Recent Progress in Iminoiodane-Mediated Aziridination of Olefins

The aziridination of olefins mediated by metal-catalyzed generation of nitrenes from iminoiodanes was first described almost a quarter century ago. Since then, great progress has been made in improving the efficiency, versatility and stereocontrol of this important reaction. This review will cover developments made in this area over the last seven years with regard to the various iminoiodanes which have been used, their in situ generation, the different metals which can be employed to catalyze the reaction, the new ligands, both chiral and non-chiral, which have been designed, the application of this reaction to total synthesis and to the preparation of pharmacologically active compounds.