One-pot synthesis of 2,1-benzisoxazoles (anthranils) by a stannous chloride-mediated tandem reduction-heterocyclization of 2-nitroacylbenzenes under neutral conditions

Classically, 2,1-benzisoxazoles (anthranils) are prepared from 2-nitroacylbenzenes by a reductive heterocyclization reaction with Sn or SnCl₂ concentrated HCl. Acid sensitive functionalities are expected to be incompatible with these conditions; milder approaches to the synthesis of 2,1-benzisoxazoles would be welcomed. We demonstrate that SnCl₂·2H₂O in a 1:1 mixture of EtOAc/MeOH is capable of mediating the tandem reduction-heterocyclization of a variety of 2-nitroacylbenzenes to their corresponding 2,1-benzisoxazoles in good to excellent yields under essentially neutral conditions. Importantly, several commonly used acid-labile protecting groups, including Boc carbamate, tert-butyl ether, and tert-butyl ester, proved orthogonal to these reaction conditions.