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Asoh Lab
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The lab uses chemistry to build polymer materials that are low in energy use and long-lasting.
AboutAbout the lab
Using chemistry to make polymer materials that are kind to the planet and to people.
The Asoh Lab studies environmentally benign next-generation materials that function with low energy and a long lifetime.
Using chemistry, the lab assembles polymer materials with new functions, such as soft actuators, self-healing materials, and joining of dissimilar materials.
To bring out a material's function with little energy, the lab designs materials that respond to slight changes in temperature, pH, or strain.
Another goal is to extend material lifetimes by giving them toughness and self-healing ability, thereby helping to reduce waste.
Key terms
- Hydrogel
- A soft material made of a polymer network that holds a large amount of water
- Electrophoresis
- A phenomenon in which charged polymers move toward an electrode when an electric field is applied
- Wrinkle structure
- A wrinkle-like structure that appears when a hard thin film formed on the surface of an elastic body is compressed from the side and buckles
- Soft actuator
- A soft material component that changes shape in response to a stimulus such as temperature, producing movement
NewsLab news
A master's student received the Outstanding On-Demand Presentation Award from the Society of Polymer Science, Japan
A student received the Outstanding Poster Award at the Japanese Society for Biomaterials Symposium 2024
Associate Professor Asoh received an academic award from the Adhesion Society of Japan
The Handbook of Radical Polymerization, to which Associate Professor Asoh contributed as a co-author, was released in a revised third edition
ResearchResearch themes
Through an approach of "assembling" synthetic and naturally derived polymers, the lab aims to create functional materials that contribute to a sustainable society. With hierarchical design from the molecular level to the macroscale, it creates materials by controlling chemical composition and sequence.
*Illustrative image3D fabrication based on controlled adhesion
Living organisms are soft materials with complex hierarchical structures. To reproduce this, the lab believes that molecularly designed hydrogel parts can be assembled one after another to easily make tailor-made three-dimensional structures.
*Illustrative imageElectrophoretic adhesion of hydrogels
When an electric field is applied with an anionic gel on the cathode side and a cationic gel on the anode side, the two gels adhere to each other immediately. With the opposite field, they do not adhere. The lab's current view is that this results from the formation of a polyion complex at the interface.
*Illustrative imageFunctional materials using wrinkle structures
When a hard thin film on an elastic body is compressed from the side, it buckles and forms wrinkle structures. Using its own method, the lab creates these structures on the surfaces and interfaces of hydrogels and studies their adhesion ability and dynamic functions.
*Illustrative imageAnisotropic gels and soft actuators
Stimuli-responsive hydrogels are promising as artificial muscles that operate in water. By combining electrophoretic deposition and photopolymerization, the lab makes gels with a gradient and has confirmed that they bend significantly in response to temperature.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Asoh Lab consist of faculty, visiting faculty from the affiliated graduate school program, and master's and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorTaka-Aki Asoh
- Assistant ProfessorYoshiaki Kobayashi
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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: “Short-peptide-based hydrogel, electron microscope image” ( ). "pmc = PMC5013444 Transparent crosslinked ultrashort peptide hydrogel dressing with high shape-fidelity accelerates healing of full-thickness excision wounds". Scientific Reports 6: 32670. DOI:10.1038/srep32670. ISSN . Retrieved on . / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- 3D fabrication based on controlled adhesion: “Material properties of metal powders for use in additive manufacturing ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Electrophoretic adhesion of hydrogels: “Superabsorber Hydrogel KSG 2917 pK” Petra Klawikowski / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Functional materials using wrinkle structures: “Sand ripples, Dakhla Oasis, Egypt” Vyacheslav Argenberg / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Anisotropic gels and soft actuators: “UV Curing Lamps ( )” ッ Zach Hoeken ッ from Brooklyn, NY, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (内藤研究室): “Cup Lid made of biodegradable plastic-top PNr°1108” D-Kuru / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (望月研究室): “Crystal structure of gamma-Oxygen” Forbes72 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (西尾研究室): “CO2 Sensor SCD30” Sensirion AG / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (勝又研究室): “Tomek Rygalik Kobro Tribute Chair 2026 transparent glass Polish modernism exhibition Warsaw 2026” Siarhei V / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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