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Toyoda Lab (Mass Spectrometry Group)
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The lab develops mass spectrometers and applies them to interdisciplinary research.
AboutAbout the lab
Making visible what could not be seen before
The Toyoda Lab (Mass Spectrometry Group) develops original mass spectrometers and conducts interdisciplinary research that brings together different fields using them.
Mass spectrometry is a technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ions (mass divided by charge number) and their abundance, and it can analyze even extremely small amounts of sample.
The lab's history goes back to the development of Japan's first mass spectrometer in the late 1930s, and it has students from both the Physics and Chemistry programs.
The lab also conducts research on mass spectrometry imaging, which visualizes the chemical components of biological tissues and cells.
Key terms
- Mass-to-charge ratio
- The mass of an ion divided by its charge number. In mass spectrometry, it is measured together with abundance.
- MULTUM
- A multi-turn time-of-flight mass spectrometer developed by the lab. Despite its compact size, it achieves high mass resolution.
- Mass spectrometry imaging
- A mass spectrometry technique that visualizes the chemical components of biological tissues and cells.
NewsLab news
Paper on the new development of t-SPESI published in Analytical Chemistry
Master's student wins the Best Presentation Award at the Conference on Mass Spectrometry
Paper by doctoral students and others wins the Paper Award of the Mass Spectrometry Society of Japan
Review paper on t-SPESI published
Doctoral student wins the Student Outstanding Presentation Award of the Physical Society of Japan
ResearchResearch themes
With the keyword "making visible what could not be seen before," the lab develops mass spectrometers. Centered on MULTUM, a compact, high-resolution instrument the lab developed, it pursues interdisciplinary research that crosses the boundaries between fields within the university.
*Illustrative imageContinuous monitoring of soil gases
Together with a lab at the Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, the lab is developing a system that continuously measures gases emitted from soil, such as CO2, N2O, and CH4, in the field on farmland. CO2 and N2O both have a mass number of 44, but MULTUM, with its high mass resolution, can separate and measure them using the mass spectrometer alone.
*Illustrative imageDeveloping an on-site diagnostic method for periodontal disease
The lab has analyzed metabolites in trace amounts of gingival crevicular fluid collected from the mouth, and has identified those whose amounts change with the degree of inflammation as markers for diagnosing periodontal disease. Together with groups including the Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka University, the lab aims to develop a system that uses the compact MULTUM for chairside diagnosis at university hospitals.
*Illustrative imageCrustal deformation and helium isotope ratios
Helium isotope ratios differ greatly among the atmosphere, the crust, and the mantle, so if helium in groundwater could be measured continuously on site with MULTUM, it might become possible to predict earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In joint research with a lab at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Osaka University, the lab established a method for measuring it with MULTUM, based on the idea of measuring 4He as a doubly charged ion and on the lab's ion counting method.
*Illustrative imageTechnology development for MULTUM
The lab develops technology to make MULTUM, which it developed, even higher-performing and more versatile. In cooperation with Kanomax Analytical Inc., a startup spun out of the lab, and others, it develops the technologies needed for miniaturization, weight reduction, and combination with various ionization methods, and also works on new control methods and mass calibration methods.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members consist of faculty, administrative assistants, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, research students, and collaborating staff (faculty and researchers affiliated with other centers, visiting professors, etc.).As of 2026
- ProfessorMichisato Toyoda
- Associate ProfessorYoichi Otsuka
- Assistant ProfessorYosuke Kawai
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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: “Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS) Tube - DPLA - 2a22bbd17e faf628d93a557 (page 1)” Honig, Richard E. (Richard Edward) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Continuous monitoring of soil gases: “Campionamento di Soil Gas” Emabarto01 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Developing an on-site diagnostic method for periodontal disease: “Biological Mass Spectrometry ( )” Oak Ridge National Laboratory / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Crustal deformation and helium isotope ratios: “Groundwater (aquifer, aquitard, 3 type wells)” Shigeru23 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Technology development for MULTUM: “A two-dimensional gas chromatograph (GCxGC) with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF), in CAFIA laboratory” Sarka Na kopci / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Advanced Mass Spectrometry Research Project Lab): “Thermo - Finnigan LCQ Mass Spectrometer )” Kitmondo Marketplace / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Challenging Individual Research Division Lab): “Metal-Methylium bonding orbital” Gmvalt / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kudo Lab): “Magnetic Levitation Experiment, Science Gallery Dublin, Ireland” Maria Delaney / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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