Nitration of 3-acylindoles in the presence of MeCN solvates of Cu 2+, Al 3+, and Fe 2+ salts yielded 3-nitroindole, 4-nitro-and 6-nitro-3-acylindoles, of which 3-acetyl-4-nitroindole was subsequently transformed into dehydrochuangxinmycin (7), the dehydro derivative of the antibiotic alkaloid chuangxinmycin (2).