To begin, the authors prepared 4-nitroindolacetaldehyde (3) which involved a slight modification of previous reports.7 Initial work on this aldehyde commenced with the preparation of mannich derivative (9), through treatment of 4-nitroindole (7) with bis(dimethylamino)methane (8). This reaction successfully introduced one -CH2- at the 3-postion of the indole. Next dimethyl amine was replaced with a cyano(-CN) group by treatment with KCN affording cyano derivative 10. This transformation installed the second carbon on 3 which will eventually become the aldehyde carbonyl carbon. Cyano 10 then underwent acidic hydrolysis to the carboxylic acid followed by Fischer esterification with sulfuric acid and ethanol to provide ester 11. The ester was then