LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Soft Materials Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab designs biocompatible polymer materials with a focus on intermediate water.
AboutAbout the lab
Mastering biomaterials science
Prof. Tanaka's lab studies materials with excellent biocompatibility for use in medical and healthcare products.
The lab aims to understand, at the molecular level, the phenomena that occur at the interface between cells and materials, and to establish design guidelines for biocompatible materials.
Building on polymer design and synthesis, interface analysis, and analysis of cell-material interactions, the lab studies medical materials that can be used for diagnosis and treatment.
On the lab's website, it is introduced as Prof. Tanaka's lab in the Soft Materials Interdisciplinary Chemistry Field of the Soft Materials Division, Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering.
Key terms
- Intermediate water
- Water adsorbed on a material that shows properties between those of free water and non-freezing water. It is weakly bound to polymer chains and remains mobile even at low temperatures
- Biocompatibility
- How well a medical material is tolerated when it comes into contact with biological components such as blood and cells
- Polymer
- A large, chain-like molecule formed by many small molecules linked together
NewsLab news
A PhD student received the Outstanding Presentation Award at the 9th Engineering Planning Seminar
A master's student received the Best Presenter Award at the FY2026 First Semester Graduate Seminar
ResearchResearch themes
Understanding and controlling, at the molecular level, how soft polymer biomaterials interact with biological components such as water, ions, proteins, and cells is regarded as the most important issue in developing medical products for diagnosis and treatment. The lab has proposed the “intermediate water concept,” which focuses on the water molecules in the environment where materials meet biological components, and aims to contribute to building a society of healthy longevity.
*Illustrative imageMaterial design based on the intermediate water concept
The lab found that the adsorption and denaturation of proteins, which trigger foreign-body reactions to polymer materials, can be controlled by the amount of intermediate water. The amount of intermediate water can be precisely controlled through the structure and spacing of the polymer side chains.
*Illustrative imagePolymer design, synthesis, and functional control
The lab synthesizes well-defined polymers using organic chemistry methods that allow strict control of a polymer's chemical structure. By understanding the relationships among chemical structure, physical properties, hydration state, and biocompatibility, it aims to develop better biocompatible materials.
*Illustrative imageInterface analysis of biocompatible polymers
The lab precisely analyzes the interfaces of biocompatible polymers and examines how water and proteins adsorb onto them. To identify the nature of intermediate water, it also carries out high-resolution measurements using external facilities such as SPring-8 and J-PARC.
*Illustrative imageAnalysis of cell-material interactions
Aiming to clarify the role of water molecules bound to biomolecules, the lab designs and develops functional polymers based on that knowledge. By controlling cell-polymer interactions to manipulate cell adhesion and cell behavior, it aims for applications in early cancer diagnosis and regenerative medicine.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members consist of faculty members, academic researchers, technical staff, administrative assistants, commercialization producers, PhD, master's, and undergraduate students, visiting researchers, and visiting research students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKen Tanaka
- Associate ProfessorTakahisa Anada
- Associate ProfessorSatoshi Honda
- Associate ProfessorShingo Kobayashi
- LecturerMika Kobayashi
- Assistant ProfessorCHO Iksung
- Assistant ProfessorSeigo Kimura
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Soft Materials Lab
Soft Materials Interdisciplinary Chemistry LabInstitute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Division of Soft MaterialsElucidating the mechanisms of biocompatibility by focusing o…
Functional Materials Interdisciplinary Chemistry LabInstitute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Division of Soft MaterialsDevelopment of pressure-sensitive soft materials for visuali…
Nano-Biodevice International Collaboration LabInstitute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Division of Soft Materials
Mechano-Biomaterials International Collaboration LabInstitute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Division of Soft MaterialsThe information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Best Medical Equipment Supplier” Farah sharba / CC0 (cropped)
- Material design based on the intermediate water concept: “Testing Instruments for Packaging Materials” Lisapaulinet / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Polymer design, synthesis, and functional control: “Synthesis and Degradation-es” Christinelmiller / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Interface analysis of biocompatible polymers: “File-Water droplet at DWR-coated surface1” Brocken Inaglory / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Analysis of cell-material interactions: “Cell culture (fibroblasts) (261 20) Fibroblasts (metaphase, anaphase)” Doc. RNDr. Josef Reischig, CSc. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Soft Materials Interdisciplinary Chemistry Lab): “Sample of Polyvinyl alcohol” LHcheM / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Functional Materials Interdisciplinary Chemistry Lab): “Photodynamic therapy (red)” John Crawford (Photographer) / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Nano-Biodevice International Collaboration Lab): “Surface plasmon resonance device” Laundry / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Mechano-Biomaterials International Collaboration Lab): “CAR-T Gel Delivery” Kassidy Veasaw / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.