This account provides an overview of our laboratory's studies of an unusual variant of the Fischer indolization reaction. We describe the discovery of the so-called 'interrupted Fischer indolization' and the development of the reaction from a methodological standpoint. In addition, our efforts to evaluate and apply this methodology in the context of akuammiline alkaloid total synthesis are discussed.
Keywords: Fischer indolization; akuammilines; alkaloids; heterocycles; indoles; indolines; natural products; total synthesis.