Novel route for the synthesis of structurally diverse pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline in aqueous micellar medium

A high yielding environmentally benign protocol has been developed for the synthesis of pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline using chromone-3-carboxaldehyde, isoquinoline and phenacyl bromide/bromoacetic acid ester as reagents in aqueous micellar medium. The method is operationally simple and more effective compared to the previous methods in terms of the yield of the products as well as the reaction time. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.