One Hundred Years of the Max‐Planck‐Institut für Kohlenforschung

Reetz, Manfred T.

doi:10.1002/anie.201403217

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 225 publications

(148 reference statements)

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“…Since the pioneering advances of Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta during the early 1950s, a continuing series of breakthroughs in research and industrial innovations have greatly simplified polyolefin production by enabling industrial tailoring of advanced polyolefin materials in solvent-free catalytic polymerization processes. − In 2015, polyolefin materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene account for almost half of the 300 million tons of the global plastics production. This outstanding economic success reflects the significant progress made in catalysis, reaction engineering, and polyolefin processing by greatly improving manufacturing, performance, and economy of polyolefin products. − Today, polyolefins are an integral part of daily life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Multisite Polymerization Catalysis to Sustainable Materials and All-Polyolefin Composites

Mihan²,

2015

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Multisite Polymerization Catalysis to Sustainable Materials and All-Polyolefin Composites

Mihan²,

2015

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“…We were aware of the daunting task of trying to influence enzyme stereoselectivity by any form of mutagenesis. There was no precedence when we began our risky endeavor, which also required considerable financial investments regarding the infrastructure of the Mülheim MPI [1,11] . Today, various reviews covering different aspects of directed enzyme evolution are available! [12] Our adventurous decision to enter this field led to our first paper on directed enzyme evolution together with Karl‐Erich Jaeger in 1997, entitled ‘ Creation of Enantioselective Biocatalysts for Organic Chemistry by In Vitro Evolution ’ [13] .…”

Section: The Birth Of Directed Evolution Of Stereoselective Enzymesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several years later, the Directorate hired Ben List as the fifth Director. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Institute in 2014, I summarized these new developments as well as the history of the Max‐Planck‐Institut für Kohlenforschung prior to the ‘Reetz era’ in an essay [1] …”

Section: Introductory Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Institute in 2014, I summarized these new developments as well as the history of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung prior to the 'Reetz era' in an essay. [1] Prior to moving to the Mülheim MPI, Andreas Pfaltz had gained world renown for his innovative and creative contributions in the area of enantioselective transition metal catalysis, which he continued during his Mülheim era. He routinely avoided exaggerated descriptions of his impressive achievements.…”

Section: Introductory Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Witnessing the Birth of Directed Evolution of Stereoselective Enzymes as Catalysts in Organic Chemistry

Reetz

2022

Adv Synth Catal

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This invited essay outlines how the idea of directed evolution of stereoselective enzymes was born and implemented experimentally at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim/ Germany during the period 1994-1998, a time when Andreas Pfaltz was present in the Institute. As the new and sole director of the MPI, I initiated new research projects, and also started to restructure the Institute with the establishment of five departments, all dedicated to some form of catalysis and to be led by five independent directors. Andreas Pfaltz was the first director whom I hired, heading the Department of Homogeneous Catalysis. During his stay in Mülheim until 1998, the Pfaltz group invented effective chiral ligands for a number of particularly challenging enantioselective transformations. During this period, Andreas Pfaltz witnessed the birth and development of directed evolution of stereoselective enzymes as a new research direction in the Reetz group. Indeed, he was one of the very few organic chemists who realized at the time that a door to a novel research area had been opened. The widespread application of enzymes was hampered for decades due to limited enantio-, diastereo-, and regioselectivity, which was the reason why organic chemists were not interested in biocatalysis. This attitude slowly changed with the advent of directed evolution of stereoselective enzymes in 1997, in a publication from the Reetz group. Methodology development with emphasis on stereo-and regioselectivity as well as activity followed, the techniques and strategies becoming more and more rational. Today, semirational approaches and so-called rational enzyme design have merged, as evidenced, inter alia, by the development of focused rational iterative site-specific mutagenesis (FRISM). The toolbox of organic chemists now includes enzymes, primarily because the possibility of controlling stereoselectivity by protein engineering has ensured reliability when facing synthetic challenges. 1. Introductory Remarks 2. The Birth of Directed Evolution of Stereoselective Enzymes 3. The Crucial Role of Methodology Development in Directed Evolution of Selective Enzymes as Catalysts in Organic Chemistry 4. Final Message

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“…These administrative efforts took 6−7 years for complete implementation. When reading Reetz's personal account of these fundamental changes, 10 one can sense that they demanded from him a great deal of energy, tenacity, and a diplomatic spirit. On the scientific side, Reetz remained true to his broad interests and initiated several new projects going in different directions.…”

Section: Manfred Reetz's First Careermentioning

confidence: 99%

A Pioneering Career in Catalysis: Manfred T. Reetz

et al. 2020

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In this invited Account, we highlight the enormous scientific breadth of our mentor Professor Manfred T. Reetz. It stretches from the development of organometallic reagents and transition metal catalysts to the adventurous idea of directed evolution of chemo-, stereo-, and regioselective enzymes, which he considered to be most important. We hope to show that Reetz did not consider these research areas to be totally unrelated realms, and attempt to reveal his transdisciplinary way of thinking about methodology development. Since biocatalysis has become crucial for chemical synthesis, we mainly focus on Reetz's contributions in this area. Some personal reflections from some of his former co-workers are also included, which reveal the stimulating atmosphere in the Reetz group in terms of science, career advice, and the importance of ethical considerations.

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One Hundred Years of the Max‐Planck‐Institut für Kohlenforschung

Cited by 11 publications

References 225 publications

From Multisite Polymerization Catalysis to Sustainable Materials and All-Polyolefin Composites

From Multisite Polymerization Catalysis to Sustainable Materials and All-Polyolefin Composites

Witnessing the Birth of Directed Evolution of Stereoselective Enzymes as Catalysts in Organic Chemistry

A Pioneering Career in Catalysis: Manfred T. Reetz

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