This Account gives an overview of the homogeneously catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral amino ketones. The preparation of enantiopure arylalkanolamines, which are potent and economically very important pharmaceuticals, is described. Classical routes of synthesis are compared with the new asymmetric hydrogenation route for a number of compounds from the viewpoint of an industrial pharmaceutical chemist.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.