Indoles, rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric

Davies has further exploiled his previously reporied approach to (he tropanc skeleton related to cocaine based on the rhodium catalyzed decomposition of the vinyidiazomethane 81 in the presence of A/-Boc-pyrroIe (82) <01BMCL487>. Reduction of the non-conjugated double bond followed by A -deprotection and N-alkylation provided substrate 83 which was susceptible to conjugate addition of nucleophiles such as 84 in the presence of CuBr to afford 3-p-aryl tropanes which exhibited potent binding affinity for both the dopamine and serotonin transporters. Additionally, this author described the synthesis of various methyl heteroaryldiazoacetate analogues of 81, (me of which possessed an indole function, for use in catalytic asymmetric cyclopropanations . 

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