2-pyridin-4-yl-1-[4-(quinolin-2-ylmethoxy)-phenyl]-ethanone (200 mg) was heated at reflux in dimethoxymethyl-dimethyl amine (1 ml) for 1 h and concentrated. The crude reaction mixture was dissolved in ethanol (3 ml) and formamidine hydrochloride (90 mg, 2 eq.) was added. In a separate flask sodium (40 mg) was added to ethanol 3 ml and stirred 10 min. The sodium ethoxide solution was added to the reaction mixture and was heated at reflux for 1 h. The reaction mixture was concentrated and purified via Biotage MPLC chromatography on a 25S column eluting with 40-100% ethyl acetate/hexane to provide the title compound (83 mg, 38%). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ 8.53(m, 3 H), 8.14 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 1H), 8.03 (d, J=8.3 Hz, 1H), 7.79 (d, J=7.9 Hz, 1 H), 7.70 (m, 1 H), 7.58 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 1H), 7.50 (m, 1H), 7.33 (d, J=9.1 Hz, 2H) 7.10 (d, J=6.2, 2H), 6.91(d, J=9.1 Hz, 2H), 5.34 (s, 2H) 2.77 (s, 3H); MS: (M+H m/z=391.2).
