Recent Progress in Synthesis and Applications of Fluorinated Carbohydrates

The biological importance and activity of fluorinated carbohydrates is a focus of numerous investigations to date. The introduction of fluorine atom(s) can be achieved by a few means such as the classical fluorination, the building block strategy and the radical addition. This is a mini review of carbohydrates containing fluorine atom(s) developed in the past decade. General preparative methods to the fluorinated carbohydrates are organized according to the type of fluorine atom(s) in their molecular structures. The aspects concerning their N-, P-, S- and halogen-containing derivatives and some potential applications in bioorganic chemistry are also discussed.