Ullman reaction of 2,4-dichloro-5-nitrobenzoic acid (I) with 3,5-dimethoxyaniline (II) in the presence of cupric acetate gave the diphenylamine carboxylic acid (III), which was cyclized with polyphosphoric acid at 110 C to afford acridone (IV). This was N-alkylated with 2-(diethylamino)ethyl chloride in the presence of 18-crown-6 to provide (V). The nitro group of (V) was then reduced to amine (VI) using SnCl2 and HCl. Finally, O-demethylation with boiling 48% HBr yielded the target monodemethylated compound along with the dihydroxyl analogue, which were separated by chromatography.
Ullman reaction of 2,4-dichloro-5-nitrobenzoic acid (I) with 3,5-dimethoxyaniline (II) in the presence of cupric acetate gave the diphenylamine carboxylic acid (III), which was cyclized with polyphosphoric acid at 110 C to afford acridone (IV). This was N-alkylated with 2-(diethylamino)ethyl chloride in the presence of 18-crown-6 to provide (V). The nitro group of (V) was then reduced to amine (VI) using SnCl2 and HCl. Finally, O-demethylation with boiling 48% HBr yielded the target dihydroxy compound along with the monodemethylated analogue, which were separated by chromatography.