Chiral Brønsted acid-catalyzed Friedel–Crafts reaction of 3-indolylsulfamidates with indoles: Synthesis of enantioenriched bisindolylmethane sulfamates

A Brønsted acid-catalyzed asymmetric Friedel–Crafts alkylation of 3-indolylsulfamidates with indoles has been established toward the efficient synthesis of biologically important bisindolylarylmethane derivatives containing the phenylsulfamate group. The reaction using chiral BINOL-derived phosphoric acid as the catalyst was tolerant to a diverse range of 3-indolylsulfamates and indoles, and provided for the first time bisindolylarylmethane sulfamate derivatives in good yields and with moderate to high enantioselectivities (up to 89% yield, 94:6 er). Moreover, some of these novel compounds were evaluated for their biological activities and confirmed to show bioactivity for preventing peripheral nerve degeneration.