Singlet oxygen oxidation of pyrroles: Synthesis and chemical transformations of novel 4,4-bis(trifluoromethyl)imidazoline analogs

Abstract A novel singlet oxygen ring cleavage of pyrrole 5a and subsequent acid-catalyzed facile dehydrocyclization afforded a new series of 4,4-bis(trifluoromethyl)imidazolines with a p -fluorophenacyl side chain at the 5-position, which have shown potent acyl CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) and cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitory activities.