Catalytic, Enantioselective Syntheses of β-Lactones—Versatile Synthetic Building Blocks in Organic Chemistry

Owing to their highly strained ring system and interesting functional group, β-lactones possess significant synthetic potential. Recently, novel methods have been developed to synthesize these valuable building blocks very efficiently by catalytic, enantioselective reactions, such as [2+2] cycloadditions, starting from simple precursors. These processes also offer an attractive alternative for the synthesis of optically active β-hydroxy and β-amino acids (see scheme).