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Bioactive Molecules Lab
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The lab develops drugs and tools, using molecules that bind to sugars as a starting point.
AboutAbout the lab
Turning sugar-related bioactive molecules into drugs and tools.
The Bioactive Molecules Lab studies molecules that one organism produces and that affect another organism, focusing mainly on those related to sugars.
Through purification and structure determination of molecules, analysis of their mechanisms of action, and structural modification, the lab aims to develop molecules useful for research, medicine, and agriculture.
Using natural products that bind to glycans, and glycans themselves, as starting points, the lab works on developing drugs for infectious diseases and dementia, as well as tools for studying glycans.
In 2018, the lab changed its name from the Chemistry of Physiologically Active Substances research group to its current name.
Key terms
- Glycan
- A molecule in which sugars such as glucose are linked in a chain. It is attracting attention as the "third chain of life," alongside nucleic acids and proteins.
- Ganglioside
- A glycolipid containing sialic acid. It is found in the membranes of nerve cells and serves as a binding partner for amyloid β.
- Cysteine
- One of the amino acids that make up proteins. In this research, it is the target of chemical modification.
NewsLab news
Paper on Quinocidin selected as a Highlight Paper in Tetrahedron Chem
A master's student won the Excellent Poster Award at the Excellent Graduate Program GTR Program results meeting
A master's student won the Excellent Presentation Award at the 58th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Chemical Regulation of Plants
Press release on research findings on Pradimicin
Paper on the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of Pradimicin published in Bioorg. Med. Chem.
ResearchResearch themes
Glycans are attracting attention as the "third chain of life," alongside nucleic acids and proteins. Based on molecules that bind to glycans and on glycans that show biological activity, the lab develops therapeutic drugs for glycan-related diseases and tool molecules for glycan research.
*Illustrative imageGlycan-binding natural products, tools, and drugs for infectious diseases
Pradimicins, produced by actinomycetes, are currently the only group of small-molecule compounds that can bind to mannose under physiological conditions. The lab chemically modifies them to create products such as fluorescent detection reagents for glycans, and also aims to develop drugs for infectious diseases that bind to the glycans of viruses and fungi.
*Illustrative imageDeveloping dementia drugs that target glycans
It is becoming clear that amyloid β binds to gangliosides in the membranes of nerve cells, aggregates, and damages the cells. The lab investigates the mode of this binding and works on developing inhibitors that block this process, as well as oligosaccharide derivatives that could become preventive or therapeutic drugs.
*Illustrative imageNatural products with unique reactivity
From the culture broth of actinomycetes, the lab discovered Quinocidin, a novel natural product that suppresses the growth of cancer cells. A ring in its skeleton reacts with cysteine in a neutral aqueous solution at room temperature, and does not react with other amino acids. Using this reaction, the lab is developing tool molecules that chemically modify cysteine residues.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Bioactive Molecules Lab are faculty, doctoral students, master's students, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorYu Nakagawa
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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: “Beta-D-Glucofuranose Molekülbaukasten 9136 (crop)” user:Bin im Garten / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Glycan-binding natural products, tools, and drugs for infectious diseases: “Microbiology techniques 2” Luis Fernando Flores LAB / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Developing dementia drugs that target glycans: “Drug discovery cycle 2” Boghog / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Natural products with unique reactivity: “Cysteine ball-and-stick” MarinaVladivostok / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ikeda Lab): “U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Feb. 27” NavyMedicine / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Drug Discovery Molecular Design Lab): “Rotavapor” Geni / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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