Synthesis of 3,3'-Di-indolylmethanes under mild conditions by Microwave Irradiation Mediated Reactions of Indoles with C, N-Diaryl nitrones

3,3'-Di-indolylmethane derivatives are important biologically active compounds possessing anti-cancer properties. Hence, development of synthetic routes to these are of great interest to organic chemists. In the present communication we report a high-yield method using mild reaction conditions and short reaction times for the synthesis of 3,3'-di-indolylmethane derivatives. The method involved reactions of indole and substituted indoles with C,N-disubstituted nitrones in the presence of acid catalysts, with the utilisation of microwave irradiation techniques. Reactions of indole, 2-methyl indole and 2-phenyl indole were performed with ten different C,N-diaryl- and C-aryl-N-methyl- nitrones in dichloromethane solution in the absence and presence of acid catalysts, viz. ytterbium triflate, p-toluene sulphonic acid and Montmorillonite clay K-10. Reaction times varied between 2 to 18 minutes. In general, yields of the catalysed reactions were above 75%. The products were characterised spectroscopically, including two-dimensional NMR studies. The microwave irradiation technique enhanced reaction rates by a significant amount. Ytterbium triflate proved to be the best catalyst, giving clean reactions, without formation of by-products, in high yields. The structure and conformation of 3,3'-di-indolyl-phenylmethane were computed.

We report a high-yield method using mild reaction conditions and short reaction times for the synthesis of 3,3'-di-indolylmethane derivatives, involving reactions of indole and substituted indoles with C, N-disubstituted nitrones in the presence of acid catalysts using microwave irradiation.