SYNTHETIC ENTRIES TO 6-FLUORO-7-SUBSTITUTED INDOLE-DERIVATIVES

Three practical synthetic entries of functionalized 6-fluoro-7-substituted indole derivatives were developed in connection with the preparation of 7-fluoro-8-substituted-1,3,4,9-tetrahydropyrano[3,4-b]indole-1-acetic acid derivatives 11. The first route, which permits group modification about position 8 of the pyranoindole skeleton, employs 2-bromo-3-fluoroaniline (18) as a key intermediate, the preparation of which was achieved by either a novel ortho metalation of 15 or via the intermediacy of 22. The second route utilizes 32 to append a terminally functionalized three carbon side chain onto the indole template and in addition leads to 43 from 40. The third route to the 7-fluoro-8-substituted-pyranoindole skeleton complements route two in that the synthetic pathway exploits 32 in a nucleophilic fashion to construct a terminally functionalized two carbon appendage onto the indole nucleus.