LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Natural Products Organic Chemistry Lab
Machine-translated · View original
A lab that synthesizes complex sugar-containing molecules and explores their connection to innate immunity.
AboutAbout the lab
Making complex sugar-containing molecules to explore how they work.
The lab studies naturally occurring organic compounds with biological activity, especially complex molecules that contain sugars.
Focusing on glycoconjugates in the cell surface layer of bacteria, the lab determines their chemical structures and synthesizes them chemically.
Lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan are substances involved in innate immunity in animals, and the lab also investigates the mechanisms by which they act.
Key terms
- Glycoconjugate
- A molecule in which a sugar is bound to another molecule. This lab works with components of the bacterial cell surface.
- Innate immunity
- A mechanism by which higher animals defend themselves against invaders such as bacteria.
- Lipopolysaccharide
- A component of the bacterial cell wall. It has long been known to increase animals' resistance to infection and cancer.
NewsLab news
A master's student received a Poster Award at the 10th FCCA Symposium and Glycoscience Young Researchers Forum 2026
A doctoral student received an Outstanding Research Award at the 25th Kansai Glycoscience Forum
A doctoral student received the Young Researcher Outstanding Poster Presentation Award at the 2nd Symposium on Research Using Short-Lived Radioisotopes
A doctoral student received a Student Presentation Award at the 104th Spring Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan
Professor Koichi Fukase received the 76th Chemical Society of Japan Award
ResearchResearch themes
The lab mainly targets naturally occurring organic compounds with biological activity, especially complex molecules containing sugars. Its work includes chemical research on isolating new substances, analyzing their structures, and synthesizing them, as well as research on how these molecules exert biological functions, conducted in collaboration with biochemists and medical researchers in Japan and abroad.
*Illustrative imageSynthetic Methods and Labeled Derivatives of Sugar-Containing Molecules
The lab studies glycoconjugates, which are components of the bacterial cell surface. It also focuses on new synthetic methods that join sugar molecules while controlling position and stereochemistry, and on synthesizing labeled compounds for studying the function of biologically active molecules.
*Illustrative imageCell Surface Molecules Involved in Innate Immunity
Lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan, which make up the cell wall, are involved in the manifestation of innate immunity in animals. The lab determines the chemical structures of the surface components that are responsible for the immune action, and also carries out chemical synthesis and isotope labeling, aiming to elucidate the mechanisms by which animal cells recognize them.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Natural Products Organic Chemistry Lab consist of faculty, collaborators, Project Researchers, students in the doctoral, master's, and undergraduate programs, technical assistants, and secretaries.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorAtsushi Shimoyama
- Assistant ProfessorMasayuki Takamatsu
- Project Assistant ProfessorDavie Kenneth
- Project ProfessorKoichi Fukase
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Natural Products Organic Chemistry Lab
Organic and Biological Chemistry LabFaculty of Science, Department of ChemistryDevelopment of precision chemical synthesis methods and nove…
Polymer Reaction Chemistry LabFaculty of Science, Department of ChemistryDevelopment of polymer synthesis methods exploiting the prop…
Bioinorganic Chemistry LabFaculty of Science, Department of ChemistryBioinorganic chemistry: capture and transport of metal ions,…
Polymer Structural Science LabFaculty of Science, Department of ChemistryOperating and assembly mechanisms of biomolecular machines s…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “Gram negative cell wall-id” Gram_negative_cell_wall.svg: Jeff Dahl derivative work: 24Adrianus (talk) / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Synthetic Methods and Labeled Derivatives of Sugar-Containing Molecules: “Bacterial cell walls” Microbialmatt / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Cell Surface Molecules Involved in Innate Immunity: “PAMPs and PRRs in the Innate Immune System” Immcarle105 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (有機生物化学研究室): “Structural model of SARS-CoV-2 infection - Oo 422117” Victor Padilla-Sanchez / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (高分子反応化学研究室): “Polypropylene Pellets - DPLA - f7c2fa29d14525ce21219452f4a1a316” Quantum Chemical Corporation / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (生物無機化学研究室): “Crystal structure of human hemoglobin in the oxy form” PDB code 2DN1 1.25 a resolution crystal structures of human haemoglobin in the oxy, deoxy and carbonmonoxy forms. Park, S.-Y., Yokoyama, T., Shibayama, N., Shiro, Y., Tame, J.R. (2006) J Mol Biol 360: 690-701 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb. Image created using JSmol (Javascript) / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (高分子構造科学研究室): “Caulobacter crescentus CcrM” Jcaceresvergara / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.