:Helma Wennemers

Helma Wennemers studied chemistry at the Goethe University Frankfurt, completing her diploma thesis with {{ill|Gerhard Quinkert|de}} in 1993. She earned her PhD at Columbia University, New York in 1996, under the supervision of W. Clark Still, with a thesis "Encoded combinatorial chemistry: a tool for the study of selective intermolecular interactions." Between 1996 and 1998, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Nagoya University with Hisashi Yamamoto, before being appointed Bachem Assistant Professor at the University of Basel in 1999. She held this post until 2003, where she was promoted to associate professor. In 2011, she moved to ETH Zurich as a professor of organic chemistry.

Wennemers' research focuses on proline-rich peptides.

• Asymmetric Catalysis:

File:PPX.png Wennemers led the development of tripeptides containing H-Pro-Pro-Xaa type sequences (Pro: proline, Xaa: any amine) as organocatalysts for C–C bond formations based on an enamine mechanism.{{cite journal | last=Wennemers | first=Helma | title=Asymmetric catalysis with peptides | journal=Chemical Communications | publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) | volume=47 | issue=44 | year=2011 | pages=12036–12041 | issn=1359-7345 | doi=10.1039/c1cc15237h | pmid=21993353 }} High reactivity, stereo- and chemoselectivity for aldol{{cite journal | last1=Krattiger | first1=Philipp | last2=Kovasy | first2=Roman | last3=Revell | first3=Jefferson D. | last4=Ivan | first4=Stanislav | last5=Wennemers | first5=Helma | title=Increased Structural Complexity Leads to Higher Activity: Peptides as Efficient and Versatile Catalysts for Asymmetric Aldol Reactions | journal=Organic Letters | publisher=American Chemical Society (ACS) | volume=7 | issue=6 | date=24 February 2005 | issn=1523-7060 | doi=10.1021/ol0500259 | pages=1101–1103| pmid=15760149 }} or conjugate addition reactions{{cite journal | last1=Wiesner | first1=Markus | last2=Revell | first2=Jefferson D. | last3=Wennemers | first3=Helma | title=Tripeptides as Efficient Asymmetric Catalysts for 1,4-Addition Reactions of Aldehydes to Nitroolefins–A Rational Approach | journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition | publisher=Wiley | volume=47 | issue=10 | date=22 February 2008 | issn=1433-7851 | doi=10.1002/anie.200704972 | pages=1871–1874| pmid=18228232 }}{{cite journal | last1=Wiesner | first1=Markus | last2=Neuburger | first2=Markus | last3=Wennemers | first3=Helma | title=Tripeptides of the Type H-D-Pro-Pro-Xaa-NH2as Catalysts for Asymmetric 1,4-Addition Reactions: Structural Requirements for High Catalytic Efficiency | journal=Chemistry – A European Journal | publisher=Wiley | volume=15 | issue=39 | date=5 October 2009 | issn=0947-6539 | doi=10.1002/chem.200901021 | pages=10103–10109| pmid=19697376 }} can be achieved by varying the absolute configuration of the single amino acids as well as the functional group of the Xaa residue. The modularity of the peptides enabled creation of catalysts capable of catalyzing the conjugate addition reactions of aldehydes to nitroolefins with as little as 0.05 mol% of tripeptidic catalyst.{{cite journal | last1=Schnitzer | first1=Tobias | last2=Wennemers | first2=Helma | title=Influence of the Trans/Cis Conformer Ratio on the Stereoselectivity of Peptidic Catalysts | journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society | publisher=American Chemical Society (ACS) | volume=139 | issue=43 | date=18 October 2017 | issn=0002-7863 | doi=10.1021/jacs.7b06194 | pages=15356–15362| pmid=29043799 }}

