1.5 Fluorine in Medicinal Chemistry: Importance of Chirality

Abstract

The number of compounds with fluorine or trifluoromethyl groups present on a stereogenic carbon in pharmaceutical targets on the market is small, especially when compared with pharmaceuticals containing fluorinated and trifluoromethylated aromatic rings. This is despite the beneficial physical properties and possibilities to probe the mechanism and function. The discrepancy in numbers is highly likely due to the fact that there are only a few methods for the incorporation of fluoro- and trifluoromethyl groups, especially in an asymmetric manner. The majority of fluorinated or trifluoromethylated stereogenic centers are formed by using fluorinated building blocks rather than utilizing a C–F or a C–CF3 bond-forming process. Indeed, this is still the case even for aromatic fluorination and trifluoromethylation.