1-[3-(Dimethylamino)propyl]-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (1.71 g), 1-hydoxybenzo-triazole hydrate (1.24 g), and 2-(benzo[1,3]dioxol-5-yloxy)-nicotinic acid were combined and suspended in anhydrous dichloromethane (40 mL). N,N-diisopropylethylamine (5.93 mL) was added to the suspension, which was stirred for 0.5 h. The suspension was added to (4-aminomethyl-phenyl)-acetic acid methyl ester (1.22 g) and the reaction mixture stirred at ambient temperature overnight. Water (approx. 15 mL) was then added to the reaction mixture, and it was extracted with dichloromethane (7×30 mL). The combined organics were dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated in vacuo. The crude product was purified by silica gel chromatography (ethyl acetate:hexanes=3:2) to yield the title compound (1.41 g).
