Polymer-Supported Chiral Catalysts in Asymmetric Synthesis

By far the best method of synthesis of chiral organic compounds from prochiral substrates is through the use of chiral catalysts or enzymes. This approach has several advantages, the most important of which is that either the enzyme is naturally occurring or the catalyst can be easily generated from a naturally occurring chiral material. If resolution needs to be accomplished, it is carried out with small amounts of catalyst rather than with large quantities of product. Thus from a catalytic amount of chiral material large quantities of one enantiomeric product can be generated.