She also worked on other organocatalyzed transformations. Inspired by natural polyketide synthases—which use malonic acid half thioesters (MAHTs) as thioester enolate equivalents — she developed organocatalytic methods for stereoselective addition reactions of MAHTs (and protected variants monothiomalonates, MTMs) to electrophiles using cinchona alkaloid derived catalysts. The introduction of fluorinated MAHTs and MTMs allowed for the stereoselective introduction of fluorine substituents in fluoroacetate aldol reactions{{cite journal | last1=Saadi | first1=Jakub | last2=Wennemers | first2=Helma | title=Enantioselective aldol reactions with masked fluoroacetates | journal=Nature Chemistry | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=8 | issue=3 | date=18 January 2016 | issn=1755-4330 | doi=10.1038/nchem.2437 | pages=276–280| pmid=26892561 | bibcode=2016NatCh...8..276S }} as well as further addition reactions to imines{{cite journal | last1=Cosimi | first1=Elena | last2=Engl | first2=Oliver D. | last3=Saadi | first3=Jakub | last4=Ebert | first4=Marc-Olivier | last5=Wennemers | first5=Helma | title=Stereoselective Organocatalyzed Synthesis of α-Fluorinated β-Amino Thioesters and Their Application in Peptide Synthesis | journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition | publisher=Wiley | volume=55 | issue=42 | date=6 October 2016 | issn=1433-7851 | doi=10.1002/anie.201607146 | pages=13127–13131| pmid=27632946 }} and nitroolefins.{{cite journal | last1=Engl | first1=Oliver D. | last2=Fritz | first2=Sven P. | last3=Käslin | first3=Alexander | last4=Wennemers | first4=Helma | title=Organocatalytic Route to Dihydrocoumarins and Dihydroquinolinones in All Stereochemical Configurations | journal=Organic Letters | publisher=American Chemical Society (ACS) | volume=16 | issue=20 | date=7 October 2014 | issn=1523-7060 | doi=10.1021/ol502697s | pages=5454–5457| pmid=25290528 }}

• Chemical Biology:

In chemical biology, Wennemers uses larger proline-rich peptides, such as collagen model peptides or oligoprolines, for applications such as tumor targeting,{{cite journal | last1=Kroll | first1=Carsten | last2=Mansi | first2=Rosalba | last3=Braun | first3=Friederike | last4=Dobitz | first4=Stefanie | last5=Maecke | first5=Helmut R. | last6=Wennemers | first6=Helma | title=Hybrid Bombesin Analogues: Combining an Agonist and an Antagonist in Defined Distances for Optimized Tumor Targeting | journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society | publisher=American Chemical Society (ACS) | volume=135 | issue=45 | date=31 October 2013 | issn=0002-7863 | doi=10.1021/ja4087648 | pages=16793–16796| pmid=24175716 }} cell penetration{{cite journal | last1=Nagel | first1=Yvonne A. | last2=Raschle | first2=Philipp S. | last3=Wennemers | first3=Helma | title=Effect of Preorganized Charge-Display on the Cell-Penetrating Properties of Cationic Peptides | journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition | publisher=Wiley | volume=56 | issue=1 | date=30 November 2016 | issn=1433-7851 | doi=10.1002/anie.201607649 | pages=122–126| pmid=27900805 }} or drug delivery. She utilized Cγ-functionalized proline derivatives for the functionalization and stabilization of short-chained collagen triple helices. Further, she introduced aminoproline{{cite journal | last1=Siebler | first1=Christiane | last2=Erdmann | first2=Roman S. | last3=Wennemers | first3=Helma | title=Switchable Proline Derivatives: Tuning the Conformational Stability of the Collagen Triple Helix by pH Changes | journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition | publisher=Wiley | volume=53 | issue=39 | date=1 August 2014 | issn=1433-7851 | doi=10.1002/anie.201404935 | pages=10340–10344| pmid=25088036 }} and γ-azaproline{{cite journal | last1=Aronoff | first1=Matthew R. | last2=Egli | first2=Jasmine | last3=Menichelli | first3=Massimiliano | last4=Wennemers | first4=Helma | title=γ‐Azaproline Confers pH Responsiveness and Functionalizability on Collagen Triple Helices | journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition | publisher=Wiley | volume=58 | issue=10 | date=4 March 2019 | issn=1433-7851 | doi=10.1002/anie.201813048 | pages=3143–3146| pmid=30633447 | s2cid=58536577 }} as pH-sensitive probes to tune the conformational stability of the collagen triple helix by pH change. In the field of cell penetrating peptides (CPPs), Wennemers showed that preorganization of cationic charges along an oligoproline backbone enhanced the cellular uptake of CPPs compared to more flexible oligoarginines with undefined charge display. Moreover, the oligoproline-based CPPs demonstrated a defined nuclear localization and high proteolytic stability as well as low cytotoxicity.

