Stable sulfonate esters as C1-synthons for cyclopropanation reaction to access antimicrobial active 3,3′-spirocyclopropyloxindoles

A NaH-mediated formal [2 + 1] annulation using stable while reactive 4-nitrophenyl sulfonates as C1 synthons for the efficient synthesis of spirocyclopropyloxindoles with promising antibacterial activity against plant pathogens was disclosed.