α-Aminoboronates: recent advances in their preparation and synthetic applications

α-Aminoboronic acids and their derivatives are useful as bioactive agents. Thus far, three compounds containing an α-aminoboronate motif have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as protease inhibitors, and more are currently undergoing clinical trials. In addition, α-aminoboronic acids and their derivatives have found applications in organic synthesis, e.g. as α-aminomethylation reagents for the synthesis of chiral nitrogen-containing molecules, as nucleophiles for preparing valuable vicinal amino alcohols, and as bis-nucleophiles in the construction of valuable small molecule scaffolds. This review summarizes new methodology for the preparation of α-aminoboronates, including highlights of asymmetric synthetic methods and mechanistic explanations of reactivity. Applications of α-aminoboronates as versatile synthetic building blocks are also discussed.