Templated Total Synthesis of Cu(I)-Methanobactin OB3b**

Methanobactin OB3b (Mbn-OB3b) is a unique natural product with stunning affinity for copper ions (K_a≈Cu(I) 10³⁴). Here, we report the first total synthesis of Cu(I)-bound methanobactin OB3b featuring as key transformations a cyclodehydration-thioacylation sequence, to generate the conjugated heterocyclic systems, and a copper-templated cyclization, to complete the caged structure of the very sensitive target compound.     

Selective chemical imaging of static actin in live cells

We have characterized rationally designed and optimized analogues of the actin-stabilizing natural products jasplakinolide and chondramide C. Efficient actin staining was achieved in fixed permeabilized and non-permeabilized cells using different combinations of dye and linker length, thus highlighting the degree of molecular flexibility of the natural product scaffold. Investigations into synthetically accessible, non-toxic analogues have led to the characterization of a powerful cell-permeable probe to selectively image static, long-lived actin filaments against dynamic F-actin and monomeric G-actin populations in live cells, with negligible disruption of rapid actin dynamics.     

Second order asymptotics for the propagation speed of interfaces in the Allen-Cahn phase field model for elastic solids

For a phase field model, which consists of the elasticity equations coupled to the Allen-Cahn equation, we state an asymptotic expansion for the propagation speed of the diffusive interface. The error of the expansion is of order η², where η is the width of the interface. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)