
Laboratory of Chemical Biology is focused on the synthesis, properties and applications of modified nucleotides (including analogs of mRNA 5’ cap, nucleoside triphosphates, nucleotide sugars, nucleoside phosphosulfates and many others). The main goal of our research is to create tools useful for elucidating biological processes involving nucleotides and to find new potential nucleotide-derived therapeutics.
To do so, we develop new synthetic methods for the chemical and enzymatic synthesis of nucleotides and their analogs. We are particularly interested in the synthesis and properties of nucleotides modified within the phosphate moieties. We design nucleotide analogs that increase cellular stability of mRNA and nucleotide-derived inhibitors of protein biosynthesis with increased stability under cellular conditions. We synthesize fluorescently labeled nucleotides, nucleotides with affinity tags as well as nucleotide-probes for NMR and EPR experiments. We also prepare and evaluate conjugates of nucleotides with nano(bio)materials.
The laboratory operates in two locations – team uses the hospitality of the Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw.

phone: +48 22 55 43774
room: 06.44
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jacek_Jemielity
Prof. Jacek Jemielity
Postdoctoral Fellows:
Mikołaj Chromiński, PhD
Anais Depaix , PhD
Karolina Drążkowska , PhD
Katarzyna Frankowska, PhD
Paweł Sikorski, PhD Eng.
Małgorzata Wąsińska-Kałwa, PhD
Błażej Wojtczak, PhD Eng.
PhD students:
Marcelina Bednarczyk, MSc
Adam Mamot, MSc
Agnieszka Młynarska - Cieślak, MSc
Piotr Surynt, MSc
Kamil Ziemkiewicz , MSc
Research Technicians:
Sebastian Chmieliński, MSc
Marcin Warmiński
Mikołaj Chromiński, Kamil Ziemkiewicz, Joanna Kowalska, Jacek Jemielity
Org. Lett. 2022, 24, 27, 4977–4981
Olga Perzanowska, Mirosław Śmietański, Jacek Jemielity, Joanna Kowalska
Chemistry - A European Journal, Volume28, Issue42 July 26, 2022
Jessica K. Peters, Ryan W. Tibble, Marcin Warmiński, Jacek Jemielity, John D. Gross
Structure Volume 30, Issue 5, 5 May 2022, Pages 721-732.e4
Agnieszka Młynarska-Cieślak, Mikołaj Chromiński, Tomasz Śpiewla, Marek R. Baranowski, Marcelina Bednarczyk, Jacek Jemielity, and Joanna Kowalska*
ACS Chem. Biol. 2022, 17, 3, 661–669
Dorota Kubacka, Mateusz Kozarski, Marek R. Baranowski, Radosław Wójcik, Joanna Panecka-Hofman, Dominika Strzelecka, Jerome Basquin, Jacek Jemielity, Joanna Kowalska
Pharmaceuticals 2022, 15(5), 554
Marcelina Bednarczyk, Jessica K. Peters, Renata Kasprzyk, Jagoda Starek, Marcin Warmiński, Tomasz Śpiewla, Jeffrey S. Mugridge, John D. Gross, Jacek Jemielity, Joanna Kowalska
ACS Chem. Biol. 2022, 17, 6, 1460–1471
Mikołaj Sacha, Mikołaj Błaż, Piotr Byrski, Paweł Dąbrowski-Tumański, Mikołaj Chromiński, Rafał Loska, Paweł Włodarczyk-Pruszyński, Stanisław Jastrzębski
J. Chem. Inf. Model. 2021, 61, 7, 3273–3284
Radosław Wójcik, Marek R. Baranowski, Łukasz Markiewicz, Dorota Kubacka, Marcelina Bednarczyk, Natalia Baran, Anna Wojtczak, Paweł J. Sikorski, Joanna Zuberek, Joanna Kowalska, Jacek Jemielity
