Recent development on catalytic reductive amination and applications

Reductive amination is one of the most useful and versatile methods for the preparation of amines in chemistry and biology. The present review focuses on the development of catalytic reductive amination from beginning to recent ones, where we have attempted to thoroughly illustrate an account of utility of various reagents including organocatalyst, symmetric and asymmetric (Ru, Rh, Ir) complexes, boron, tin or silicon reagents etc for enantio- and/or chemoselective reactions under different reaction conditions with emphasis on the yields of the reaction products and stability of the reagents used. Emerging applications of this reaction for the development of chiral ligands, pharmacologically active molecules, combinatorial scaffold, and key step in the total synthesis of some interesting natural products is also reviewed briefly.