Substituted thioindoxyls are extensively used for the synthesis of vat Of the many methods for their synthesis,'* 3 the most widely used is the cyclization of the appropriate arylthioglycolic a~ ids. 4.~ Previous preparations of arylthioglycolic acids are laborious multi- step processes which consume large amounts of chemical^.**^*^ We now describe a simpler and more economical two-step procedure for the synthesis of arylthioglycolic ...