Spiroannulation of Oxindoles via Aryne and Alkyne Incorporation: Substituent-Diverted, Transition-Metal-Free, One-Pot Access to Spirooxindoles.

A "product control via substrate design" strategy has been conceptualized and implemented to harness the potential of aryne and activated alkyne insertions into oxindoles to readily and efficiently furnish pharmacophoric indano- and cyclopentannulated spirooxindole scaffolds in an operationally straightforward, one-pot, transition-metal-free protocol.