?-Hydroxy Acids in Enantioselective Synthesis

Gary M. Coppola Herbert F. Schuster a-Hydroxy Acids in Enantioselective Syntheses An ideal synthesis starts with readily accessible reagents and yields the target molecules in high optical purity. The naturally available a-hydroxy acids, lactic, malic, mandelic and tartaric acids, provide the chemist with chiral building blocks for the introduction of one or more asymmetric centers into an organic molecule. This book not only supplies a comprehensive discussion of useful reactions but also demonstrates how complex molecules can have their origin in simple, readily accessible chirally pure starting materials. The authors, both practicing medicinal research chemists, aim at providing information for the design and synthesis of chiral molecules. A particularly attractive feature of this text is the excellent schemes used to illustrate the crucial transformations. All structures are represented in their absolute stereochemistry. Mechanisms as well as insights into the execution of a synthetic pathway are discussed concisely, with a focus on practical aspects. The authors have drawn on their years of writing experience to supply graduate students, research chemists and teachers alike with a gold mine of useful chemistry. Every synthetic chemist will want to have this invaluable resource at his or her disposal.