A practical method for preparation of 4-hydroxyquinolinone esters

4-Hydroxyquinolinone esters are a common motif for many medicinal agents. Several methods exist for preparation of these compounds, generally involving the use of sodium hydride, which raises significant safety issues and limits their application to large-scale synthesis. In this note a practical, safe, and general method that employs a combination of diisopropylethylamine and sodium tert-butoxide is described. This allows for the synthesis of 4-hydroxyquinolinone esters and amides in good yields.