A suspension of sodium hydride (60%-oil suspension, 0.39 g), 3-picolyl-triphenylphosphonium chloride (2.55 g) and N,N-dimethylformamide was stirred for 20 minutes, followed by the addition of 1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-3-formyl-5-(2-quinolylmethoxy)indole (3.0 g). The mixture was stirred for an additional 10 hours and then poured into water-ethyl acetate (50% v/v). The organic layer was separated, washed with brine, dried over magnesium sulfate, and concentrated in vacuo. The resultant crude product was purified by chromatography on silica gel using 50%-ethyl acetate in n-hexanes as eluent to yield 1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-3-(2-(3-pyridyl)ethenyl)-5-(2-quinolylmethoxy)indole (1.0 g), m.p. 169°-171° C.
