Methyl iodide → N-(4-bromophenyl)-N-methylacetamide

Sodium hydride (101.5 mg, 2.33 mmol) (55% in paraffin liquid) was added to a solution of 249 mg (1.16 mmol) of the title compound produced in step (i) of Reference Example 7 in N,N-dimethylformamide (2.5 ml), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 min. Thereafter, methyl iodide was added, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 hr. The reaction was stopped by adding a saturated aqueous sodium hydrogencarbonate solution, and the reaction solution was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with water and saturated brine in that order, was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, and was filtered. The filtrate was concentrated under the reduced pressure, and the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel (hexane:ethyl acetate=2:1) to give 239 mg (yield 90%) of the title compound.