A mixture of 7-iodo-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindole-1-one (0.087 g, 0.25 mmol), Pd(PPh3)4 (0.031 g, 0.025 mmol), sodium cyanide (0.028 g, 0.6 mmol), and CuI (0.006 g, 0.025 mmol) in acetonitrile (4 mL) was stirred at 80° C. for 18 h. Workup and silica gel column chromatography using 2:1 hexanes-ethyl acetate (typically 2:1 hexane-EtOAc) afforded 2-benzyl-1-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindole-7-carbonitrile (0.042 g, 68%). 1H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3): δ (ppm) 4.32 (s, 2H), 4.82 (s, 2H), 7.33 (m, 5H), 7.61 (d, 2H), 7.78 (t, 1H).
