To a solution of ethyl 4-(4-nitro-2,3-dihydro-1H-indol-3-yl)butanoate from Step B (1.10 g, 3.95 mmol), sodium carbonate (628 mg, 5.93 mmol), and potassium iodide (131 mg, 0.79 mmol) in acetone (10 mL) was added tert-butyl bromoacetate (17.5 mL, 119 mmol). The mixture was heated at reflux for 18 h, then cooled to ambient temperature and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was partitioned between H2O (30 mL) and EtOAc (2×60 mL) and the organic extracts were dried over Na2SO4, filtered, and concentrated in vacuo. The crude product was purified by silica gel chromatography, eluting with a gradient of hexane:EtOAc—90:10 to 65:35, to give the title compound. MS: m/z=393 (M+1).
