To a solution of 1H-imidazole-4-acetic acid methyl ester hydrochloride (24.85 g, 0.141 mol) in dimethyl formamide (DMF) (115 ml) was added triethylamine (57.2 ml, 0.412 mol) and triphenylmethyl bromide(55.3 g, 0.171 mol) and the suspension was stirred for 24 hr. After this time, the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate (EtOAc) (1 l) and water (350 ml). The organic phase was washed with sat. aq. NaHCO3 (350 ml), dried (Na2SO4) and evaporated in vacuo. The residue was purified by flash chromatography (SiO2, 0-100% ethyl acetate in hexanes; gradient elution) to provide the title compound as a white solid.
