Stereospecific functionalizations and transformations of secondary and tertiary boronic esters

The formation of highly enantioenriched boronic esters through both stoichiometric and catalytic methods has received much attention over the past decade. Accordingly, the transformations of the boronic ester moiety into other functional groups is of considerable interest in synthesis. Specifically, transformations which retain the high enantioenrichment of the starting boronic ester, either through a stereoretentive or a stereoinvertive pathway, lead to the formation of new C-C, C-O, C-N, C-X, or C-H bonds at stereogenic centres. This feature article summarises the current state of the art in stereospecific transformations of both secondary and tertiary boronic esters into other functionalities and groups, whilst considering critically the transformations that are currently unattainable and would represent future advances to the field.