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In a very successful collaboration between the healthcare company Sanofi and our group, a series of natural fatty acids, known as FAHFAs were synthesized and their antidiabetic action was investigated. Contrary to previous reports, it was found that none of these molecules was able to achieve positive effects on clearly defined endpoints in metabolism. In the hope of a constructive discussion on the discrepancy between the two studies, these results have now been published in Cell Metabolism.

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EurekAlert!

 

The recently published article "A Regio‐ and Diastereoselective Anodic Aryl–Aryl Coupling in the Biomimetic Total Synthesis of (−)‐Thebaine" was selected for the cover picture of the latest issue of  Angewandte Chemie.

The recently published article "Synthesis and Unusual NMR-Spectroscopic Behavior of a Strained Bicyclic Ammonium Salt" was selected for the cover picture of issue 10 of the European Journal of Organic Chemistry.

A recently published paper on the degradation of polyethylene by caterpillars of the wax moth Galleria melonella has gained much attention. However, researchers from our group must disagree with some of the methodologies and conclusions from this article.

Polyethylene bio-degradation by caterpillars?

SWR.de – Große Zweifel an plastikfressender Raupe

Mainzer Chemiker stellen Studie über plastikfessende Raupe in Frage

The recently published article "Photo-Chromium: Sensitizer for Visible-Light-Induced Oxidative C–H Bond Functionalization—Electron or Energy Transfer" was selected for the cover picture of issue 8 of ChemPhotoChem.

Der diesjährige Wandertag der Arbeitsgruppe fiel sprichwörtlich ins bzw. aufs Wasser, und zwar im doppelten Sinne. Einerseits wurde als gemeinsame Aktivität eine Kanutour auf der Lahn gewählt, andererseits zeigte sich das Wetter, nach der langanhaltenden Hitzeperiode, ausgerechnet an diesem Tag besonders ungnädig. Doch ganz nach dem Motto "es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter, sondern nur schlechte Kleidung" ließ sich die Arbeitsgruppe nicht von den stetigen Regenfällen abschrecken und trotzte professionell ausgestattet mit Regenjacken, Gummistiefeln und Taucheranzügen erfolgreich den wilden Gewässern der Lahn. Startpunkt der 12 km langen und abwechslungsreichen Route war Aumenau. Von hier aus wurde in Zweier- und Dreier-Kanadiern durch die unberührte Natur gerudert. Nach Passieren einer handbetriebenen Schleuse erhob sich nach ca. 3-4 Stunden schließlich die majestätische Burg von Runkel vor der idyllischen Altstadt und läutete das Ender der Tour ein. Der Anstrengung wurde beim anschließenden gemeinsamen Grillen mehr als belohnt ?

Since todays chemical infrastructure mostly relies on petroleum based raw materials, sustainable chemistry and utilization of biomass for chemical basic materials is a rising field in present-day chemical research. Contributing to the challenge of “greener” chemistry and to enhance the scope of products gained from wood as a renewable resource (Xylochemistry), we sought out to the development of novel syntheses of polyamides and indigo dyes as organic functional materials, emplyoing methods of “green chemistry”. Some examples of this work were now published in our recent article "Examples of Xylochemistry: Colorants and Polymers" in Green Chemistry.

Our recently published article "An Asymmetric One-Pot Synthesis of (3R,3aS,6aR)-Hexahydrofuro[2,3-b]furan-3-ol: A Key Component of Current HIV Protease Inhibitors" in the Journal of Organic Chemistry was highlighted in SYNFACTS.