Synthesis of α-Hydroxyphosphinates and Derivatives: Recent Advances

α-Hydroxyphosphinates, displaying a wide range of activities from agriculture to medicine as fungicides or metalloenzyme inhibitors, are compounds of high interest. In particular, α- hydroxyalkylphosphinates, bis(α-hydroxyalkyl)phosphinates, optically active form of these compounds as well as their derivatives receive continuously growing synthetic attention. Their synthesis, although impressively old, has never been reviewed. This review covers mainly the data published over the last ten years (2004-2014).