Fig. 1. Trifluoromethylated bioactive molecules and the construction of intricately structured complex N-trifluoroalkyl anilines.
a Trifluoromethyl (CF3) groups are widespread in pharmaceuticals, but three-dimensional CF3-based aliphatic drugs remain uncommon. b Intricate anilines with CF3 and remote quaternary carbons could be potentially more potent drug but remains underdeveloped. c Intricate N-fluoroalkyl anilines are non-trivial and challenging to access. d Photocatalytic multicomponent reactions have been developed to access complex CF3-substituted alkyl amines. e Metallaphotocatalysis would offer a modular approach to access elaborate N-trifluoroalkyl anilines using simple feedstocks. The grey circles represent hydrogen, alkyls, aryls or heteroatoms. PC, photocatalyst; M, transition metal catalyst; Me, methyl; Cbz, benzyloxycarbonyl; Ar, aryl; LG, leaving group; FG, functional groups.