Synthetic Strategies to Substituted Chiral Furans: A Review

The multifunctionalized chiral furan derivatives are important building blocks as many natural products and bioactive compounds contain these scaffolds. The chiral furan derivatives also act as potent intermediates in valuable synthetic transformations. Therefore, the development of facile methodologies for accessing the substituted chiral furans from easily available precursors is an intriguing topic in the field of organic chemistry. In this review, several efficient strategies for the synthesis of substituted chiral furans have been discussed. Amongst these, the functionalization of furan moieties, organocatalytic/ enantioselective approaches, chemoenzymatic kinetic resolution, and utilizations of carbohydrates as chiral pool precursors are of great importance.