Pharmaceutics 13(11), 1941
Rafał Tomecki, Kamil Kobylecki, Karolina Drazkowska, Malwina Hyjek-Skladanowska, Andrzej Dziembowski
RNA Biology
Adam Mamot, Pawel J Sikorski, Aleksandra Siekierska, Peter de Witte, Joanna Kowalska, Jacek Jemielity
Nucleic Acids Research
Renata Kasprzyk, Tomasz J. Spiewla, Mirosław Śmietański, Sebastian Golojuch, Laura Vangeel, Steven De Jonghe, Dirk Jochmans, Johan Neyts, Joanna Kowalska, Jacek Jemielity
Antiviral Research
Olga Perzanowska, Maciej Majewski, Malwina Strenkowska, Paulina Głowala, Mariusz Czarnocki-Cieciura, Maciej Mazur, Joanna Kowalska, Jacek Jemielity
Scientific Reports, Vol. 11 (2021) 15741
Natalia Kleczewska, Paweł J. Sikorski, Zofia Warmińska, Łukasz Markiewicz, Renata Kasprzyk, Natalia Baran, Karina Kwapiszewska, Aneta Karpińska, Jarosław Michalski, Robert Holyst, Joanna Kowalska, Jacek Jemielity
Chemical Science, Vol. 30 Issue 12, 10242-10251
Alison Galloway, Aneesa Kaskar, Dimitrinka Ditsova, Abdelmadjid Atrih, Harunori Yoshikawa, Carolina Gomez-Moreira, Olga Suska, Marcin Warminski, Renata Grzela, Angus I Lamond, Edward Darżynkiewicz, Jacek Jemielity, Victoria H Cowling
Nucleic Acids Research, Vol. 49, Issue 12, 6722–6738
Dr. Anaïs Depaix, Agnieszka Młynarska-Cieślak, Dr. Marcin Warmiński, Dr. Paweł J. Sikorski, Prof. Dr. Jacek Jemielity, Dr. Joanna Kowalska
Chemistry - A European Journal
Ryan W. Tibble, Anaïs Depaix, Joanna Kowalska, Jacek Jemielity & John D. Gross
Nature Chemical Biology, Vol. 17, Issue 5, 615-623
Anna Wojtczak, Renata Kasprzyk, Marcin Warmiński, Krystian Ubych, Dorota Kubacka, Paweł J. Sikorski, Jacek Jemielity, Joanna Kowalska
Scientific Reports, Vol. 11, Issue 1, 7687
Łukasz Markiewicz, Karolina Drążkowska, Paweł J. Sikorski
RNA Biology, Vol. 18, Issue 5, 669-687
Marcin Warmiński, Joanna Kowalska, Elżbieta Nowak, Dorota Kubacka, Ryan Tibble, Renata Kasprzyk, Paweł J. Sikorski, John D. Gross, Marcin Nowotny, Jacek Jemielity*
ACS Chemical Biology, Vol. 16, Issue 2, 334-343
Rafał Tomecki, Karolina Drążkowska
FEBS, Vol. 288, Issue 11, 3418-3423
Piotr Rzymski, Leszek Borkowski, Marcin Drąg, Robert Flisiak, Jacek Jemielity, Jacek Krajewski, Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas, Andrzej Matyja, Krzysztof Pyrć, Krzysztof Simon, Michał Sutkowski, Jacek Wysocki, Joanna Zajkowska, Andrzej Fal
Vaccines, Vol. 9, Issue 2, 109
Miedziak, B., Dobieżyńska, A., Darżynkiewicz, Z. M., Bartkowska, J., Miszkiewicz, J., Kowalska, J., ... & Darzynkiewicz, E.
RNA, 26(1), 58-68.
Pietrowska-Borek, M., Wojdyła-Mamoń, A., Dobrogojski, J., Młynarska-Cieślak, A., Baranowski, M. R., Dąbrowski, J. M., ... & Guranowski, A.
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 147, 125-132.
Strzelecka, D., Smietanski, M., Sikorski, P. J., Warminski, M., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J.
RNA, 26(12), 1815-1837
Chrominski, M., Baranowski, M. R., Chmielinski, S., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J.
The Journal of organic chemistry, 85(5), 3440-3453
Kasprzyk, R., Fido, M., Mamot, A., Wanat, P., Smietanski, M., Kopcial, M., ... & Jemielity, J.
Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Golojuch, S., Kopcial, M., Strzelecka, D., Kasprzyk, R., Baran, N., Sikorski, P. J., ... & Jemielity, J.
Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry, 28(13), 115523
Baranowski, M. R., Warminski, M., Jemielity, J., & Kowalska, J.
Nucleic acids research, 48(15), 8209-8224
Chrominski, M., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J.
Current Protocols in Nucleic Acid Chemistry, 83(1), e118
Warminski, M., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J.
Current Protocols in Nucleic Acid Chemistry, 82(1), e112
Sikorski, P. J., Warminski, M., Kubacka, D., Ratajczak, T., Nowis, D., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J.
Nucleic acids research, 48(4), 1607-1626
Kasprzyk. R., Starek B.J., Ciechanowicz, S., Kubacka D., Kowalska J., Jemielity J. (2019).
Chemistry – A European Journal, vol. 25, no. 27, 2019, pp. 6646–6646.
Kopcial, M., Wojtczak, B. A., Kasprzyk, R., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J. (2019).
Molecules, 24(10), 1899.
Kozarski, M., Kubacka, D., Wojtczak, B. A., Kasprzyk, R., Baranowski, M. R., & Kowalska, J. (2018).
Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry, 26(1), 191-199.
Mugridge, J. S., Tibble, R. W., Ziemniak, M., Jemielity, J., & Gross, J. D. (2018).
Nature communications, 9(1), 1152
Essig, K., Kronbeck, N., Guimaraes, J. C., Lohs, C., Schlundt, A., Hoffmann, A., ... & Jemielity, J. (2018).
Nature communications, 9
Walczak, S., Sikorski, P. J., Kasprzyk, R., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J. (2018).
Organic & biomolecular chemistry, 16(36), 6741-6748
Wojtczak, B. A., Sikorski, P. J., Fac-Dabrowska, K., Nowicka, A., Warminski, M., Kubacka, D., ... & Jemielity, J. (2018).
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 140(18), 5987-5999
Wanat, P., Kasprzyk, R., Kopcial, M., Sikorski, P. J., Strzelecka, D., Jemielity, J., & Kowalska, J. (2018).
Chemical Communications, 54(70), 9773-9776
Bednarek, S., Madan, V., Sikorski, P. J., Bartenschlage, R., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J. (2018).
Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B, 373
Mlynarska-Cieslak, A., Depaix, A., Grudzien-Nogalska, E., Sikorski, P. J., Warminski, M., Kiledjian, M., ... & Kowalska, J. (2018).
Organic letters.
Wojtczak, B. A., Sikorski, P. J., Fac-Dabrowska, K., Nowicka, A., Warminski, M., Kubacka, D., . . .& Jemielity, J.
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 140(18)
Bednarek, S., Madan, V., Sikorski, P. J., Bartenschlager, R., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 373(1762), 20180167
Strzelecka, D., Chmielinski, S., Bednarek, S., Jemielity, J., & Kowalska, J. (2017).
Scientific reports, 7(1), 8931.
Warminski, M., Sikorski, P. J., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J. (2017).
Topics in Current Chemistry, 375(1), 16.
Kroczynska, B., Blyth, G. T., Rafidi, R. L., Majchrzak-Kita, B., Xu, L., Saleiro, D., Kosciuczuk, E.M., Jemielity, J., Su, B., Altman, J.K. & Eklund, E. A. (2017).
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 292(11), 4743-4752.
Min, K. W., Davila, S., Zealy, R. W., Lloyd, L. T., Lee, I. Y., Lee, R., Roh, K.H., Jung, A., Jemielity, J., Choi, E.J. & Chang, J. H. (2017).
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Gene Regulatory Mechanisms, 1860(7), 761-772.
Warminski, M., Sikorski, P. J., Warminska, Z., Lukaszewicz, M., Kropiwnicka, A., Zuberek, J., Darzynkiewicz, E., Kowalska, J. Darzynkiewicz, E., Kowalska, J. & Jemielity, J. (2017).
ioconjugate chemistry, 28(7), pp.1978-1992.
Warminski, M., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J. (2017).
Organic letters, 19(13), 3624-3627.
