The chemistry of compounds containing a carbon atom bearing three or four different labile functional groups has received little attention. These compounds should have considerable significance in theoretical and synthetic organic chemistry. Among the compounds with multifunctional structures, those having both carbonyl and halogen groups in addition to other heteroatom groups seem especially valuable from a synthetic viewpoint. Their potential as probes in pure and applied synthetic chemistry has not been exploited, because of structural instability and a paucity of synthetic approaches. Keeping with the background mentioned above in mind, we focused on the synthesis of a new class of multifunctional carbon compounds (structure A in Fig.1), in which ester carbonyl, halogen (Br or F), and other non-carbon (N, O, and/or S) functional groups are directly attached to the central carbon atom. Fluorine was chosen as the halogen because of the inherent stability of the C-F bond and because of the fundamental chemical and biological interest in fluorine-containing compounds. Synthesis, reactions, spectral data, optical resolution, and absolute configuration determination of various multifunctional carbon compounds are described. Some applications of fluorine-containing multifunctional compounds are also discussed.