Abstract
The direct introduction of either a nitrogen or oxygen atom adjacent to a carbonyl group in a catalytic, enantioselective manner using both chiral Lewis acid and Lewis base catalysis has been described recently. The enantiomerically enriched products of these reactions, such as α‐amino acids, represent fundamental building blocks for the construction of complex natural products and other important bioactive molecules. This Minireview provides a synopsis of this ever‐growing field and highlights some of the challenges that still remain.

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