The indole nucleus is a versatile heterocyclic system, occurring in a variety of compounds with a broad spectrum of biological activities. 16 Consequently, indole and its myriad of derivatives continue to capture the attention of organic and medicinal chemists and a variety of well established methods are now available for their production. 17 Amongst these, the Fischer indole synthesis from ketones and arylhydrazines is the most widely employed synthetic procedure, ...