Synthesis of spirooxindoles via asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition

An efficient method was developed for the asymmetric synthesis of 2′-alkyl-4′aryl-1H-spiro[indole-3,3′-pyrrolidin]-2-ones, which are potential inhibitors of the p53–MDM2 interaction. Our X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed that this 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition proceeds with high stereoselectivity but differently from previously published results.