Advances in Transition-Metal Catalysis and Organocatalysis Approaches towards Asymmetric Synthesis of β-Amino Acid Derivatives

The stereoselective synthesis of beta-amino acids has attracted major attention among the synthetic community in recent years. This review provides an overview of the important advances in chiral beta-amino acid synthesis over the past decade. It covers the development of enantioselective methods using transition-metal complexes or organocatalysts, mainly including catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation, the Mannich reaction, multicomponent reactions of diazo compounds, and conjugate addition. Additionally, the asymmetric synthesis of optically active beta-amino acids by other approaches are also summarized. 1 Introduction 2 Strategies towards the Asymmetric Synthesis of beta-Amino Acids 2.1 Hydrogenation 2.2 Mannich Reaction 2.3 Conjugate Addition 2.4 Multicomponent Reactions 2.5 Miscellaneous 2.5.1 Synthesis of beta-Amino Acids from Chiral Amines 2.5.2 Synthesis of beta-Amino Acids from Isoxazolidinones 2.5.3 Synthesis of beta-Amino Acids by Other Methodologies 3 Summary and Outlook