• Cyclodepsipeptide natural products include optically active hydroxy acids as well as various unnatural amino acids and exhibit a variety of biological activity depending on the peptide sequence, chirality, and selection of the hydroxy acids. Structure-activity relationships of a synthetic library of natural products could give us significant information of not only biologically important moieties but also intact positions in the biologically active small molecules. On the basis of the former information, more potent compounds and/or peptide mimetics can be designed. The latter information can also be important for making a molecular probe that is used for exploration of a target molecule.

We study for combinatorial synthesis of natural product analogues using solid-phase.

• Focusing our reseach interest mostly on the recognition and complexation behavior control of bioplymrs, such as DNA/RNA, proteines and so on. Another topics are reaction control based on molecular recognition phenomena in both ground and electronically excited states, we are pursuing mechanistic and synthetic studies on asymmetric photochemistry with supramolecular biopolymers as chiral reaction fields.

• We propose the biometric monitor and therapeutic apparatus system with telemedicine, especially for the elderly and patients with chronic diseases. This system is consisted of the sensor probes gathering biometric information and daily living activities, the signal processing units with wireless telecommunication with telemedicine center, and the therapeutic operation units with drug delivery into the mouth.

This system is embedded in usual dental prosthesis, such as denture or mouthpiece, so that this system can be installed into the mouth with no sense of discomfort. The system provides the necessary means of health support in an aging society, especially for the elderly who live alone and the hospital inpatients.

The response rate of systemic chemotherapy for metastatic lymph nodes is low. This invention presents the optimal values for solvent properties, especially viscosity, in a method for directly administering drugs to lymph nodes (lymphatic drug delivery system). In 2024, a specified clinical study (jRCTs021230040) on lymph node metastasis was started at the Iwate Medical University Hospital Head and Neck Cancer Center.

In systemic chemotherapy for metastatic lymph nodes, the amount of drug delivered to the metastatic lymph nodes is small. This is due to the increase in internal pressure caused by tumor growth in the lymph nodes and the disappearance of microvessels caused by the formation of tumor mass. In this invention, we clarified the optimal viscosity range of the solvent for the lymphatic drug delivery system, which directly administers drugs to lymph nodes.

• The amount of anticancer drug required to treat one metastatic lymph node is 1/100 to 1/1000 of the systemic dose.
• The drug can be administered into the lymph node under ultrasound guidance.
• An international patent has been filed for the solvent of the administered drug.

1. Treatment and prophylactic therapy of affiliated lymph nodes in head and neck cancer, breast cancer, etc.
2. Pharmaceutical companies aiming to develop drugs by drug repositioning and generics
3. Medical device manufacturers aiming to develop a dosing system

• Eleven strains of recombinant inbred (RI) mice derived from MRL/lpr and C3H/lpr mice were established. This RI is the only one in the world that randomly develops lesions such as nephritis, arthritis, sialadenitis, vasculitis, and production of autoantibodies in each strain. The genomes of the two strains of mice are randomly held in homozygous condition, and the phenotypes of each strain and the effects of administered drugs could be compared based on their genotype maps. It is possible to identify the regions of gene loci involved in the phenotype and drug sensitivity.

Development of diagnostic and therapeutic agents for autoimmune diseases. It can be applied to the elucidation of the mechanism of onset of immunological adverse events caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors and the development of drugs to prevent the onset of such events, and industry-academia collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, test reagent companies, etc. is possible.

• McH/lpr-RA1 mice are recombinant congenic mice descended from MRL/lpr and C3H/lpr mice and develop arthritis, vasculitis, and sialadenitis with high frequency and severity, with severe pannus formation similar to rheumatoid arthritis, polyarteritis nodosa, and Sjogren's syndrome. On the other hand, McH/lpr-RA1 mice do not develop systemic lymphadenopathy and severe nephritis as seen in MRL/lpr mice, so they are easy to breed and maintain and can be used for long-term drug administration experiments.

Development of diagnostic and therapeutic agents for collagen diseases. It can be applied to the elucidation of the mechanism of onset of immunological adverse events caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors and the development of drugs to prevent the onset of such events, etc. Industry-academia collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, test reagent companies, etc. is possible.