Synthesis of tritiated derivatives of the diphenylether herbicides acifluorfen and acifluorfen methyl

Acifluorfen 1 and acifluorfen methyl 2, two herbicides of the diphenylether family, are inhibitors of protoporphyrinogen oxidases. Two tritiated derivatives of these compounds, namely 3-[3H]-5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoic acid [3H]-1, and methyl 3-[3H]-5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoic acid [3H]-2, have been synthesised from 3-[3H]-5-hydroxybenzoic acid, in order to probe their interactions with the target enzymes.