How to reach stereogenic trifluoromethylated carbon? En route to the "grail" of the asymmetric trifluoromethylation reaction

The importance of trifluoromethylated molecules has undergone regular growth during the last years, and asymmetric molecules with the CF3 group borne by a chiral carbon have become more popular. However, methods used to achieve such molecules are still limited. The building block strategy has been the method most employed these last years and stereocontrolled trifluoromethylation reactions have begun to emerge as potential valuable alternatives. Trifluoromethylation of chiral molecules, by using diastereoselective induction, seems promising and already gives good results in certain cases. However, although actively studied to this day, the enantioselective trifluoromethylation of prochiral compounds is still not very efficient even if some interesting results have been already described. Nevertheless, such reactions still present a challenge in terms of efficiency. ((C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007).