc is a promising method for the regio- and chemo-selective reduction of 1-alkylamino-2,4-dinitrobenzenes to 1-alkylamino-2-amino-4-nitrobenzenes. These products are useful intermediates in organic synthesis.

Convolutamydine A is a member of a family of oxindole alkaloids isolated from the Floridian marine bryozan Amathia convoluta in 8.6x10-6 % yield. This compound is interesting as it has been described in the literature to have significant pharmacological activity. When bioactive substances are isolated in low yields, such as in the case of convolutamydine A, the use of synthetic organic chemistry to prepare larger quantities of these substances is necessary. This paper describes the isolation, structural characterization and synthesis of convolutamydine A, using readily available reagents and reaction conditions that may be applied in any organic chemistry undergraduate laboratory course.

Isatinas (1H-indol-2,3-diona) são compostos de grande versatilidade sintética, podendo ser utilizados na obtenção de diversos sistemas heterociclos, como derivados indólicos e quinolínicos, o que as tornam importantes matérias-primas na síntese de fármacos. Isatinas também têm sido detectadas em tecidos de mamíferos, o que tem despertado o interesse em seu estudo como moduladores em diversos processos bioquímicos. Os avanços na aplicação de isatinas em síntese orgânica, bem como na compreensão de seus efeitos biológicos e farmacológicos nos últimos vinte e cinco anos encontram-se relatados nesta revisão e seus respectivos materiais suplementares.

Isatins (1H-indole-2,3-dione) are synthetically versatile substrates, where they can be used for the synthesis of a large variety of heterocyclic compounds, such as indoles and quinolines, and as raw material for drug synthesis. Isatins have also been found in mammalian tissue and their function as a modulator of biochemical processes has been the subject of several discussions. The advances in the use of isatins for organic synthesis during the last twenty-five years, as well as a survey of its biological and pharmacological properties are reported in this review and in the accompanying supplementary information.

Derivados halogenados de N-benzilisatinas ciclizaram facilmente, com eliminação de haletos de hidrogênio, numa reação de síntese de biarilas sob catálise por paládio, na ausência de ligantes fosfinas, levando às oxopirrolo[3,2,1-de]fenantridinas correspondentes.

N-Benzylisatin derivatives have been found to readily undergo cyclisation via hydrogen halide elimination in a biaryl synthesis reaction when using palladium catalysts, in the absence of phosphine ligands, to yield oxopyrrolo[3,2,1-de]phenanthridine derivatives.