The University of Tokyo · Materials Science
Professor Satoshi Honda's research lab specializes in the design and synthesis of functional polymeric and soft materials with stimuli-responsive and self-assembling properties. The lab focuses on exploiting molecular architecture—particularly cyclic topology and dynamic covalent chemistry—to enhance the stability and responsiveness of nanostructures such as micelles and polymer networks. Key research directions include the development of thermally and salt-stable self-assembled systems inspired by biological membranes, and the creation of reversible, solvent-free phase-transition materials through covalent bond reorganization. The work bridges polymer chemistry, supramolecular science, and biomedical applications, particularly in understanding and treating hypercalcemia in cancer and leukemia.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
The thermal stability of a self-assembled micelle was remarkably enhanced by a topology effect. Linear poly(butyl acrylate)-block-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(butyl acrylate) (1) and the cyclized product, poly(butyl acrylate)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (2), were self-assembled to form flower-like micelles. By means of viscometry, the critical micelle concentrations were determined to be 0.13 and 0.14 mg/mL for 1 and 2, respectively. Dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, and trans
Cyclic molecules provide better stability for their aggregates. Typically in nature, the unique cyclic cell membrane lipids allow thermophilic archaea to inhabit extreme conditions. By mimicking the biological design, the robustness of self-assembled synthetic nanostructures is expected to be improved. Here we report topology effects by cyclized polymeric amphiphiles against their linear counterparts, demonstrating a drastic enhancement in the thermal, as well as salt stability of self-assembled
Liquefaction and solidification of materials are the most fundamental changes observed during thermal phase transitions, yet the design of organic and polymeric soft materials showing isothermal reversible liquid-nonliquid conversion remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate that solvent-free repeatable molecular architectural transformation between liquid-star and nonliquid-network polymers that relies on cleavage and reformation of a covalent bond in hexaarylbiimidazole. Liquid four-armed star
The calcified intrapleural nodular opacities of thoracolithiasis tended to be located inferiorly, presumably secondary to the effects of gravity, and they seemed to migrate freely within the pleural cavity.
Human parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) mRNA was detected in peripheral leukemic cells obtained from adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) patients as well as in cultured human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I)-infected T-cell lines. In contrast, PTHrP mRNA was not detected in other types of leukemic cells. Using radioimmunoassay, immunoreactive PTHrP was also detected in the spent media of HTLV-I-infected T-cell lines. These results suggest that PTHrP plays an important role in developing t
Human parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) mRNA was detected in all fresh cancer tissues consecutively obtained from 6 patients with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM). The primary sites of the cancers in these cases were distributed among different organs including the lung, esophagus, kidney and ovary. PTHrP mRNA was undetectable in all 10 fresh cancer tissues obtained from normocalcemic patients. These results suggest PTHrP as a major cause of HHM.
Repeatable topological transformation of polymers for the modulation of material functions is a challenge. We have developed a method for repeatedly resetting a cyclic macromolecular architecture to a linear architecture by photostimulation, namely, topology-reset execution (T-rex) based on the photochemistry of hexaarylbiimidazoles (HABIs). We synthesized cyclic poly(dimethylsiloxane)s (PDMSs) of various ring sizes with HABIs linked in the chains. UV irradiation of the cyclic PDMSs produced tel
The effects of the macrocyclization of amphiphiles with a liquid crystalline segment were investigated in the solid state, and electric field-responsive cylindrical micelles and vesicles were self-assembled.
The development of solventless system for modulating properties of network materials is imperative for the next generation sustainable technology. Utilization of photostimulation is important owing to its spatial and temporal locality, yet designing photoresponsive network materials exhibiting repeatable and dramatic change in their properties remains a challenge. Here, the authors report a photocleavable regenerative network (PRN) linked with photoresponsive hexaarylbiimidazoles (HABIs) synthes
Alterations in the rat tuberous sclerosis gene (Tsc2) cause renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) with complete penetrance. In this study, it was shown that the minimal core promoters of the rat Tsc2 and endonuclease III 1 (Nth1) genes, lying in a 5'-to-5' arrangement, were localized in a 0.11-kb region containing two Ets binding sites (EBSs). This region worked as a bidirectional promoter in a single reporter plasmid. Mutational inactivation of each of the two EBSs significantly reduced promoter activit
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