Jensen Group - Nanobioorganic Chemistry

Our research is at the interface between synthetic chemistry, biology, physics and biomedicine. The starting point for the research is chemical synthesis, including:

• peptide chemistry
• carbohydrate chemistry
• organic chemistry on proteins
• chemistry on nanoparticles and surfaces.

We are developing new, general chemical tools that enable us to contribute to chemical biology. We aim to study fundamental biological questions in collaboration with dedicated biology groups and to develop new methods for peptide medicinal chemistry.

In medicinal chemistry, we focus on:

• peptide hormone-derived drug candidates for the treatment of metabolic diseases
• protease inhibitors for intervention in cancer

To support this work, we collaborate with several biophysics groups.

Contributions to chemical biology

The development of new, general chemical tools that enables us to contribute to chemical biology. Solid-phase peptide synthesis plays a central role, both for the fully automated preparation of peptides and in the development of new chemical methods.

We are developing new linkers, incl. for the synthesis of peptide thioesters, and are developing the application of microwave heating in peptide synthesis.

Regioselective synthetic chemistry on proteins is a growing interest in our group. For example, we have designed and chemically synthesized new insulin variants with abiotic ligands, such as bipyridine for nano-scale self-assembly with Fe(II), or perfluoroalkyl chains for self-assembly driven by the ‘fluorous’ effect.

Another focus is chemoselective carbohydrate chemistry where it enables the construction of complex glycoconjugates, glyconanoparticles, covalent glycan microarrays etc.

Collaborations

We aim to study fundamental biological questions in collaboration with dedicated biology groups and to develop new methods for peptide medicinal chemistry.

In medicinal chemistry we focus on peptide hormone derived drug candidates for the treatment of metabolic diseases and on protease inhibitors for intervention in cancer.

We are enjoying collaborations with several biophysics groups. A special focus is on determination of protein topologies using small angle X-ray scattering, SAXS, and on the interaction of peptides with membranes.

Projects in the group include solid-phase peptide synthesis, protein chemistry, carbohydrate chemistry and medicinal chemistry. Our project areas include:

• Fully automated preparation of peptides using solid-phase peptide synthesis
• Development of new chemical methods, including new linkers
• Application of microwave heating in peptide synthesis
• Regioselective synthetic chemistry on proteins
• Organic chemistry on proteins
• Chemoselective carbohydrate chemistry for constructing complex glycoconjugates, glyconanoparticles
• Covalent glycan microarrays
• Medicinal chemistry projects related to diabetes, obesity, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

We seek to define and exploit the laws governing selfassembly of biomolecules in order to build biological meaningful nano-scale structures.

The aim is to understand and control the self-assembly of biomolecules in solution and on surfaces. The ability to make defined nano-scale structures of biomolecules leads directly to biomedical applications, including nanomedicine.

Books

Knud J. Jensen (Ed.), Peptide and Protein Design for Biopharmaceutical Applications: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/9780470749708

Michael Lebl, Morten Meldal, Knud J. Jensen, Thomas Hoeg-Jensen (Eds.), Proceedings of the 31st European Peptide Symposium, Copenhagen, 2010: Download:http://www.5z.com/31eps/book/Proc31EPS_v4.1_web.pdf

Knud J. Jensen and Anita Kildebæk Nielsen (Eds), Aspects of Philosophy of Chemistry http://nyttf.dk/?pagetype=book&vareid=84020-1

Publications

Diverse intracellular trafficking of insulin analogs by machine learning-based colocalization and diffusion analysis
Bleshøy, S. V., Kæstel-Hansen, J., Nielsen, A. J., Mishra, N. K., Jensen, K. J. & Hatzakis, N. S., 2026, In: iScience. 29, 2, 19 p., 114516.
 
Mimics of the chordate gut-brain hormone neurotensin in parasitic intestinal hookworms
Koch, T. L., Yeung, H. Y., Ramiro, I. B. L., Torres, J. P., Vo, A. A., Palomino, S., Engholm, E., Robinson, S. D., Rash, L. D., Acyatan, Z. G., Schumann, N. C., Pedersen, K. B., Jensen, K. J., Schjoldager, K. T., Patwardhan, A., Young, N. D., Robertson, M. J. & Safavi-Hemami, H., 2026, In: Current Biology. 36, 16, p. 4124-4135.e8

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