The chemistry of trifluoromethyl imines and related acetals derived from fluoral.

Trifluoromethylated nitrogen-containing molecules have been shown to have important biological effects and their synthesis is in the focus of the pharmaceutical industry. In the last few years, simple nitrogen derivatives of fluoral, i.e. imines, acetals and oxazolidines, have emerged as powerful building blocks to synthesize these target molecules and relevant precursors. This review summarizes the chemistry of these "N-derivatives of fluoral", with special highlight on the syntheses of peptidomimetic units (amino alcohols, amino acids...) and heterocycles (piperidines, beta-lactams...).