More Than Just Sweet -- Sugar-Derived Stereodifferentiating Agents for Asymmetric Synthesis.

Stereodifferentiating agents such as chiral auxiliaries, reagents and additives as well as ligands for metal catalysis and organocatalysts are essential in asymmetric synthesis. While it is commonly agreed that amino acids, terpenes and alkaloids from the chiral pool make highly useful starting materials for many important stereodifferentiating agents, carbohydrates, which are the most abundant chiral natural products, are still regularly regarded as ill-suited for this purpose. Many chemists are surprisingly ignorant of the wealth of carbohydrate-derived agents available for stereoselective synthesis. This review highlights the most successful carbohydrate- derived auxiliaries, reagents, complex ligands and organocatalysts, and provides an overview of their usefulness in asymmetric transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]