Aminophosphonic acids and derivatives : synthesis and biological applications

In recent years, phosphonic acids and their derivs. have received increasing attention as analogs of a series of naturally occurring phosphates and as "bio-isosteric phosphorus analogs" of aminoacids. Unlike a phosphate group, the phosphonate moiety is not readily hydrolyzed, in a biol. environment, by the enzymes involved in the phosphate cleavage. This feature makes these compds. extremely useful in several applications, in metabolic regulation, in enhancement or inhibition studies, in the development of potential drugs against several metabolic disorders. The great potential of these compounds in biological applications resulted in an intense effort directed to the development of efficient synthetic methods for their preparation, with particular attention to stereoselective synthesis.