Autor: Elisabeth Quraishi

Kevin Seipp defended his PhD thesis on 06.08 2024. His research focused on the total synthesis and derivatization of secondary metabolites of the oxacycldodecindion-type. We wish you all the best for your future!

Elisabeth Quraishi, Emmanuele Ferrari Pissinati and Karine de Souza Quaglio had the opportunity to present their current work on this years Belgium Organic Synthesis Symposium (BOSS) 2024. The event was hosted in Liège/Belgium from 30.06.–05.07.2024. We especially enjoyed listening to the talks from Sarah Reisman, Abigail Doyle Varinder Kumar Aggarwal and Melanie Sandford about the newest developments in oragnic chemistry. Another highlight of the week was the excursion afternoon, where we went on a city tour and enjoyed Belgium waffles and Liege meatballs. We are grateful for the financial support from FAPESP 2023/12718-5 (Emmanuele), CAPES Print (Karina) and "Fonds der Chemischen Industrie" (Eli).

In 2022, the Opatz Group had the pleasure of hosting Prof. Leon Tapodjou, Dr. Borice Tsafack and Voutro Takeuneu from the University of Dschang in Cameroon. They spent two enriching months with us as guest researchers, thanks to the support of the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation. This collaboration fosters a bilateral exchange, strengthening the partnership between our institutions.

Continuing this fruitful relationship, Prof. Opatz, accompanied by Paul Eckhardt and Elisabeth Quraishi, embarked on a journey to Dschang, Cameroon in June 2024. During their visit, Prof. Opatz conducted a seminar on NMR theory, sharing valuable insights with the Tapondjou Group. Paul presented his research on "Natural Product Elucidation," while Eli offered an overview of "Fluorescent Ir(III) Complexes Derived from Natural Products." We are immensely grateful for this rewarding experience and are eager to maintain and further develop this excellent collaboration.

Luca Großmann defended his PhD Thesis successfully on 21.05.2024. The research topic focused on "Development and application of electrochemical synthesis methods for the production of natural products and carboxylic acid amides". We wish you all the best for your future!

Jonathan Groß defended his PhD Thesis successfully on 30.04.2024. His research focused on "Sustainable organic syntheses and computer-aided mechanism and natural product elucidation". We wish you all the best for your future!

On a freezing cold day (05.12.2023), Tobias Lucas successfully defended his doctoral thesis. During his time in the research group, he worked on inexpensive and simplified synthesis routes for the production of new active pharmaceuticals against tuberculosis, HIV and SARS-CoV-2. We wish him all the best for the future!

Johannes Rocker defended his PhD thesis on 21.11.2023. He investigated the photophysical properties of polyaza[7]helicenes and their potential as new photoredox catalysts. Furthermore, he studied the albumin binding of small molecules and the associated elongation of the plasma half-life. We wish you all the best for your future!

This year's destination of the AKTO excursion day was the Felsenmeer in Lautertal (Odenwald). After a beautiful hike across meadows and forests, we reached the highlight of the tour, where some brave ones ventured into a climbing adventure over the Felsenmeer. We ended the day together in México Lindo with good atmosphere, delicious burros and refreshing margaritas.

Kevin Seipp attended this years National Organic Symposium in South Bend, hosted from 09.07.–13.07.2023 at the University of Notre Dame. He enjoyed inspiring discussions, outstanding presentations, a diverse range of topics and a stunning campus. The conference not only provided him new perspectives, but also sparked a strong sense of motivation. Furthermore, he is grateful for the positive feedback during the poster session and is looking forward to applying the new ideas he gained for his project.

On the occasion of the 50^th birthday of Prof. Dr. Till Opatz we organized a bowling evening at the Phoenixbowling Center in Mainz on 05.07.2023.We had a great time together and scored a few strikes, before spending the rest of the evening at the Straußwirtschaft Weyer in Mainz-Bretzenheim, where we enjoyed delicious food and drinks.