A mixture of ethyl 2-bromopropionate (1.12 g), 4-[N-(1-chloro-7-fluoroisoquinolin-3-yl)-N-methylamino]phenol (1.70 g), anhydrous potassium carbonate (0.86 g) and methyl ethyl ketone (20 ml) was heated under reflux for a period of 3 hours. The mixture was cooled, diluted with dichloromethane, washed with water and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was removed by distillation under reduced pressure to give an oil which was purified by column chromatography over silica gel (eluant dichloromethane) to give ethyl 2-{4-[N-(1-chloro-7-fluoroisoquinolin-3-yl)-N-methylamino]phenoxy}propionate (2.00 g) as a yellow oil. The assigned structure was confirmed by proton magnetic spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Proton magnetic resonance spectrum (CDCl3 ; δ in ppm): 1.29 (3H, t); 1.65 (3H, d); 3.47 (3H, s); 4.27 (2H, q); 4.75 (1H, q); 6.47 (1H, s) 6.85-7.20 (6H, m); 7.30 (1H, d).
