Synthesis of 1-aminoisoquinolines by gold(III)-mediated domino reactions from 2-alkynylbenzamides and ammonium acetate.

A facile synthetic route toward pharmaceutically interesting 1-aminoisoquinoline derivatives by gold(III)-mediated domino reactions is described. This synthetic protocol starts from readily available 2-alkynylbenzamides and ammonium acetate and takes place under mild reaction conditions compatible with a variety of functional groups. A plausible mechanism for the domino process is proposed, supported by the reaction of a possible intermediate, N-(3-phenyl-1H-isochromen-1-ylidene)propan-1-amine.