Effective syntheses of quinoline-7,8-diol, 5-amino-l-DOPA, and 3-(7,8-dihydroxyquinolin-5-yl)-l-alanine

A modification of the Baeyer–Villiger reaction allows the conversion of aromatic 2-hydroxy-3-nitroketones and aldehydes into 3-nitrocatechols, which can be reduced to 3-aminocatechols. Reaction of the latter with acrolein yields quinoline-7,8-diols under exceptionally mild conditions. This new reaction sequence was successfully applied to the synthesis of the title compounds.