Manfred T. Reetz, Emeritus at the Max-Planck-Institute for Coal Research, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, and University of Marburg, Germany, celebrates his 75th birthday on August 13, 2018. Reetz’ research focuses on directed evolution, enzymes in organic chemistry, and stereoselective biocatalysis.
Manfred T. Reetz studied chemistry at Washington University, St. Louis, USA, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Göttingen, Germany, under the supervision of Ulrich Schöllkopf in 1969. He then joined Reinhard W. Hoffmann at the University of Marburg as a Postdoctoral Researcher and completed his habilitation there in 1978. From 1978 to 1980, he was Professor at the University of Bonn, Germany, and returned to the University of Marburg as Full Professor in 1980. From 1991 to 2011, he served as Director at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research.
Among many other honors, Reetz has received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize from the German Research Foundation in 1989, the Otto Hahn Prize from the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh, German Chemical Society) in 2011, the International Kyoto Conference on New Aspect of Organic Chemistry (IKCOC) Prize in 2012.
Selected Publications
- 1-Butanol as a Solvent for Efficient Extraction of Polar Compounds from Aqueous Medium: Theoretical and Practical Aspects,
Gerhard König, Manfred T. Reetz, Walter Thiel,
J. Phys. Chem. B 2018, 122, 6975–6988.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b02877 - Hinge-Type Dimerization of Proteins by a Tetracysteine Peptide of High Pairing Specificity,
Andreas Schrimpf, Franziska Hempel, Aitao Li, Uwe Linne, Uwe G. Maier, Manfred T. Reetz, Armin Geyer,
Biochemistry 2018, 57, 3658–3664.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.8b00475 - Boosting the efficiency of site-saturation mutagenesis for a difficult-to-randomize gene by a two-step PCR strategy,
Aitao Li, Carlos G. Acevedo-Rocha, Manfred T. Reetz,
Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2018, 102, 6095–6103.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-9041-2 - Directed Evolution of Selective Enzymes: Catalysts for Organic Chemistry and Biotechnology,
Manfred T. Reetz,
Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2016.
ISBN: 978-3-527-31660-1 - Biocatalysis in Organic Chemistry and Biotechnology: Past, Present, and Future,
Manfred T. Reetz,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 12480–12496.
https://doi.org/10.1021/ja405051f - Laboratory Evolution of Stereoselective Enzymes: A Prolific Source of Catalysts for Asymmetric Reactions,
Manfred T. Reetz,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 138–174.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201000826 - Iterative saturation mutagenesis (ISM) for rapid directed evolution of functional enzymes,
Manfred T Reetz, José Daniel Carballeira,
Nat. Protoc. 2007, 2, 891–903.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2007.72
Also of Interest
- M. Reetz Wins IKCOC Prize,
ChemViews Mag. 2012.
Professor Manfred Reetz, Germany, awarded the International Kyoto Conference on New Aspect of Organic Chemistry (IKCOC) Prize - M. Reetz Receives Otto Hahn Prize,
ChemViews Mag. 2011.
Manfred Reetz, Director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Coal Research, receives the Otto Hahn Prize from the GDCh
