Iodine → Methyl 2-(2-(3-bromo-4-fluorophenyl)acetyl)nicotinate

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of magnesium turnings (880 mg, 37 mmol) and 2-bromo-4-(bromomethyl)-1-fluorobenzene (1.0 g, 3.7 mmol) in anhydrous diethyl ether (15 ml) was treated with a piece of iodine. The mixture was then heated to gentle reflux until the color of the mixture disappeared, after which the heating continued for additional hour. The suspension was cooled to room temperature, and cannulated into a solution of dimethylpyridine-2,3-dicarboxylate (1.0 g, 5.1 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (50 ml) at −78° C. The reaction mixture was maintained at the same temperature for 30 minutes, and was quenched with addition of water. After warming up to room temperature, the reaction mixture was partitioned between ethyl acetate and brine. The organic phase was washed with brine and concentrated. The residue was purified by flash chromatography (15% ethyl acetate in hexane) to provide the title compound. MS (DCI/NH3) m/z 353 (M+H)+.

Provenance & Evidence