Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of 2-Methyl-1H-indole-3-carboxylate Derivatives via Pd-Catalyzed Heterocyclization

Indole moiety is well-known as a superlative framework in many natural products and synthetic pharmaceuticals. Herein, we report an efficient procedure to synthesize a series of functionalized 2-methyl-1H-indole-3-carboxylate derivatives from commercially available anilines properly functionalized by different electron-withdrawing and -donating groups through a palladiumcatalyzed intramolecular oxidative coupling. The conversion of a variety of enamines into the relevant indole was optimized by exposing the neat mixture of reactants to microwave irradiation, obtaining the desired products in excellent yields and high regioselectivity. The synthesized compounds were confirmed by 1H and 13C spectroscopic means as well as by high-resolution mass spectrometry

Enantioselective desymmetrization of cis-3,5- O-arylidenecyclohexanones catalyzed by Cinchona derived quaternary ammonium salts

An enantioselective protocol for the desymmetrization of cis-3,5-O-arylidenecyclohexanones has been developed that proceeded under the catalysis of readily available and inexpensive Cinchona-derived quaternary ammonium salts. The synthetic relevance of the methodology was exemplified by the synthesis of a key intermediate that could be used in the preparation of the active pharmaceutical ingredient, paricalcitol (Zemplar)