The development for the synthesis of chiral acyclic nucleosides and their phosphonates

Acyclic nucleosides and their phosphonates possess significantly antiviral and cytostatic activities. For acyclic nucleosides and their phosphonates, the introduction of a chiral group to their side chain or the absolute configuration of the chiral atom could affect their biological activities obviously. Thus, the asymmetric synthesis of chiral acyclic nucleosides and their phosphonates has received continuous attention. The previous reports mainly focus on employing the chiral pool and chiral auxiliary methods for the synthesis of chiral acyclic nucleosides and their phosphonates. In contrast, the asymmetric catalysis methods for the synthesis of acyclic nucleosides and their phosphonates are still in the beginning. This digest paper will serve to highlight the significant progress that has been made in these areas.