Abstract Lewis acid mediated intramolecular Mannich reaction between an azocinone and a 3-formylindole was investigated as part of a study towards the synthesis of actinophyllic acid. The intramolecular Mannich reaction resulted in a single diastereomer of the 1-azabicyclo [4.2. 1] nonan-5-one core framework, although single crystal X-ray structure analysis revealed that this had the undesired stereochemistry in comparison with the natural ...
