Synthesis of spiro[indoline‐3,3′‐pyrrolizines] by 1,3‐dipolar reactions between isatins,l‐proline and electron‐deficient alkenes

Two spiroindoline‐3,3′‐pyrrolizine] derivatives have been synthesized in good yield with high regio‐ and stereospecificity using one‐pot reactions between readily available starting materials, namely l ‐proline, substituted 1H‐indole‐2,3‐diones and electron‐deficient alkenes. The products have been fully characterized by elemental analysis, IR and NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and crystal structure analysis. In (1′RS ,2′RS ,3SR ,7a′SR )‐2′‐benzoyl‐1‐hexyl‐2‐oxo‐1′,2′,5′,6′,7′,7a′‐hexahydrospiroindoline‐3,3′‐pyrrolizine]‐1′‐carboxylic acid, C₂₈H₃₂N₂O₄, (I), the unsubstituted pyrrole ring and the reduced spiro‐fused pyrrole ring adopt half‐chair and envelope conformations, respectively, while in (1′RS ,2′RS ,3SR ,7a′SR )‐1′,2′‐bis(4‐chlorobenzoyl)‐5,7‐dichloro‐2‐oxo‐1′,2′,5′,6′,7′,7a′‐hexahydrospiroindoline‐3,3′‐pyrrolizine], which crystallizes as a partial dichloromethane solvate, C₂₈H₂₀Cl₄N₂O₃·0.981CH₂Cl₂, (II), where the solvent component is disordered over three sets of atomic sites, these two rings adopt envelope and half‐chair conformations, respectively. Molecules of (I) are linked by an O—H…·O hydrogen bond to form cyclic R ₆⁶(48) hexamers of (S ₆) symmetry, which are further linked by two C—H…O hydrogen bonds to form a three‐dimensional framework structure. In compound (II), inversion‐related pairs of N—H…O hydrogen bonds link the spiroindoline‐3,3′‐pyrrolizine] molecules into simple R ₂²(8) dimers.