Asymmetric Preparation of Polysubstituted Cyclopropanes Based on Direct Functionalization of Achiral Three-Membered Carbocycles

In addition to the appealing synthetic transformations that cyclopropanes present, they are also part of larger molecular structures that possess a wide range of biological properties. Therefore, the preparation of enantiomerically enriched cyclopropanes has consistently been a very interesting research topic in organic synthesis. In this Focus Review, we are presenting new methods for the synthesis of these target compounds through catalytic and asymmetric direct functionalization of simple achiral three-membered carbocycle precursors. These convergent and very flexible approaches allow the preparation of a large variety of polysubstituted alkyl-, vinyl-, alkynyl-, and arylcyclopropanes but also cyclopropanols and cyclopropylamines in very high diastereo- and enantiomeric ratios from a single precursor, underlining the power of this synthetic route.