Yoshihiro Sasaki

Nanosize hydrogels (nanogels) are polymer nanoparticles with three-dimensional networks, formed by chemical and/or physical cross-linking of polymer chains. Recently, various nanogels have been designed, with a particular focus on biomedical applications. In this review, we describe recent progress in the synthesis of nanogels and nanogel-integrated hydrogels (nanogel cross-linked gels) for drug-delivery systems (DDS), regenerative medicine, and bioimaging. We also discuss chaperone-like functio

Protein pharmaceuticals show great therapeutic promise, but effective intracellular delivery remains challenging. To address the need for efficient protein transduction systems, we used a magnetic nanogel chaperone (MC): a hybrid of a polysaccharide nanogel, a protein carrier with molecular chaperone-like properties, and iron oxide nanoparticles, enabling magnetically guided delivery. The MC complexed with model proteins, such as BSA and insulin, and was not cytotoxic. Cargo proteins were delive

Abstract Nanogels are polymer nanoparticles with three-dimensional networks. Recently, various nanogels have been designed, with a particular focus on biomedical applications. In this review, we describe recent progress in the synthesis of functional nanogels by self-assembly of associating polymers and nanogel engineering for advanced biomedical technology including regenerative medicine and drug delivery systems.

Various cells in vivo secrete exosomes consisting of lipid bilayers. They carry mRNAs and miRNAs capable of controlling cellular functions and can be used as drug delivery system nanocarriers. There is the current need to further improve the efficiency of exosome uptake into target cells. In this study, we prepared a hybrid of exosomes and magnetic nanoparticles, which could be guided to target cells by a magnetic field for efficient uptake. Magnetic nanogels were prepared and hybridized to fluo

Cell-free protein synthesis is a promising technique for the rapid production of proteins. However, the application of the cell-free systems requires the development of an artificial chaperone that prevents aggregation of the protein and supports its correct folding. Here, nanogel-based artificial chaperones are introduced that improve the folding efficiency of rhodanese produced in cell-free systems. Although rhodanese suffers from rapid aggregation, rhodanese was successfully expressed in the

This paper describes construction of a nanosensory device for amplified detection of biologically important amines as chemical signals. The device was inspired by a biological signal transduction system, and was fabricated on an artificial cell membrane through self-organization of the molecular components, such as a synthetic receptor and a natural enzyme. Selective recognition of biologically important amines was achieved by a synthetic receptor with a pyridoxal moiety, as evaluated by means o