Applications of catalytic asymmetric sulfide oxidations to the syntheses of biologically active sulfoxides

Optically active sulfoxides are important compounds for medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry. Driven by the increasing demand for efficient, selective and environmentally friendly industrial processes, several catalytic methodologies have been developed in recent years for the stereoselective oxidation of sulfides for the preparation of biologically active sulfoxides. Both small-scale approaches to the problem as well as some large-scale applications that are already in industrial use are described in this review.