Ethyl 4-{4-[4-(dimethoxymethyl)anilino]-1-piperidinyl}benzoate (0.63 g, 01.53 mmol) was added to a pre-prepared mixture of sodium iodide (0.572 g, 3.82 mmol) and trichloro(methyl)silane (0.36 mL, 3.07 mmol) in anhydrous acetonitrile. The reaction was stirred at ambient temperature for 3 minutes. Dichloromethane was added and the reaction washed with 10% sodium thiosulfate solution, water and brine. The organic layer was dried with anhydrous magnesium sulfate, filtered and the solvent partially removed in vacuo. The aldehyde solution was used directly and treated with methanol, tetrahydrofuran, acetic acid (0.091 mL, 1.53 mmol), N-{5-[(1R)-2-amino-1-hydroxyethyl]-2-hydroxyphenyl)methanesulfonamide (0.377 g, 0.1.53 mmol) followed by sodium cyanoborohydride (0.105 g, 1.53 mmol). The reaction was stirred at ambient temperature overnight. The reaction was taken to dryness in vacuo, adsorbed onto silica and purified by flash chromatography on silica gel Merck-60 (eluant: 5:1 chloroform-methanol containing 1% ammonium hydroxide). The hydrochoride salt of the title compound was generated from anhydrous etheral hydrochloric acid in ethyl acetate (0.14 g, 0.221 mmol).
