Isocyanides and arylacetic acids: synthesis and reactivity of 3-aryl-2-acyloxyacrylamides, an example of serendipity-oriented synthesis

Research progress is often promoted by unexpected results that open the way to new scenarios. In this communication, an unprecedented condensation of arylacetic acids and isocyanides and the unusual base-mediated rearrangement of the resulting products to give two novel classes of polysubstituted pyrrolones and pyrrolidinediones are reported