Synthetic studies about strychnopivotine: synthesis of the bridged azatricyclic fragment

Pd(0)-promoted coupling of an amino-tethered vinyl iodide and ketone enolate is the key step to synthesize the CDE ring system of the indole alkaloid strychnopivotine. Attempts to induce the same process in a compound bearing an o-nitrophenyl group as a latent indole moiety failed.