• Synthetic Materials:

Wennemers utilizes peptides to control the morphology of nanostructured materials for generation of ordered mesoscopic materials. She developed tripeptides for the size-controlled generation of mono-disperse, water-soluble silver-, palladium-, platinum-, and gold nanoparticles.{{cite journal | last1=Corra | first1=Stefano | last2=Shoshan | first2=Michal S | last3=Wennemers | first3=Helma | title=Peptide mediated formation of noble metal nanoparticles — controlling size and spatial arrangement | journal=Current Opinion in Chemical Biology | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=40 | year=2017 | issn=1367-5931 | doi=10.1016/j.cbpa.2017.09.005 | pages=138–144| pmid=28961470 | doi-access=free }} Recently, she reported peptide‐stabilized platinum nanoparticles that have greater toxicity against hepatic cancer cells (HepG2) than against other cancer cells and non‐cancerous liver cells.{{cite journal | last1=Shoshan | first1=Michal S. | last2=Vonderach | first2=Thomas | last3=Hattendorf | first3=Bodo | last4=Wennemers | first4=Helma | title=Peptide‐Coated Platinum Nanoparticles with Selective Toxicity against Liver Cancer Cells | journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition | publisher=Wiley | volume=58 | issue=15 | year=2019 | issn=1433-7851 | doi=10.1002/anie.201813149 | pages=4901–4905| pmid=30561882 | s2cid=56169559 }} Wennemers also explored conjugates of oligoprolines and π-conjugated systems that form hierarchical self-assemblies with diverse morphologies (e.g. nanofibers, nanorods, nanosheets). She used such a conjugate to prepare the first example of an extended triaxial supramolecular weave held together through the interplay of weak non-covalent interactions.{{cite journal | last1=Lewandowska | first1=Urszula | last2=Zajaczkowski | first2=Wojciech | last3=Corra | first3=Stefano | last4=Tanabe | first4=Junki | last5=Borrmann | first5=Ruediger | last6=Benetti | first6=Edmondo M. | last7=Stappert | first7=Sebastian | last8=Watanabe | first8=Kohei | last9=Ochs | first9=Nellie A. K. | last10=Schaeublin | first10=Robin | last11=Li | first11=Chen | last12=Yashima | first12=Eiji | last13=Pisula | first13=Wojciech | last14=Müllen | first14=Klaus | last15=Wennemers | first15=Helma | title=A triaxial supramolecular weave | journal=Nature Chemistry | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=9 | issue=11 | date=24 July 2017 | issn=1755-4330 | doi=10.1038/nchem.2823 | pages=1068–1072| pmid=29064493 | bibcode=2017NatCh...9.1068L | s2cid=1248670 }}

Wennemers work was recognized by the Leonidas Zervas Award of the European Peptide Society (2010),{{cite web | title=Helma Wennemers erhält Leonidas Zervas Award | website=chemie.de | url=https://www.chemie.de/news/122561/helma-wennemers-erhaelt-leonidas-zervas-award.html | language=de | access-date=22 December 2021}} the Pedler Award of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2016),{{cite web | title=Prof. Helma Wennemers erhält den Pedler Award 2016 | website=ETH Zürich | date=13 May 2016 | url=https://chab.ethz.ch/news-und-veranstaltungen/d-chab-news/2016/05/wennemers-erhaelt-pedler-award-2016.html | language=de | access-date=22 December 2021}} the Inhoffen Medal (2017),{{cite web | title=Prof. Wennemers receives the Inhoffen Medal | website=Prof. Wennemers receives the Inhoffen Medal – Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences | date=10 March 2017 | url=https://chab.ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/d-chab-news/2017/02/prof-wennemes-receives-the-inhoffen-medal-.html | access-date=22 December 2021}} the Netherlands Scholar Award for Supramolecular Chemistry (2019){{cite web | title=Netherlands Scholar Award for Supramolecular Chemistry goes to Prof. Helma Wennemers | website=Netherlands Scholar Award for Supramolecular Chemistry goes to Prof. Helma Wennemers – Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences | date=14 January 2020 | url=https://chab.ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/d-chab-news/2019/12/netherland-supramolecular-scholar-award-goes-to-prof-helma-wennemers.html | access-date=22 December 2021}} and the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (2020).{{cite web | title=ACS National Awards for Helma Wennemers & Peter Chen | website=ETH Zurich | date=19 August 2020 | url=https://ethz.ch/en/the-eth-zurich/portrait/latest-honours-and-prizes/2020/08/acs-national-awards-fuer-helma-wennemers-peter-chen.html | access-date=22 December 2021}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.wennemers.ethz.ch/ Homepage of the Wennemers group'']

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Category:1969 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Offenbach am Main

Category:Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt

Category:Academic staff of the University of Basel

Category:Academic staff of ETH Zurich

Category:German expatriates in Switzerland

Category:German women chemists

Category:20th-century German chemists

Category:21st-century German chemists

Category:20th-century German women scientists

Category:21st-century women scientists

Category:German organic chemists

Category:20th-century German women

Category:21st-century German women