AlCl3-Promoted Intramolecular Indolinone-Quinolone Rearrangement of Spiro[indoline-3,2'-quinoxaline]-2,3'-diones: Easy Access to Quinolino[3,4- b]quinoxalin-6-ones

J Org Chem. 2024 Jan 19;89(2):898-917. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c01906. Epub 2023 Dec 27.

Abstract

A facile and direct intramolecular indolinone-quinolone rearrangement was developed for the synthesis of quinolino[3,4-b]quinoxalin-6-ones from spiro[indoline-3,2'-quinoxaline]-2,3'-diones, which are readily available with use of isatines, malononitrile, and 1,2-phenylenediamines under quite mild conditions. This efficient approach provides excellent yields and could potentially be used for the construction of a diverse library of quinolino[3,4-b]quinoxalin-6-ones for high-throughput screening in medicinal chemistry. The reaction mechanism is explored by extensive DFT calculations.