Moreover, a small library of 2,3-dihydro-1H-benzo[d]pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazoles 4a-e, structural analogs of cc-4, was synthesized and tested. These compounds were prepared using a new one-pot three-step process involving the nucleophilic ring opening of donor-acceptor cyclopropanes with o-phenylenediamine followed by lactamization and a tandem hydrolysis/decarboxylation/cyclization reaction (Fig. ). Among benzo[d]pyrrolo[1,2a]imidazoles 4 the compound 4c exhibited a high colchicine site binding signal, while tubulin interactions with the rest of the cc-4 analogs were not reliably detectable(Fig. ).