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Yoshimoto Lab
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The lab evolves nucleic acids and applies them to measuring, treating, and creating.
AboutAbout the lab
Nucleic acids as molecules with programmable functions
The Yoshimoto Lab studies nucleic acids not merely as carriers of genetic information but as "molecules" whose functions can be programmed.
At the core of its work are "nucleic acid aptamers," which specifically recognize a wide range of target molecules.
By combining evolutionary molecular engineering with analytical and measurement technologies, the lab develops new diagnostic systems, drugs, and biomaterials that control cell fate.
Through the design and control of nucleic acid molecules, the lab deepens the understanding of fundamental life science while aiming for applications in environmental and medical fields.
Key terms
- Nucleic acid aptamer
- A single-stranded nucleic acid that can specifically recognize a target molecule. It is classified as a middle-molecule targeted drug.
- Evolutionary molecular engineering
- A technology that mimics the evolution of living organisms to artificially select molecules with desired functions.
- SELEX
- A method that selects and amplifies only the nucleic acids that bind a target molecule from a pool of nucleic acids with random sequences.
NewsLab news
A master's student's research results accepted by Chemical Communications
Paper accepted by J. Robotics and Mechatronics
Press release on the results of joint research with Daikin Industries
Paper on an anticoagulant bivalent aptamer drug accepted by ChemMedChem
A student won an Outstanding Poster Award at the Chem-Bio Joint Seminar
ResearchResearch themes
The lab combines the "molecular evolution" of nucleic acids with measurement technology, drug discovery, and biomaterials. Centered on nucleic acid aptamers that specifically recognize target molecules, it takes on the challenge of "opening a new frontier in nucleic acid science" that has not existed before.
*Illustrative imageDevelopment of the MACE-SELEX method
The conventional SELEX method for obtaining nucleic acid aptamers has a low success rate, and even when it succeeds, it yields only one or two sequences. The lab independently developed a method that incorporates capillary electrophoresis using target molecules immobilized on magnetic particles (MACE) into SELEX, efficiently eliminating sequences that do not bind.
*Illustrative imageAn anticoagulant whose effect can be neutralized
The lab designed a bispecific aptamer by joining two types of DNA aptamers that bind the blood coagulation factor thrombin with a linker. It showed the highest anticoagulant activity reported to date, and the lab has also shown that its effect can be neutralized by a short single-stranded DNA that acts as a complementary strand.
*Illustrative imageAn artificial cytokine that promotes angiogenesis
Nucleic acid aptamers can be used not only to block binding but also as molecules that switch on biological events. The lab obtained DNA aptamers that bind the two VEGF receptors and discovered that one of them is a rare molecule that promotes angiogenesis.
*Illustrative imageHighly sensitive detection of an anticancer drug
The anticancer drug methotrexate requires careful monitoring of its blood concentration to avoid side effects. The lab linked a DNA aptamer with specificity comparable to that of an antibody to a DNAzyme with peroxidase activity, creating a detection system that does not rely on antibodies.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Yoshimoto Lab consist of faculty, project researchers, academic specialist staff, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, research students, and joint researchers.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorKeitaro YoshimotoPublications ↗
- Project Associate Professor和田 健一
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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: “DNA double helix 45” Jerome Walker,Dennis Myts / Public domain (cropped)
- Development of the MACE-SELEX method: “Capillary Gel Electrophoresis Instrument Schematic” Chem4066sp13 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- An anticoagulant whose effect can be neutralized: “2HNT Gamma-Thrombin” Nevit Dilmen / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- An artificial cytokine that promotes angiogenesis: “Formation of the new blood vessels” Piotr Cywoniuk, Foundation of Research and Science Development, Poland Fundacja Badań i Rozwoju Nauki / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Highly sensitive detection of an anticancer drug: “Methotrexate-3D-balls-1U72” Fvasconcellos (talk · contribs) / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Wakasugi Lab): “Angiogenesis medical animation still” www.scientificanimations.com / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Sato Lab): “Green fluorescent protein (GFP) in Eppendorf Tubes” Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Wakamoto Lab): “E. coli Bacteria ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Toyota Lab): “Phosphatidylcholine liposomes at phase-contrast microscopy” ArkhipovSergey / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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