Enantioselective synthesis of beta-trifluoromethyl alpha-amino acids.

We report herein the three-step enantioselective synthesis of beta-trifluoromethyl alpha-amino acids including trifluorovaline (TFV) using stereoselective hydrogenation with [((R)-trichickenfootphos)Rh(cod)]BF(4) catalyst as the key step.