1-(Chloromethyl)-4-methanesulfonylbenzene → 2,4-Difluoro-5(p-methylsulfonylbenzyl)-5,6,7,8,9,10-hexahydrocyclohept[b]indole-7-acetic acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a cold solution (0° C.) of 3.5 g of acid from Step 2 in 75 mL of tetrahydrofuran was added dropwise 38.7 cc of a solution of KHMDS in toluene (0.684M) and the mixture stirred for 10 minutes. To the resulting cold (0° C.) solution was added dropwise 3.5 g of a solution of p-methylsulfonylbenzyl chloride in 10 mL of tetrahydrofuran. The reaction mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 6 hours. The reaction mixture was diluted with water and washed with Et2O. The aqueous layer was acidified with HCl (1N) and extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with brine, dried over magnesium sulfate and evaporated to dryness. The residue was triturated with a mixture of hexane/ethyl acetate (7:3) and filtered to yield the title product m.p. 200°-202° C.

Provenance & Evidence