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Biosynthetic Chemistry Lab
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The lab uses the mechanisms of living things to make biodegradable plastics and other useful substances.
AboutAbout the lab
Making things with the functions of life.
The Biosynthetic Chemistry Lab studies how to synthesize useful substances using the functions of living organisms.
The lab also works to clarify the mechanisms of synthesis and degradation at the molecular level.
Its central material is polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a polymer that can be made from biomass and has excellent biodegradability.
To make PHAs with structures not found in nature, the lab also modifies the polymerizing enzymes themselves.
Key terms
- Biodegradable plastic
- Plastic that is broken down in the environment by the action of microorganisms
- Copolymer
- A polymer whose molecules contain two or more kinds of monomers (building blocks)
- Polymerizing enzyme
- An enzyme responsible for the reaction that links monomers together to build a polymer
NewsLab news
Paper based on master's thesis research accepted for publication in Polymer Degradation and Stability
Paper accepted for publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society
A student received a poster award at a Learning Satellite at National Taiwan University
A master's student received the FCC Best Master's Thesis Award
A student received an Excellent Presentation Award at the Northern Japan Branch of the Society for Biotechnology, Japan
ResearchResearch themes
Using the biosynthetic machinery of microorganisms, the lab makes plastics with structures not found in nature, along with other useful substances. It also investigates, at the molecular level, how the materials it has made are degraded.
*Illustrative imageBiosynthesis of Block Copolymers
Even for polymers made of the same building blocks, properties change greatly when the order in which they are linked changes. PhaCAR, an enzyme discovered by this lab, spontaneously produces block copolymers from a mixture of two substrates, and the lab aims to develop new biomaterials using them.
*Illustrative imageLipid Metabolism of Bifidobacteria
The lab found that some bifidobacteria, a type of gut bacteria, accumulate a fatty acid that is strongly effective only against Staphylococcus aureus. Using genetic engineering and culture engineering, the lab aims to create bifidobacteria that produce this useful fatty acid.
*Illustrative imageFundamentals of Biodegradable Plastics
Biodegradation is food for microorganisms, so the same material may degrade in compost but not in the sea. The lab explores whether it is possible to make polymers that are easy to use as materials and that degrade completely anywhere.
*Illustrative imageArtificial Bioplastics Beyond Nature
To make PHAs with structures that are not synthesized in nature, the lab uses enzyme engineering to broaden the range of substrates that polymerizing enzymes can handle. It also seeks to clarify how the monomer sequence is determined in PHA, which is made without a template.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Biosynthetic Chemistry Lab consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and assistant staff.As of 2026
- ProfessorKenichiro Matsumoto
- Associate ProfessorHiroshi Kikukawa
- Assistant ProfessorShizuru Isihara
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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: “BiodegradablePlasticUtensils1” Scott Bauer / Public domain (cropped)
- Biosynthesis of Block Copolymers: “Cupriavidus necator” Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Lipid Metabolism of Bifidobacteria: “Bifidobacterium adolescentis Gram” Y tambe / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Fundamentals of Biodegradable Plastics: “Microplastics on Llangennith beach - geograph.org.uk - 7312138” Eirian Evans / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Artificial Bioplastics Beyond Nature: “3vzs” Deposition authors: Ikeda, K., Tanaka, Y., Tanaka, I., Yao, M.; visualization author: User:Astrojan / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Applied Biological Chemistry Lab): “Streptomyces griseus on chocolate agar (Espinoza 2022)” Carlos Espinoza, Pedro Morales, Brenda Perez, Alvaro Hu / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Polymer Chemistry Lab): “Polyethylene balls5” Lluis tgn / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Assembly Chemistry Lab): “Simulated structure of the water hexane interface” Cnrowley / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Biomolecular Chemistry Lab): “Microbial cellulose pellicle” User:Lightenoughtotravel / Public domain (cropped)
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