Inside Cover: Synthesis and Biological Activity of Argiotoxin 636 and Analogues: Selective Antagonists for Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 17/2009)

Spiders of the genus Argiope, such as Argiope lobata, contain polyamine toxins that are potent but nonselective blockers of glutamate receptors. However, by very subtle modifications of the structure of native toxins, it is possible to obtain selectivity for subtypes of these receptors, as described by K. Stromgaard and co-workers in their Communication on page 3087 ff.