A mixture of 3-[3-iodopropyl]-5-nitro-1H-indole (1.4 g, 4.2 mmol), 1-(3-methoxy-4-pyridinyl)-piperazine (0.98 g, 5.09 mmol) and K2CO3 (1.4 g, 10.2 mmol) in 30 mL of acetonitrile was heated to reflux for 4 h. The reaction mixture was cooled and stirred for 12 h. The solvent was removed and the residue dissolved in ethyl acetate and water. The aqueous layer was separated and extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic extracts were dried (MgSO4) and concentrated, and the gummy residue was purified by flash silica gel chromatography (5% methanol in dichloromethane as eluant) to give 3-[3-[4-(3-methoxy-4-pyridinyl)-1-piperazinyl]propyl]-5-nitro-1H-indole, (0.6 g, 36%) as a yellow solid: IR (KBr) 3600, 2400, 1600, 1520, 1330, 1250, 815 cm-1 ; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6, 300 MHz) δ8.52 (d, J=2.2 Hz, 1H), 8.10 (s, 1H), 8.02 (d, J=5.3 Hz, 1H), 7.96 (dd, J=2.3, 9.0 Hz, 1H), 7.48. (d, J=9.0 Hz, 1H), 7.42 (s, 1H), 6.81 (d, J=5.4 Hz, 1H), 3.84 (s, 3H), 3.21 (br s, 4H), 3.07 (dd, J=6.4, 14.7 Hz, 2H), 2.79 (t, J=14.7 Hz, 2H), 2.66 (br s, 4H), 1.97 (m, 2H); MS (m/e) 395 (M+).
