Microwave-Assisted Rapid One-Pot Synthesis of Fused and Non-Fused Indoles and 5-[ 18 F]Fluoroindoles from Phenylazocarboxylates.

Substituted indoles can be prepared from phenylazocarboxylates through a rapid one-pot sequence featuring a microwave-assisted Fischer indole synthesis as a key step. Considering that the phenylazocarboxylates may beforehand be modified by mild nucleophilic aromatic substitution, including the introduction of [18 F]fluoride, the overall strategy offers an attractive new access to 5-[18 F]fluoroindoles.