Intramolecular Schmidt reaction of acyl chlorides with alkyl azides: rapid access to fused polycyclic nitrogen-containing heterocycles via a multistep one-pot transformation.

The first intramolecular Schmidt reaction of acyl chlorides with alkyl azides has been developed. In this one-pot conversion, an ω-azido hydrocinnamic acid is converted to a tricyclic lactam. The most important feature of the process is the efficiency in bond formation (one bond broken and three new bonds created) and ring construction (two new rings formed).