carbocations formed in this manner are trapped by a pendant carboxylic acid to form a lactone. Indole-3-butyric acids are especially good substrates for the reaction. The lactonization functions well with catalytic amounts of DDQ combined with MnO2 as the stoichiometric oxidant. This cyclization proceeds with a number of indole-3-butyric acids, and yields were generally good as long as the indole was electron
We describe asymmetric intramolecular Friedel-Crafts alkylations with a DNA-based hybrid catalyst and propose a plausible binding model. This study shows promise for studying relationships between the helical chirality of DNA and enantioselectivity of the chemical reaction.