A Mild and General Larock Indolization Protocol for the Preparation of Unnatural Tryptophans

Abstract

A mild and general protocol for the Pd(0)-catalyzed heteroannulation of o-bromoanilines and alkynes is described. Application of a Pd(0)/P((t)Bu)3 catalyst system enables the efficient coupling of o-bromoanilines at 60 °C, mitigating deleterious side reactions and enabling access to a broad range of useful unnatural tryptophans. The utility of this new protocol is demonstrated in the highly convergent total synthesis of the bisindole natural product (-)-aspergilazine A.