To a mixture of zinc powder (154 mg, 2.351 mmol), anhydrous pyridine (5 mL) and methyl acrylate (0.212 ml, 2.351 mmol) at 50° C. was added NiCl2.6H2O (56 mg, 0.235 mmol). The resulting mixture was warmed to 75° C. and stirred for 2 h until its green color turned to reddish brown. After cooling to 0° C., a solution of 5-(4-(iodomethyl)-2-oxabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-1-yl)-2-methyl-4-phenylthiazole (100 mg, 0.235 mmol) in anhydrous pyridine (3 mL) was added and the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 h at room temperature. The mixture was diluted with EtOAc (10 mL) and the resulting precipitate was filtered off through a pad of CELITE®. The filtrate was washed with 1 N aqueous HCl and brine, dried (Na2SO4), and concentrated in vacuo to afford the title compound (77 mg, 85% yield) as a clear oil. LCMS, [M+H]+=386.0. 1H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl3) δ 7.46-7.40 (m, 2H), 7.40-7.32 (m, 3H), 3.72 (s, 2H), 3.65 (s, 3H), 2.64 (s, 3H), 2.24 (t, J=7.4 Hz, 2H), 2.07-1.97 (m, 2H), 1.87-1.77 (m, 2H), 1.57-1.45 (m, 6H), 1.12-1.02 (m, 2H).
