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Nakamura-Okada Lab
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A lab that uses organic synthesis to create drugs for new cancer treatments.
AboutAbout the lab
Controlling chemical reactions in tiny environments inside the body.
The Nakamura-Okada Lab pursues drug discovery research aimed at new cancer treatments, based on synthetic organic chemistry.
It focuses on microenvironments in the body, such as the hypoxic environment of cancer cells and local nuclear reactions.
It also aims for technological innovation in chemical biology, including the development of molecular modification methods that act selectively on protein surfaces.
The lab works by designing and synthesizing molecules, evaluating them itself, and feeding the results back into the next design.
Key terms
- Boron neutron capture therapy
- A treatment in which neutrons are directed at boron that has accumulated in cancer cells, destroying the cancer within the range of a single cell
- Chemical biology
- Research that uses molecules made by chemistry as tools to investigate and manipulate mechanisms inside living organisms
- Drug delivery
- A mechanism for carrying a drug to the place where it is needed, in the required amount. It can increase effectiveness and reduce side effects
NewsLab news
A master's student won the Outstanding Presentation Award in Master's Thesis Research Planning II
A master's student won the Outstanding Presentation Award in Master's Thesis Research Planning I
The lab developed a drug that is also effective against tumors that respond poorly to neutron capture therapy, and issued a press release
A student who completed the doctoral program won the Chorafas Prize
ResearchResearch themes
Based on synthetic organic chemistry, the lab conducts drug discovery research aimed at new cancer treatments, as well as research aimed at technological innovation in chemical biology. From developing new synthetic methods using metal catalysts to drug discovery science, chemical biology, and neutron capture therapy, everything is connected through the shared work of making things.
*Illustrative imageMedicinal Chemistry from Novel Scaffolds
The lab designs new scaffold structures for bioactive compounds, synthesizes them efficiently, evaluates their activity itself, and feeds the results back into the design. It also works on drug discovery that takes advantage of the properties of the element boron, and on small molecules with three-dimensional scaffolds that target protein-protein interactions.
*Illustrative imageBoron Carriers for BNCT
Boron neutron capture therapy requires boron drugs to be delivered selectively to cancer cells. Taking advantage of the tendency of fine particles to accumulate around tumors, the lab develops boron-containing liposomes and boronated albumin.
*Illustrative imageTagging Proteins with Photocatalysts
Using short-lived radicals, the lab develops reactions that tag only a target protein out of a mixture of many proteins. A ruthenium photocatalyst linked to a ligand that binds the protein drives the reaction only in its immediate vicinity.
*Illustrative imageMagnetic Agents for Observing and Manipulating Living Systems
Fluorescence-based observation can distinguish molecules but cannot reach a wide area of a living body. The lab develops paramagnetic metal probes whose magnetic properties and ability to discriminate molecules vary with the target of interest, and combines them with technologies that use magnetic fields, such as MRI.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Nakamura-Okada Lab consist of faculty members, technical support staff, administrative support staff, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorHiroyuki NakamuraPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorSatoshi OkadaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorKazuki MiuraPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorRyo Kakiuchi
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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: “Boron neutron capture therapy (bnct) illustration” Pat Kenny (Illustrator) / Public domain (cropped)
- Medicinal Chemistry from Novel Scaffolds: “4-formylphenylboronic-acid-from-xtal-Mercury-3D-balls” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
- Boron Carriers for BNCT: “Boron R105” James L Marshall / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Tagging Proteins with Photocatalysts: “Delta-ruthenium-tris(bipyridine)-cation-3D-balls” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
- Magnetic Agents for Observing and Manipulating Living Systems: “MRI Scanner Mark One” AndyGaskell / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (川井研究室): “Fluorescent minerals hg” Hannes Grobe/AWI / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
- Related lab (山口研究室): “DAPI-stained nuclei of HeLa cells” DrBib / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (上野研究室): “Flu Self Assembly ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (小倉研究室): “Fluorescence of porphyrine” Sunmosk / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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