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Katsunori Tanaka Lab
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A lab of in vivo synthetic chemistry that treats disease by synthesizing drugs inside the bodies of living animals.
AboutAbout the lab
Making drugs inside the body and treating disease on the spot.
The Katsunori Tanaka Lab studies the synthesis of functional molecules inside the bodies of living animals.
The idea is to introduce safe precursor molecules of an anticancer drug into the body, make the drug at the cancer site, and have it act only there.
This is achieved by combining chemical catalysts that do not become deactivated even in blood and organs with glycoclusters developed by the lab.
The lab aims to turn this “in vivo synthetic chemical therapy” into a technology that can be used in clinical settings.
Key terms
- In vivo synthetic chemical therapy
- A treatment concept in which drug molecules are synthesized inside the body and exert their effect on the spot
- Chemical catalyst
- A substance that makes a chemical reaction proceed more easily without itself being changed
- Glycocluster
- A molecule made of bundled sugar chains. It serves to deliver agents to a target site in the body
NewsLab news
A researcher received the Outstanding Oral Presentation Award at the Young Scientist School on RI Science for Medicine
Prof. Tanaka was appointed Project Director of RIKEN's Drug Discovery and Medical Technology Platform Program
Assistant Professor Pradipta received the 10th Bioindustry Encouragement Award
A doctoral student received the Outstanding Researcher Award in Materials and Information
A doctoral student received the Student Presentation Award at the Spring Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies “in vivo synthetic chemical therapy,” in which drug molecules, polymers, and even materials are chemically synthesized directly inside the body and perform their therapeutic function on the spot. Using the power of synthetic organic chemistry, it aims to fundamentally solve the problem of side effects.
*Illustrative imageSynthesizing anticancer drugs inside the body
Safe precursor molecules of an anticancer drug are introduced into the body, and the drug is made at the cancer site so that it acts only on those cancer cells. This was achieved by combining chemical catalysts that do not become deactivated even in blood and organs with the lab's original glycoclusters.
*Illustrative imageUsing substances produced by cancer as raw materials
At cancer sites, chemical substances are produced at concentrations high enough to trigger reactions. The lab uses acrolein, which is always generated when cancer develops, as a raw material, and combines it with catalytic reactions in the body to make diagnostic and therapeutic agents on the spot.
*Illustrative imagePatrol molecules that circulate in the body
Using glycocluster technology that moves between organs in response to a chemical stimulus, the lab is taking on the challenge of creating molecules that circulate through the body, find disease, and synthesize a drug on the spot to treat it. After treatment, the molecules are excreted from the body through the bladder or large intestine.
*Illustrative imageExpansion to clinical use and social implementation
The lab will establish the individual technologies of delivery, diagnosis, and treatment as a lab platform. In collaboration with the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Osaka University Hospital, the Max Planck Institute, and others, it aims to expand to medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies in the future.
MembersFaculty
The Katsunori Tanaka Lab consists of faculty members, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and administrative secretaries.As of 2026
- ProfessorKatsunori Tanaka
- Assistant ProfessorAmbara R PradiptaPublications ↗
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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: “Fluorescence microscopy of the oral cancer cells” Korinna / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Synthesizing anticancer drugs inside the body: “Fluorescense Handful of light” Mateusz Urban / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Using substances produced by cancer as raw materials: “Breast cancer cells (2)” Dr. Cecil Fox (Photographer) / Public domain (cropped)
- Patrol molecules that circulate in the body: “Blood vessels in fat tissue” Yikesmd / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Expansion to clinical use and social implementation: “Automated Screening ( )” National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences from Bethesda, MD / Public domain (cropped)
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