Recent Advances in the Enantioselective Synthesis of β-Amino Acids

Abstract: The introductory section of this review presents some of the currently most compelling β-amino acid targets, according to their structural types: (α and β-aryl substituted, olefinic and alkynyl, α,α- and α,β-disubstituted, 'cyclic and conformationally restricted, fluorine­ containing, and phosphonic analogous β-amino acids. The main section highlights some of the very new (1996-1998), promising methodology for the enantioselective synthesis of β-amino acids, with especial emphasis on catalytic and enzymatic processes, as well as methods based on "chiral pool", "self-regeneration of stereogenic centers", diastereoselective nucleophilic additions to prochiral double bonds, and enantioselective reactions in the presence of chiral additives.