Abstract Preparation of 1-methylpyrrole-2-acetonitrile, 1-methyl-5-(4-methylbenzoyl) pyrrole- 2-acetonitrile and 2-(6-methoxy-2-naphthyl) propionitrile by treatment of 1-methylpyrrole-2- carboxaldehyde, 1-methyl-5-(4-methylbenzoyl) pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde and, respectively, 6-methoxy-2-acetylnaphthalene with tosylmethylisocyanide (TosMIC) is described. This one- step synthetic procedure is very useful to obtain the nitrile precursors of tolmetin and ...