Catalytic Enantioselective Aldol-Type Reaction Using α-Fluorinated Enolates

Optically active alpha-fluoroalkyl substituted alcohols are widely present in drugs and pharmaceutically active compounds. Catalytic enantioselective aldol-type reaction using fluorinated enolates constitutes a powerful method for the synthesis of alpha-fluorinated beta-hydroxy carbonyl compounds, which are versatile building blocks to access alpha-fluorinated alcohols bearing different functionalities through an array of transformations based on carbonyl group. This Focus Review summarizes recent achievements of the catalytic enantioselective aldol reactions using fluorinated enolates derived from five different types of precursors, discusses in detail the limitation of each method, and outlines synthetic opportunities still present.