Opening ortho acid synthesis

The Friedlander reaction is the acid- or base-catalyzed condensation of an ortho-acylaniline with an enolizable aldehyde or ketone. Henichart and coworkers have described microwave-assisted Friedlander reactions for the synthesis of indoli-zino[l,2-b]quinolincs, which constitute the heterocyclic core of camptothecin-type antitumor agents (Scheme 6.238) [421], The process involved the condensation of ortho-aminobenzaldehydcs (or imines) with tetrahydroindolizinediones to form the quinoline structures. Employing 1.25 equivalents of the aldehyde or imine component in acetic acid as solvent provided the desired target compounds in 57-91% yield within 15 min. These transformations were carried out under open-vessel conditions at the reflux temperature of the acetic acid solvent. 

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