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Soft Materials Lab
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A lab that designs biocompatible medical materials starting from the molecular level.
AboutAbout the lab
Mastering biomaterials science
The Soft Materials Lab studies materials with excellent biocompatibility for use in medical and healthcare products.
By understanding at the molecular level the phenomena that occur at the interface between cells and materials, the lab aims to establish design guidelines for biocompatible materials.
Building on the design and synthesis of polymers, the analysis of the structure and physical properties of interfaces, and the analysis of interactions between cells and materials, the lab studies medical materials that can be used for diagnosis and treatment.
On the lab's website, it is introduced under the name "Masaru Tanaka Lab."
Key terms
- Intermediate water
- Water with 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
- The property of a material that is unlikely to cause protein denaturation, thrombus formation, or similar effects even when it comes into contact with biological components such as blood
- Hydration state
- The state in which a polymer material has adsorbed and holds water. The structure of the adsorbed water is thought to affect the performance of medical devices
NewsLab news
A doctoral student received the Outstanding Presentation Award at the 9th Engineering Planning Seminar
A master's student received the Best Presenter Award at the 2026 First-Semester Graduate Seminar
ResearchResearch themes
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 medical materials with excellent biocompatibility. It proposes the "intermediate water concept," which focuses on the water molecules at the site where materials and biological components come into contact, and advances its research on that basis.
*Illustrative imagePolymer design, synthesis, and functional control
Using organic chemistry methods that allow strict control of the chemical structure of polymers, the lab synthesizes polymers with well-defined structures. By understanding the relationships between chemical structure, physical properties, hydration state, and biocompatibility, it aims to develop better biocompatible materials.
*Illustrative imageAnalysis of the structure and properties of bio-interfaces
To clarify what determines the function of biocompatible polymers, the lab conducts precise analysis of polymer interfaces and of the adsorption of water and proteins onto those interfaces. It also uses external facilities such as SPring-8 and J-PARC, and works on high-resolution measurements.
*Illustrative imageAnalysis of cell–material interactions
Aiming to clarify the role of water molecules bound to biomolecules, the lab uses that knowledge to design functional polymers that go beyond the molecules found in nature. By controlling interactions between cells and polymers, it aims at applications in early cancer diagnostic technology and regenerative medicine.
MembersFaculty
The Soft Materials Lab's members consist of faculty members, academic researchers, technical staff, administrative assistants, commercialization producers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, visiting researchers, and visiting research students.As of 2026
- ProfessorMasaru Tanaka
- Associate ProfessorTakahisa Anada
- Associate ProfessorSatoshi Honda
- Associate ProfessorShingo Kobayashi
- LecturerMika Kobayashi
- Assistant ProfessorCHO Iksung
- Assistant ProfessorSeigo Kimura
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Silicon cubes” Jan Ozimek / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Polymer design, synthesis, and functional control: “Syndiotactic-polypropylene-plan-3D-balls” Benjah-bmm27 / Public domain (cropped)
- Analysis of the structure and properties of bio-interfaces: “A Pathway to Protocells on Titan – Animations (SVS -Cell-Membrane-Thumbnail)” NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - NASA Goddard / Public domain (cropped)
- Analysis of cell–material interactions: “Body reaction to biomaterial implantation” Zeeshan Sheikh, Patricia J. Brooks, Oriyah Barzilay, Noah Fine, and Michael Glogauer / CC BY 4.0 (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)
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