Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of fluorinated ketone and imine derivatives: An efficient access to valuable building blocks

The introduction of fluorine substituents in a molecule is highly regarded in the pharmaceutical industry as attested by the growing number of fluorinated bioactive molecules approved by the Food and Drug Administration in recent years. In this context, enantiopure fluorinated alcohols and amines are particularly interesting building blocks for medicinal chemists. A particularly straightforward and efficient access to these structures relies on the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of the corresponding fluorinated ketones and imines. This review aims at providing the developments carried out in this area, detailing transition metal-catalyzed as well as organocatalyzed reductions of these classes of compounds.