A novel synthesis of substituted quinolines using ring-closing metathesis (RCM): its application to the synthesis of key intermediates for anti-malarial agents

A method for synthesizing substituted quinolines using ruthenium-catalyzed ring-closing metathesis as a key step has been developed. Substituted 1,2-dihydroquinolines, 4-silyloxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline and 4-methoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline, were successfully synthesized in excellent yields via ene-ene metathesis and silyl or alkyl enol ether-ene metathesis, respectively. The synthetic intermediates of the antimalarial agents quinine, chloroquine, and PPMP-quinine hybrid were efficiently synthesized by this methodology.