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Organic Molecular Assembly Function Lab (Matsunaga Lab)
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A lab that discovers new organic reactions using its own original catalysts.
AboutAbout the lab
Making molecules more efficiently, with less waste.
The Matsunaga Lab mainly discovers and develops new organic chemical reactions, aiming to contribute to synthesizing pharmaceuticals and other compounds more efficiently and with less waste, and to making full use of the diversity of organic compounds.
In particular, the lab focuses on designing and developing its own original catalysts and reagents.
Key terms
- C–H activation
- A reaction that directly converts the abundant carbon–hydrogen bonds in organic compounds into other forms
- Asymmetric catalyst
- A catalyst used in reactions that produce mainly one of a molecule's two mirror-image forms (the left-handed or right-handed one)
- Photocatalyst
- A substance that absorbs light and drives a reaction forward
- Hypervalent iodine
- Compounds in which an iodine atom has three or more bonds. Used as reagents
NewsLab news
A doctoral student won the ACS Poster Award at OM&CAT-7
A doctoral student won the Student Excellent Presentation Award at the 146th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
A doctoral student won the Shimadzu Poster Award at OMCOS-22
A doctoral student won the Excellent Presentation Award at the 23rd Symposium on Organic Chemistry for the Next Generation
ResearchResearch themes
The lab designs and develops its own original catalysts and reagents to discover and develop new organic chemical reactions.
C–H Activation by Transition-Metal Catalysts
The lab studies C–H activation with cobalt, rhodium, and iridium complex catalysts. It was the first in the world to discover that Cp*Co(III) catalysts can be used for C–H activation, and has also reported asymmetric reactions that combine them with chiral organic molecules.
Cooperation of Photocatalysts and Cobalt Catalysts
By combining visible-light photocatalysts with inexpensive and versatile cobalt catalysts, the lab was the first in the world to report a "reductive MHAT" system. It is developing reactions aimed at pharmaceutical synthesis, such as deuteration and coupling reactions.
Highly Reactive Hypervalent Iodine Reagents
The lab studies reactions that take advantage of the high reactivity of hypervalent iodine reagents such as ITT, which has three oxygen ligands. It has reported astatination reactions, which are expected to be applied to cancer treatment, and the oxidation of tetraalkylsilanes at low temperature.
Paddlewheel-Type Chiral Dinuclear Ruthenium Catalysts
The lab found that paddlewheel-type dinuclear ruthenium complexes, which have two ruthenium centers, work as excellent asymmetric catalysts. It is developing reactions that take advantage of their strong Lewis acidity and resistance to oxidation.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral and master's students, and fourth-year undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorShigeki Matsunaga
- Associate ProfessorTatsuhiko Yoshino
- Assistant ProfessorKosuke Higashida
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Report an errorAbout the images
For images provided to us or used with permission, the source is listed on each line. Wikimedia Commons images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab (they are cropped). Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Ruthenium Catalyst” Crys83 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- C–H Activation by Transition-Metal Catalysts: “C–H Activation by Transition Metal Catalysts” 集合有機分子機能研究室 / 研究室からの
提供 (cropped) - Cooperation of Photocatalysts and Cobalt Catalysts: “Cooperation of a photocatalyst and a cobalt catalyst” 集合有機分子機能研究室 / 研究室からの
提供 (cropped) - Highly Reactive Hypervalent Iodine Reagents: “Highly Reactive Hypervalent Iodine Reagents” 集合有機分子機能研究室 / 研究室からの
提供 (cropped) - Paddlewheel-Type Chiral Dinuclear Ruthenium Catalysts: “Wheel-Type Chiral Dinuclear Ruthenium Catalyst” 集合有機分子機能研究室 / 研究室からの
提供 (cropped) - Related lab (有機化学研究室
（依光研究室） ): “Te-flon distillation condensation device and Te-flon decompression distillation collection device” Bing-lab / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (生物化学研究室): “Ribosome (NIH BioArt )” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (有機合成化学研究室
（畠山研究室） ): “OLED Displays” Samsung Galaxy Note 10 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (無機物質化学
（堀毛 悟史） ): “General structure of Metal-organic frameworks” Russo V, Hmoudah M, Broccoli F, Iesce MR, Jung O-S and Di Serio M (2020) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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