Tepoxalin (6) l is a potent inhibitor of both the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways of the arachidonic acid cascade. We have previously described a highly efficient regioselective synthesis of this compound. 2 Due to toxicity considerations it became desirable to synthesize tepoxalin without using methylene chloride or oxalyl chloride in the last step. Herein we report a high-yield synthesis of tepoxalin which meets this objective.
![5-[2-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-oxoethylidene]oxolan-2-one Structure](https://image.chemsrc.com/caspic/424/142791-63-7.png)