An expeditious approach to a variety of dimeric 2-oxindoles with a C-3/C-5′ linkage sharing an all-carbon quaternary center at the pseudobenzylic position has been developed
A simple procedure for the synthesis of 3-allyl-3-hydroxyoxindoles from isatins in PEG-400 using organoindium reagents generated in situ is described. A variety of isatins reactede with allyl bromides to give the target products with excellent yields in mild conditions.