Highly regioselective ring opening of quinolinic[2,3]anhydrides under mild conditions

We report a study of the influence of Lewis acids upon the regioselectivity of ring opening of quinolinic[2,3]anhydrides to provide 2-(isopropoxycarbonyl)-nicotinic acids. In the presence of stoichiometric amounts of indium trifluoromethanesulfonate or lanthanum trifluoromethanesulfonate, the desired 2-position ester was generated with greater than 95:5 regioselectivity. This methodology was also applied to 6-methyl-[2,3]-quinoline to provide similar results.