4-(3-Methyl-1-(4-(4-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl)butoxy)benzoic acid (65 mg, 0.16 mmol), methyl beta-alanine hydrochloride (31 mg, 0.16 mmol), and triethylamine (0.031 mL) were dissolved in dichloromethane (1 mL). 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (34 mg, 0.18 mmol) was added. The solution was stirred at room temperature for 15 minutes, and 1-hydroxy-7-azabenzotriazole (34 mg, 0.25 mmol) was then added. The resulting yellow solution was stirred overnight. After 18 hours, the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate (20 mL) and washed with water (25 mL) and brine (10 mL). The organics were dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated. Purification by column chromatography (0-100% ethyl acetate in heptane) gave (+/−)-methyl 3-(4-(3-methyl-1-(4-(4-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl)butoxy)benzamido)propanoate (70 mg, 90%). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3, δ): 7.84 (s, 1H), 7.67-7.62 (m, 2H), 7.58 (s, 1H), 7.53-7.46 (m, 2H), 7.39-7.34 (m 2H), 6.89-6.84 (m, 2H), 6.72 (t, J=5.9 Hz, 1H), 5.29 (dd, J=8.9, 4.5 Hz, 1H), 3.72-3.65 (m, 5H), 2.63 (m, 2H), 2.03 (m, 1H), 1.95-1.83 (m, 1H), 1.65-1.58 (m, 1H), 1.03 (d, J=6.6 Hz, 3H), 0.99 (d, J=6.3 Hz, 3H). MS (M+1): 504.0.