Rydzik, A. M., Warminski, M., Sikorski, P. J., Baranowski, M. R., Walczak, S., Kowalska, J., Zuberek, J., Lukaszewicz, M., Nowak, E., W. Claridge, T.D. & Darzynkiewicz, E. (2017).
Nucleic acids research, 45(15), 8661-8675.
Granqvist, L., Kraszewski, A., Tähtinen, V., & Virta, P. (2017).
Molecules, 22(5), 760.
Tomecki, R., Sikorski, P. J., & Zakrzewska‐Placzek, M. (2017).
FEBS letters, 591(13), 1801-1850.
Czaja, K., Kujawski, J., Jodłowska-Siewert, E., Szulc, P., Ratajczak, T., Krygier, D., ... & Bernard, M. K. (2017).
Journal of Chemistry, 2017.
Kujawski, J., Czaja, K., Jodłowska-Siewert, E., Dettlaff, K., Żwawiak, J., Kujawski, R., Ratajczak, T. & Bernard, M. K. (2017).
Journal of Molecular Structure, 1146, 259-266.
Mamot, A.; Sikorski, P.; Warminski, M.; Kowalska, J.; Jemielity, J., (2017).
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 56(49):15628-15632
trenkowska, M., Grzela, R., Majewski, M., Wnek, K., Kowalska, J., Lukaszewicz, M., ... & Jemielity, J. (2016).
Nucleic acids research, 44(20), 9578-9590.
Mugridge, J. S., Ziemniak, M., Jemielity, J., & Gross, J. D. (2016).
Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, 23(11), 987.
Honcharenko, M., Bestas, B., Jezowska, M., Wojtczak, B. A., Moreno, P. M. D., Romanowska, J., Darzynkiewicz E., Jemielity J., ... & Strömberg, R. (2016).
RSC Advances, 6(56), 51367-51373.
Kasprzyk, R., Kowalska, J., Wieczorek, Z., Szabelski, M., Stolarski, R., & Jemielity, J. (2016).
Organic & biomolecular chemistry, 14(16), 3863-3868.
Baranowski, M. R., Nowicka, A., Jemielity, J., & Kowalska, J. (2016)
Organic & biomolecular chemistry, 14(20), 4595-4604
Wojtczak, B. A., Warminski, M., Kowalska, J., Lukaszewicz, M., Honcharenko, M., Smith, C. E., ... & Jemielity, J. (2016)
RSC Advances, 6(10), 8317-8328
Ziemniak, M., Mugridge, J. S., Kowalska, J., Rhoads, R. E., Gross, J. D., & Jemielity, J. (2016)
RNA, 22(4), 518-529
Kroczynska, B., Rafidi, R. L., Majchrzak-Kita, B., Kosciuczuk, E. M., Blyth, G. T., Jemielity, J., ... & Fish, E. N. (2016)
Journal of Biological Chemistry, jbc-M115
Kowalska, J., Martin, F., & Jemielity, J. (2016).
Synthetic mRNA: Production, Introduction Into Cells, and Physiological Consequences, 31-43.
Kańska, M., Jemielity, J., Pająk, M., Pałka, K., Podsadni, K., & Winnicka, E. (2016)
Journal of Labelled Compounds and Radiopharmaceuticals, 59(14), 627-634.
Ziemniak, M., Kowalska, J., Lukaszewicz, M., Zuberek, J., Wnek, K., Darzynkiewicz, E., & Jemielity, J. (2015)
Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry, 23(17), 5369-5381
Baranowski, M. R., Nowicka, A., Rydzik, A. M., Warminski, M., Kasprzyk, R., Wojtczak, B. A., ... & Jemielity, J. (2015).
The Journal of organic chemistry 80, no. 8 (2015): 3982-3997
Wanat, P., Walczak, S., Wojtczak, B. A., Nowakowska, M., Jemielity, J., & Kowalska, J. (2015).
Organic letters, 17(12), 3062-3065.
Kijewska, K., Głowala, P., Kowalska, J., Jemielity, J., Kaczyńska, K., Janiszewska, K., ... & Wiktorska, K. (2015)
Polymer, 57, 77-87
Zochowska, M., Piguet, A. C., Jemielity, J., Kowalska, J., Szolajska, E., Dufour, J. F., & Chroboczek, J. (2015).
Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, 11(1), 67-76.
Baranowski, M. R., Nowicka, A., Rydzik, A. M., Warminski, M., Kasprzyk, R., Wojtczak, B. A., ... & Jemielity, J. (2015)
The Journal of organic chemistry, 80(8), 3982-3997.
Nowakowska, M., Kowalska, J., Martin, F., d'Orchymont, A., Zuberek, J., Lukaszewicz, M., ... & Jemielity, J. (2014).
Organic & biomolecular chemistry, 12(27), 4841-4847.
Nowakowska, M., Kowalska, J., Martin, F., d'Orchymont, A., Zuberek, J., Lukaszewicz, M., ... & Jemielity, J. (2014).
Organic & biomolecular chemistry, 12(27), 4841-4847.
Kowalska, J., Wypijewska del Nogal, A., Darzynkiewicz, Z. M., Buck, J., Nicola, C., Kuhn, A. N., ... & Maciejczyk, M. (2014)
Nucleic acids research, 42(16), 10245-10264
Wypijewska del Nogal, A., Surleac, M. D., Kowalska, J., Lukaszewicz, M., Jemielity, J., Bisaillon, M., ... & Bojarska, E. (2013).
The FEBS journal, 280(24), 6508-6527.
Wypijewska del Nogal, A., Surleac, M. D., Kowalska, J., Lukaszewicz, M., Jemielity, J., Bisaillon, M., ... & Bojarska, E. (2013).
The FEBS journal, 280(24), 6508-6527.
Warminski, M., Kowalska, J., Buck, J., Zuberek, J., Lukaszewicz, M., Nicola, C., ... & Jemielity, J. (2013).
Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters, 23(13), 3753-3758.
Kijewska, K., Jarzębińska, A., Kowalska, J., Jemielity, J., Kępińska, D., Szczytko, J., ... & Twardowski, A. (2013).
Biomacromolecules, 14(6), 1867-1876.
Ziemniak, M., Strenkowska, M., Kowalska, J., & Jemielity, J. (2013)
Future medicinal chemistry, 5(10), 1141-1172.
Laboratory of Chemical Biology operates in two locations – team uses the hospitality of the Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw. CeNT team cooperates with employees of the Faculty of Physics:
Anais Depaix, PhD
Karolina Kaczmarska, Msc
Joanna Kowalska, PhD
Dorota Kubacka, PhD
Michał Magda, Msc
Tomasz Śpiewla, Msc
Project title: Horizon for Excellence in Messenger RNA applications in immunoOncology, HERO implemented as part of the Virtual Research Institute
Grant Agreement No.: WIB-UF-PZ-01/01.00/2
Source of funding: Polish Science Fund
Budget: 69 160 450 zł including 17 197 100 zł for the University of Warsaw
Duration: 2022 – 2026
Project description: A decade has passed since clinical approval of the first cancer immunotherapy based on the administration of checkpoint inhibitors, i.e. monoclonal antibodies targeting negative immunoregulatory molecules, such as CTLA-4, PD- 1, and PD-L1. Since then, checkpoint inhibitors have become first line treatment in several types of cancer or are used in combination with other therapeutic approaches, allowing for long-term control over the neoplastic disease. The spectacular therapeutic effects are observed in the minority of cancer patients. However, it is still impossible to predict clinical response before starting the treatment. For many types of tumors, checkpoint inhibitors are ineffective. Thus, substantial efforts are invested into the development of predictive biomarkers as well as on the identification of novel targets or combination immunotherapies for more effective treatment. One such approach that has been developed in recent years is using mRNA-based therapeutics. The most advanced clinical studies use mRNA for the generation of personalized mRNA vaccines and are carried out by BioNTech GMBH, a German biotech company that has recently developed and registered the first mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. Importantly, BioNTech has licensed the invention on 5’ cap analogue (β-S-ARCA) developed by prof. Jacek Jemielity and dr. Joanna Kowalska (scientists of the University of Warsaw) and is using this cap in clinical studies on anti-cancer mRNA vaccines.