Chemoselective reduction of a lactam carbonyl group in the presence of a gem-dicarboxylate by sodium borohydride and iodine: a facile entry to N-aryl trisubstituted pyrroles

Several N-aryl γ-lactam gem dicarboxylates were chemoselectively reduced to cyclic amine diesters by using sodium borohydride–iodine system. The reduction in all cases was completed within 2.5 h after refluxing in THF. The cyclic amine products were isolated after aqueous (acidic) workup in good yields. Hydrolytic decarboxylation followed by dehydrogenation produced N-aryl carboethoxy pyrroles.