Diastereoselective Substrate-Controlled Transition-Metal-Catalyzed C-H Activation: An Old Solution to a Modern Synthetic Challenge

The synthesis of chiral compounds by means of asymmetric C-H activation is an appealing modern strategy for the straightforward conversion of simple and nonfunctionalized substrates into high-value-added stereogenic molecules. For several years, considerable attention has been focused on the design of enantioselective transformations involving the use of chiral ligands as sources of chirality. In addition, a complementary strategy based on direct functionalization of substrates bearing a chiral element has recently demonstrated its potential. Such diastereoselective transformations can be achieved by incorporating a chiral auxiliary into a directing group (DG). Alternatively, direct functionalization of chiral-pool molecules, such as -amino acids, provides a valuable synthetic route to novel non-natural amino acid derivatives. The aim of this account is to highlight major achievements in diastereoselective C-H activation. Particular attention will be paid to the contributions of our group in this emerging field. 1 Introduction 2 Directing Group Controlled Diastereoselective C-H Activation 3 Substrate-Controlled Diastereoselective C-H Activation 4 Conclusions