LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Structural Chemistry of Life Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab makes marine natural products by total synthesis and investigates their functions.
AboutAbout the lab
Solving the mysteries of bioactivity through natural product synthesis.
The Structural Chemistry of Life Lab uses chemical synthesis (total synthesis) to produce marine natural products that have complex structures and show important biological activities.
Building on total synthesis, the lab studies the structures and biological functions of natural products, with the aim of contributing to life science research and drug discovery science.
Most marine natural products can be obtained from nature only in extremely small amounts, so supplying material by chemical synthesis plays an important role in analyzing their mechanisms of action.
On the lab's website, it is introduced under the name "Makoto Sasaki Lab."
Key terms
- Total synthesis
- A method of artificially building a complex natural product from simple starting materials through a series of reactions
- Voltage-gated potassium channel
- A protein in the cell membrane that forms a pathway for potassium ions. It opens and closes in response to changes in membrane potential
- Molecular probe
- A molecule used as a marker or tool for investigating molecules and processes in living systems
NewsLab news
A paper by a master's student has been accepted by Synlett
A press release has been issued on the paper about acylation of sulfoximines
A paper by a master's student has been published online in Eur. J. Org. Chem.
A press release has been issued on the paper about the synthesis of portimine
A new paper from the lab has been published online in J. Org. Chem.
ResearchResearch themes
Many natural products with unusual chemical structures and potent biological activities have been found in marine organisms, and they are expected to serve as candidate compounds for new pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals and as molecular probes for chemical biology research. This lab chemically synthesizes (total synthesis) such complex marine natural products and, by analyzing their structures and biological functions, aims to contribute to life science research and drug discovery science.
View More ↗
MembersFaculty
The members of the Structural Chemistry of Life Lab are faculty and students in the doctoral and master's programs.As of 2025
- ProfessorMakoto Sasaki
- Assistant ProfessorAtsushi Umehara
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 Structural Chemistry of Life Lab
Bioorganic Chemistry LabFaculty of Agriculture, Department of Applied BioscienceContributing to the development of new pharmaceuticals and a…
Bioactive Molecular Dynamics LabFaculty of Agriculture, Department of Applied BioscienceChemical biology (combining organic chemistry and biology) a…
Eukaryotic Microbial Functions LabFaculty of Agriculture, Department of Applied BioscienceGene expression regulation and protein function in filamento…
Enzyme Chemistry LabFaculty of Agriculture, Department of Applied BioscienceStructure, function, and molecular evolution of enzymes and …The 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: “Laboratory equipment of modern chemistry classroom” Belikov Maxim / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Total synthesis and analysis of complex marine natural products: “Niphates callista (Tube sponge) with sea cucumbers and cup corals” Nhobgood Nick Hobgood / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Bioorganic Chemistry Lab): “Scientist of the Astrochemistry Laboratory works with a Rotary evaporator inside the Goddard Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory. Rotary evaporator is used to dry down Antarctic ice samples” NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Bioactive Molecular Dynamics Lab): “Working in the Medicinal Chemistry Lab ( )” National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences from Bethesda, MD / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Eukaryotic Microbial Functions Lab): “Koji Mold Rice” Zenyrgarden / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Enzyme Chemistry Lab): “Crystal Structure of Human WAPL (PDB 4K6J)” Jimcricket90 / 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.