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Nakata Lab
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A lab that artificially synthesizes, entirely from scratch, compounds close to natural medicines.
AboutAbout the lab
Synthesizing natural compounds from scratch.
The Nakata Lab studies the artificial synthesis, entirely from scratch, of bioactive natural products that serve as the basis of drugs.
The lab develops its own new asymmetric synthesis reactions and catalysts, and studies methods for efficiently producing target compounds.
Using the synthesized compounds, the lab also conducts chemical biology research that investigates their effects on living organisms.
Key terms
- Total synthesis
- A chemical method of artificially building complex compounds found in nature, step by step, from simple substances
- Asymmetric synthesis
- A synthetic method that produces only the desired one of a pair of mirror-image molecules (enantiomers), like a right hand and a left hand
- Catalyst
- A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without itself being changed
NewsLab news
A book by Prof. Nakata and colleagues was published by Springer Nature
A doctoral student received the Doctoral Degree Award from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
ResearchResearch themes
The Nakata Lab focuses on the asymmetric total synthesis of bioactive natural products, while also developing new synthetic reactions and methodologies and conducting chemical biology research to investigate how compounds act.
*Illustrative imageTotal synthesis of bioactive natural products
The lab artificially synthesizes naturally occurring compounds with pharmacological activity entirely from scratch, while distinguishing between enantiomers.
*Illustrative imageDevelopment of new asymmetric synthesis reactions
Using chiral catalysts of its own design, the lab develops new asymmetric synthesis methods, including the Nozaki-Hiyama reaction and intramolecular cyclopropanation.
*Illustrative imageChemical biology research
Based on natural products elucidated through total synthesis, the lab develops new compounds that are photostable and retain antifungal activity.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Nakata Lab consist of faculty, doctoral students who are working professionals, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorMasahisa Nakata
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
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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: “Ship in a bottle - geograph.org.uk - 2273412” Steve Fareham / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Total synthesis of bioactive natural products: “Dendrobates azureus qtl1” Quartl / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Development of new asymmetric synthesis reactions: “Origami Crane WUXGA” Laitche / Public domain (cropped)
- Chemical biology research: “Trametes versicolor” Matej Frančeškin / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (山本研究室): “Fluorescence of Riboflavin in Water” Ksenia Kandurova, Yurii Kandurov, Dmitry Stavtsev / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (柴田研究室): “Three Schlenk flasks” Ichwarsnur / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (中尾研究室): “Mycale laxissima (Strawberry Vase Sponge)” Nhobgood Nick Hobgood / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (鹿又研究室): “Ring van Möbius - Hans Kalkhoven” Alex P. Kok / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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