As the isosteric or bio-isosteric analogues of the corresponding α-amino acids, α-aminophosphonic acids have diverse and interesting biological and biochemical properties. This article reviews the recent studies on the asymmetric synthesis of optically active α-aminophosphonic acids and α-aminophosphonates both by chiral auxiliary induced and chiral catalyst catalysed methods.

Key words: optical activity, asymmetric synthesis, α-aminophosphonic acid