Aryl radical cyclisation onto pyrroles: a divergent synthesis of spiropyrrolidinyloxindoles and pyrroloquinolines

The regiochemistry of cyclisation of an aryl radical on to a pyrrole is shown to depend on the N-substituent of the pyrrole. Changing this substituent allows the selective synthesis of either the spiropyrrolidinyloxindole or the pyrrolo[3,2-c]quinoline skeleton.