Asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral amino ketones to amino alcohols for pharmaceutical use.

This Account gives an overview of the homogeneously catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral amino ketones. The preparation of enantiopure arylalkanolamines, which are potent and economically very important pharmaceuticals, is described. Classical routes of synthesis are compared with the new asymmetric hydrogenation route for a number of compounds from the viewpoint of an industrial pharmaceutical chemist.