Dr DP Pienaar

Telephone     +27 (0)12 420-5442

Email             [email protected]

Office            NS1 4-50
 

Position        Senior Lecturer
 

Academic qualifications:    PhD (Organic Chemistry, Wits), MSc (Organic Chemistry, UP), BSc Hons (Chemistry, UP) BSc (Biochemistry, UP)

Teaching 

Undergraduate: Organic Chemistry

Postgraduate: Organic Chemistry, Chemo-Enzymatic Synthesis, Green Organic Chemistry, Biocatalysis

Modules: CMY127, CHM 215, CMY284; BSc (Hons): CMY 718, CMY744, CMY 747_PCC (Process Chemistry & Catalysis)

Research interests

Having spent more than 12 years working in industry as a Research Scientist in Organic/Polymer Materials, Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology industries, and through extensive experience gained in S/M and large enterprises, my academic research activities remain focussed on doing applied, cross-disciplinary work in the fields of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. Of particular interest is the development of greener organic synthesis procedures which, when combined with highly efficient biotransformations, can result in more environmentally friendly, less wasteful and sustainable processes for the manufacture of  important Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and value added products, in general.

Google scholar page:  https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oiaq_8QAAAAJ&hl=en

Selected publications

Journal articles

Makhubela, I.M.; Zawaira, A.; Brady, D.; Pienaar, D.P.^*; “Multifactorial optimization enables the identification of a greener method to produce (+)-nootkatone”; Journal of Biotechnology 2024; 393; 41.

Pienaar, D. P. ^*; Mitra, R. K.; Botes, A. L.; Brady, D.; “A highly efficient chemoenzymatic process to produce (R)-6,7-dihydroxygeraniol”; Biocatalysis and Biotransformation 2024; 1.

Grill, B.; Glänzer, M.; Schwab, H.; Steiner, K.; Pienaar, D.; Brady, D.; Donsbach, K.; Winkler, M.; “Functional Expression and Characterization of a Panel of Cobalt- and Iron-dependent Nitrile Hydratases”; Molecules 2020, 25, 2521.

Pienaar, D. P.; Butsi, K. R.; Rousseau, A. L.; Brady, D.; “A green, economical synthesis of β-ketonitriles and trifunctionalized building blocks from esters and lactones”; Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2930.

Pienaar, D. P.; “Value added products from renewable esters and lactones by implementing green chemistry and biocatalysis”; Trends in Green Chem. 2018, 4, 30.

Pienaar, D. P.; Khorasani, S.; de Koning, C. B.; Michael, J. P.; “(±)-3-Benzyloxy-1-(4-methoxybenzyl)-piperidine-2-thione”; Acta Cryst. 2013, E69, o21.

Pienaar, D. P.; Khorasani, S.; de Koning, C. B.; Michael, J. P.; “3-Hydroxy-1-(4-methoxybenzyl)-

piperidin-2-one”; Acta Cryst. 2013, E69, o51.

Pienaar, D. P.; Mitra, R. K.; van Deventer, T. I.; Botes, A. L.; “Synthesis of a variety of optically active hydroxylated heterocyclic compounds using epoxide hydrolase technology”; Tetrahedron Lett. 2008, 49, 6752.

Botes, A.; Mitra, R.; Pienaar, D.; “Epoxide hydrolases: Process applications”; Innovations in Pharmaceutical Technology, 19 April 2007, 90.

Lemmerer, A.; Michael, J. P.; Pienaar, D. P.; Sannasy, D.; “(2E)-2-(1-Methylpiperidin-2-ylidene)-1-phenylethanone”; Acta Cryst. 2007, E63, 98.

Michael, J. P.; de Koning, C. B.; Pienaar, D. P.; “A Versatile Synthesis of (±)-Deoxyfebrifugine, an Antimalarial Alkaloid Analogue, and Related Compounds”; Synlett 2006, 383.

Pienaar, D. P.; Modro, A. M.; Modro, T. A.; “1-Oxo-2,8-diaryl-2,5,8-triaza-1λ⁵-phosphabicyclo[3.3.0]octanes as Substrates for the Preparation of Bis(2-arylaminoethyl)amines”; Synthesis 2000, 1315.

Patents

Pienaar, D. P.; Maboya, J. T.; Brady, D.; “Enantioselective methods for preparing chiral amine intermediates” – WO2023197017 A1 – Patent application – University of the Witwatersrand (2023).

Pienaar, D. P.; Conradie, A. V.; “Methods for producing alkenes and derivatives thereof” –WO2016164812 A1 – Patent – Invista Textiles (2016).

Selected Conferences

CATSA (Catalysis Society of South Africa): 2022–2024 (Program Manager, 2024).

21^st Edition of International Conference on Green Chemistry and Technology (Edinburgh, Scotland, November 2018).

Green Chemistry Conference & UNIDO - Global Chemical Leasing Award (Vienna, Austria, November 2018).

Academic Collaborations

University of the Witwatersrand, Schools of Chemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology, and Pharmacy, South Africa.

University of Manchester, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, United Kingdom.

Technische Universität Graz, Institute of Biotechnology, Austria.

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa.