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Toyota Lab
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The lab uses chemistry to create molecular assemblies with “lifelike” properties.
AboutAbout the lab
The chemistry of lifelike systems, understood by creating them.
The Toyota Lab draws on organic chemistry and polymer chemistry to tackle problems in life science and materials science.
The lab investigates the properties of cells and cell aggregates by creating organic molecular assemblies with “lifelike” properties and using them to understand how cells work.
Organic molecules and polymers are assembled up to the micrometer scale, and molecular reactions and motions are used as triggers to bring out the dynamics of the resulting assemblies.
Building on this, the lab focuses on creating cell-mimicking reaction environments and materials with hierarchical structures and functions.
Key terms
- Molecular assembly
- A structure formed by many molecules coming together. It shows behavior different from that of a single molecule.
- Amphiphilic molecule
- A molecule that has both a part that is attracted to water and a part that is attracted to oil. It is the basis for forming membranes and small sacs.
- Artificial membrane vesicle
- A small, cell-like sac closed off by a membrane formed from molecules. It acts as a boundary separating the inside from the outside.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab assembles organic molecules and polymers into structures of micrometer size and larger, and uses molecular reactions and motions as triggers to bring out the dynamics of the resulting molecular assemblies. Building on this, it focuses on creating hierarchical cell-mimicking reaction environments and functional materials with hierarchical structures and functions.
*Illustrative imageArtificial Membrane Vesicles That Multiply
A boundary that keeps itself distinct from the outside world is the most fundamental element of molecular assemblies with “lifelike” properties. The lab designs and synthesizes amphiphilic molecules and polymers, which form assembly morphologies specific to each molecule, and investigates the dynamics of the boundary and the interior that allow molecular assemblies to deform and multiply.
*Illustrative imageArtificial Membrane Vesicles That Store
This theme deals with artificial membrane vesicles that accumulate ionized molecules inside. While developing its own methods for analyzing molecular assemblies, the lab studies how the interior becomes increasingly complex and how functions are generated autonomously.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Toyota Lab include faculty, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, a lab manager, and research collaborators.As of 2025
- Associate ProfessorTaro ToyotaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorSho Takamori
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
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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: “Phosphatidylcholine liposomes at phase-contrast microscopy” ArkhipovSergey / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Artificial Membrane Vesicles That Multiply: “Bilayer, liposome, and micelle” パタゴニア / Public domain (cropped)
- Artificial Membrane Vesicles That Store: “Curcumin Liposomes” David Ernesto Bautista Erazo / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (柳澤研究室): “Phosphatidylcholine liposomes stained with acridine orange” ArkhipovSergey / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (理論化学研究室
（横川研究室） ): “Separatory funnel with oil and colored water” PRHaney / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (若本研究室): “E. coli Bacteria ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (矢島研究室): “Tetrahymena pyriformis - 400x - Ciliatur ( )” Picturepest / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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