Gemma E. Veitch

The Azadirachtin Story

Azadirachtin has been the subject of intensive research within the scientific community ever since its isolation from the neem tree in 1968. There are now over 1000 publications relating to this natural product which cover all aspects of structural, biological and synthetic studies. Herein, we describe the worldwide synthesis efforts towards this fascinating molecule.

Magnesium nitride as a convenient source of ammonia: preparation of primary amides.

The use of magnesium nitride (Mg 3N 2) as a convenient source of ammonia has been explored for the direct transformation of esters to primary amides. Methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, and tert-butyl esters are converted to the corresponding carboxamides in good yields (75-99%).

Magnesium nitride as a convenient source of ammonia: preparation of dihydropyridines.

Magnesium nitride (Mg 3N 2) has been investigated for the preparation of dihydropyridines. This is a commercially available, bench-stable solid that generates ammonia upon treatment with protic solvents. The main features of the process are the facile reaction setup and good yields obtained in the majority of cases.

The Synthesis of Azadirachtin: A Potent Insect Antifeedant

We describe in full the first synthesis of the potent insect antifeedant azadirachtin through a highly convergent approach. An O-alkylation reaction is used to unite decalin ketone and propargylic mesylate fragments, after which a Claisen rearrangement constructs the central C8-C14 bond in a stereoselective fashion. The allene which results from this sequence then enables a second critical carbon-carbon bond forming event whereby the [3.2.1] bicyclic system, present in the natural product, is generated via a 5-exo-radical cyclisation process. Finally, using knowledge gained through our early studies into the reactivity of the natural product, a series of carefully designed steps completes the synthesis of this challenging molecule.

Second‐Generation Synthesis of Azadirachtin: A Concise Preparation of the Propargylic Mesylate Fragment

A second bite of the apple: A new and highly efficient synthesis of the propargylic mesylate fragment of azadirachtin has been accomplished (see scheme; Bn = benzyl, Ms = methanesulfonyl, PMB = para-methoxybenzyl, TBDPS = tert-butyldiphenylsilyl). An enantioselective catalytic hetero Diels-Alder reaction sets up the stereocenter at C15, which then controls the installation of the remaining functionality in a total of only 17 steps.

Synthesis of natural products from the Indian Neem tree Azadirachta indica

The synthesis of five natural products (3, 6, 7, 10, and 14), isolated from the Indian neem tree Azadirachta indica, is reported from a common intermediate (2). The judicious choice of transacetalization conditions allows efficient access to both the azadirachtinin (9 and 10) and the azadirachtin (3, 6, 7, and 14) skeletons.