Stereoselective organic reactions in water

An overview is given on the key discoveries in the water-based organic synthesis as well as some of the most promising new methods of achieving stereocontrol in organic reactions developed in the last 5 years. In this period, many catalytic stereo selective reactions in water are realized, mainly through the rational development of water-stable catalysts and water-soluble chiral ligands. Many of the most fundamentally useful reactions in asymmetric synthesis can thus be performed with similar, or even improved, rates, yields, and selectivies in aqueous media compared to the corresponding reactions in organic solvents.