A mixture of 6-(5-phenyl-1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-2-naphthol (0.300 g, 1.05 mmol), prepared in the previous step, 3-phenyl-2-trifluoromethanesulfonyloxypropionic acid methyl ester (0.492 g, 1.58 mmol) and cesium carbonate (0.685 g, 2.10 mmol) in acetone (50 mL) was stirred under nitrogen at ambient temperature overnight. The acetone was removed under reduced pressure and the residue partitioned between EtOAc and water. The layers were separated and the aqueous layer was extracted two times with EtOAc. The combined extracts were dried (MgSO4), filtered and the solvent removed under reduced pressure. Purification on a Biotage FlashElute™ system with a KP-Sil Flash 40L column (120 g Silica Gel, 60 Å) using 25% to 60% methylene chloride in hexane as the eluent gave methyl 3-phenyl-2-{[6-(5-phenyl-1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-2-naphthyl]oxy}propanoate as a grayish solid (0.447 g, 95%), mp 140–141° C. Elemental Analysis for C30H25NO3 Calc'd: C, 80.51; H, 5.63; N, 3.13. Found: C, 80.26; H, 5.70; N, 2.94.
