Cover Picture: Tuning Wasp Toxin Structure for Nicotinic Receptor Antagonism: Cyclohexylalanine‐Containing Analogues as Potent and Voltage‐Dependent Blockers (ChemMedChem 3/2006)

The cover picture shows an analogue of the natural wasp toxin PhTX‐433 (lower right). The natural toxin is a noncompetitive antagonist of ionotropic receptors (depicted in the lipid bilayer as space‐filling models). As PhTX‐433 is relatively nonselective in its action, solid‐phase synthetic methods have given access to analogues of this toxin that have potency toward the nicotine acetylcholine receptor in the nanomolar concentration range. For more details, see the communication by J. Jaroszewski et al. on p. 303 ff. (Thanks to Steen Drozd Lund, Flemming Steen Jørgensen, Christian Adam Olsen, Baysic Dsn, and Good Morning Technology for the graphics.)