Abstract: A bioinspired approach for the construction of the 4-aryldihydroisoquinolinone moiety via direct oxidative Csp2ÀCsp3 coupling has been developed, which uses inexpensive sodium nitrite as catalyst and environmentally benign oxygen in the air as terminal oxidant. Keywords: 4-arylisoquinolinones; biogenetic synthesis; cherylline; oxidative coupling reaction; sodium nitrite