Spiroannulation of Oxindoles via Aryne and Alkyne Incorporation: Substituent-Diverted, Transition-Metal-Free, One-Pot Access to Spirooxindoles

A “product
control via substrate design” strategy
has been conceptualized and implemented to harness the potential of
aryne and activated alkyne insertions into oxindoles to readily and
efficiently furnish pharmacophoric indano- and cyclopentannulated
spirooxindole scaffolds in an operationally straightforward, one-pot,
transition-metal-free protocol.