Novel reactions that can selectively functionalize carbon–hydrogen bonds are of intense interest to the chemical community because they offer new strategic approaches for synthesis. A very promising 'carbon–hydrogen functionalization' method involves the insertion of metal carbenes and nitrenes into C–H bonds. This area has experienced considerable growth in the past decade, particularly in the area of enantioselective intermolecular reactions. Here we discuss several facets of these kinds of C–H functionalization reactions and provide a perspective on how this methodology has affected the synthesis of complex natural products and potential pharmaceutical agents.

1. Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260-3000, USA

Correspondence to: Huw M. L. Davies¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to H.M.L.D. (Email: hdavies@buffalo.edu).

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