Major of Advanced Nanosciences and Biosciences

Organic synthesis is a powerful tool for the creation of useful organic molecules such as medicine, and recognized as the major field on life sciences. This lecture will be discussed on design, organic synthesis of novel drug candidates, and their structure-activity relationship (SAR). As the specific targets for the drug development, inhibitors of aldo-keto reductase, which are aimed to develop new anti-cancer drugs. The developments of antidiabetic drug based upon the insulin-sensitizing, and the synthesis of poison-frog alkaloids and their effects on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are also discussed.

This lecture focuses on the creation of biologically relevant organic molecules through the synthesis of natural and unnatural molecules with the novel synthetic technologies. The recent development of new strategies and catalysts for the efficient synthesis of small molecules will be discussed with an emphasis on the application of these methods to the total synthesis of complex natural products. Based on the fundamental synthetic strategies, such as asymmetric synthesis, theoretical organic synthesis, and retrosynthesis, recent examples of natural product synthesis will also be reviewed.

(Class in English)                                                           
Knowledge and understanding of coordination chemistry are necessary in the field of bioscience because nanoscale metal complexes of peptides and proteins play functionally important parts in vivo. In this lecture, structure, function, properties, and reaction mechanism of metal complexes, which depend on the metal center, are studied in connection with bioactivity and pharmacological activity. Furthermore, application to biotechnology will be discussed on the basis of the above knowledge and understanding.

Development of in vivo monitoring tools for metabolites such as glucose or lactate and electrolytes such as sodium or potassium in the human body is important for the fields of biochemistry and clinical analyses. In this lecture, design and synthesis of receptor molecules for metabolites and electrolytes are discussed on the basis of host-guest chemistry. In addition, the concept of functional molecules that convert interactions of the molecular recognition to electrochemical or optical signals is also discussed. Furthermore, some examples of minimally invasive sensing systems based on the receptors and the functional molecules for in vivo monitoring of metabolites and electrolytes are interpreted.

Elucidation of the physicochemical properties of materials interfaces (surfaces) is necessary for understanding biological processes such as protein adsorption, cell adhesion and molecular recognition. In this lecture, classical and advanced techniques for the interface (surface) analysis will be discussed.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biopolymer playing various roles in cellular life systems. RNA serves not only as a carrier of genetic information but also performs protein-like functions such as chemical transformation and molecular recognition. Because of its functionality, RNA has also been recognized as a promising material for nanobiotechnology. This lecture will provide the basic knowledge of RNA functions originated from their molecular structures and also introduce the state of the art of functional RNAs and their molecular systems in biological science and in nanobiotechnology.

Evolutionary molecular engineering, the research field aiming creation of novel functional molecules by mimicking evolution of life, is distinct from conventional “design”-based strategies. This lecture will provide the history of this field, principles of the method, and various research examples from basic sciences to applications.

The recent rapid development of computer technology has enabled us to analyze a large biomolecules by the method of computational chemistry based on all-atom simulation. This class summarizes theory and methodology of statistical thermodynamics necessary for a biomolecular simulation such as molecular dynamics simulation.

Recently, the application of organic chemistry to molecular biology has been vigorously conducted. Novel synthesized chemicals reveal various biological phenomena which was difficult to clarify by conventional molecular biology techniques. This lecture will provide recent reports spanning to chemistry, biology and physics.

The development of materials for controlling cells and tissues, which are biomaterials, has been focused by drastic advancement of therapies using stem cells. For the development of biomaterials, it is so important to acquire the knowledge of biology, medicine, pharmacy as well as the knowledge of the characteristics of materials and elements. The methodology and the related studies for designing functional biomaterials will be provided in this lecture.