drawn considerable recent attention3 as an anticonvulsant and neuroprotective agent that is a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antag~ nist.~ The previous synthesis of la from the readily available tricyclic ketone 2 proceeds in satisfactory yield, but it requires nine steps. 2 This approach involves formation of an oxime at C-10, reduction to a hydroxylamine, and then ring closure into an exocyclic double bond at C-5. We describe here a shorter ( ...
![5-hydroxamino-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cycloheptene Structure](https://image.chemsrc.com/caspic/319/113628-14-1.png)
![anti-12-hydroxy-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine Structure](https://image.chemsrc.com/caspic/040/113646-64-3.png)