ABSTRACT
They usually possess one or two stereogenic centers within their structures together with modest functionality, which allows convenient structural manipulation and transformations. Many terpenes have constrained asymmetric carbocyclic ring systems that can be incorporated into the frameworks of complex polycyclic target molecules or converted into chiral ligands for chiral auxiliaries, reagents, and resolving agents. Although amino acids and carbohydrates continue to be the major source of chiral building blocks in organic synthesis, terpenes are being used more and more frequently in asymmetric synthesis. In this chapter, we will discuss some of the applications in the use of terpenes, especially monoterpenes, in the synthesis of chiral organic molecules. The emphasis of the discussion will be on the use of natural or unnatural monoterpenes as building blocks in the synthesis of biologically active compounds and the stereoselective transformations and manipulations of these terpene molecules for asymmetric synthetic purposes.
