Introducing fluorine into organic compounds enables their electronic properties to be tuned and can also significantly alter their function. Now, the α-fluorination of amides has been achieved using nucleophilic fluorinating agents using a polarity reversal strategy. This new method has been used to synthesize a fluorinated analogue of the blockbuster antidepressant drug, citalopram.
- Pauline Adler
- Christopher J. Teskey
- Nuno Maulide