Synthesis of spirooxindoles via asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition

An efficient method was developed for the asymmetric synthesis of 2'-alkyl-4'aryl-1H-spiro[indole-3,3'-pyrrolidin]-2-ones, which are potential inhibitors of the p53-MDM2 interaction. Our X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed that this 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition proceeds with high stereoselectivity but differently from previously published results. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.