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Our goal is to reduce drugs. To reduce the amount/frequency/dose, we are inventing fundamental technologies on targeted drugs, such as developing combinatorial screening of BIOmolecular Targeted Covalent Inhibitors (bioTCIs). Also, we aim to educate students by doing such tough researches that meet the quality of world-wide standards. We strongly promote lab members to take their own risks to conquer the very first findings which have never ever attained

News

2025.09.06-09
I visited Thailand and gave three invited talks related to bioTCI (medium-sized covalent inhibitors) and our rapid screening technology, ARCaDia. 1.UEC Seminar (@ Burapha University; 2025.9.6)
Title: Less Drug, More Data: UEC’s Blueprint for ASEAN Collaboration
Program:

http://www.uarc.uec.ac.jp/2025UEC_Seminar/seminar.html
2. UEC Workshop (keynote lecture @ Burapha University; 2025.9.7)
Title: From One-Shot Cures to Cell-Force Sensors: Toward a Drug-Free Tomorrow
Program:

http://www.uarc.uec.ac.jp/2025UEC_Seminar


3.NSTDA / BIOTEC
Title: ARCaDia: Ultrafast bioTCI Screening Platform to Tackle Drug Resistance
(Reflections)
1 & 2. For the UEC seminar and workshop, I am grateful to Dr. Nattapong Kitsuwan (UEC) and to everyone at Burapha University for their thoughtful organization. Many of UEC alumni—now in key roles across Thai universities—work together impressively; it reminded me of UEC’s long, pioneering tradition in information and communications. The three days were truly worthwhile, and the spicy Thai food was, simply, excellent.
3. At BIOTEC (NSTDA), I was kindly hosted by Deputy Executive Director Dr. Songkasiri and Ms. Jamrerkjang. Through presentations by Drs. Hoarau, Khumwan, Jindakun, and Phamornnak, we had deep, field-specific discussions; I also appreciated the tour of the National Omics Center. The meetings naturally developed into concrete conversations about future collaboration and exchanges. UEC and NSTDA have had strong ties since 2009, with a total of 36 student exchanges to date
(see UEC News:

https://www.uec.ac.jp/eng/news/announcement/2020)

　　　　　　
2025.06.22-29
I made a business trip to Europe. I gave two invited lectures as below.
1.Open Scientific Seminar at the Faculty of Chemical Technology, Poznań University of Technology (PUT) @ 2025.06.24
Presentation Title: In-House Technology to Cut Drug Use: via International/Interdisciplinary Networking

2.Mechanobiology and Beyond: Science and Perspectives at ETH Zürich (ETHZ) @ 2025.06.27
Presentation Title: ‘Stellar’ Mechano-Imaging: Bridging an Astronomy Observatory System with Novel

(Details)
1.PUT
I would like to thank all the professors and participants who kindly supported and attended my seminar—especially the PUT Rector Prof. Teofil Jesionowski, the Dean of the Faculty of Chemical Technology Prof. Ewa Kaczorek, and the Vice-Dean and host of the day Prof. Filip Ciesielczyk. Morning coffee- and lunch discussions were especially fruitful. I was strongly impressed by the infrastructure on campus and the newly constructed facilities. I visited more than 10 laboratories, and from their publications (e.g., the Rector’s lab, the above professors’ labs, Prof. L. Piatkowski’s lab, etc.), I felt that they are operating at a top international level in each field. The on-site technical explanations in front of each instrument were thorough and helped me clarify their strengths and possible directions for future collaboration. At the same time, it became clear that, as in Japan, securing uninterrupted research time remains a challenge amid teaching, administrative work, and external funding demands. Overall, the atmosphere and institutional character of PUT felt close to our university.
2.ETHZ
Since 2017, during my sabbatical and subsequent joint research, I have been greatly supported by Prof. Vogel. The event—also celebrating his retirement—was held in a warm, alumni-reunion-like atmosphere. It was exciting to meet alumni after a long time and to learn what research and businesses they are now pursuing. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Prof. Vogel and to the organizing committee who prepared such a wonderful event (Tassilo, Paulina, Charlotte, the secretary Norma, Sebastian for the photos, etc.).
2025.05.09
At our on-campus “Poland Day” event, in the International Scientific Exchange Seminar: Session II: Biomedical Engineering, I did a presentation (and served as the session chair).
Title: “In-House Technology for Reducing/Eliminating Drug Use via International/Interdisciplinary Networking”.

University website (Event information)


2025.03.28
Mr. Li (D2) gave a poster presentation at the 105th Spring Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan (@ Senriyama Campus, Kansai University). We would like to thank all the people who viewed our poster.
Title: ARCaDia:single-round screening of a DNA-type targeted covalent binder possessing a latent warhead
Masumi Taki, Masayasu Kuwahara, Chaohui Li, Naoko Tomoda, Naoyuki Miyashita, Tetsuo Kan, Jay Yang
2025.03.25
Graduation Ceremony. Congratulations to Mr. Oginesawa and Mr. Ikeda for receiving their master's degrees, and good luck with your careers starting in April.
2024.12.13
We have developed the ARCaDia method, which applies the ARC method (established in 2021 for Affinity/Reactivity Co-selection) to the discovery of DNA aptamer-type covalent binders. Specifically, this method, combined with bioinformatics techniques, enables the rapid determination of DNA sequences that form covalent bonds exclusively with target proteins in just two days of experimentation.

Masumi Taki*, Masayasu Kuwahara, Chaohui Li, Naoko Tomoda, Naoyuki Miyashita (Visiting Associate Professor, UEC), Tetsuo Kan (Professor, UEC Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering), Jay Yang* (Visiting Professor, UEC),
ARCaDia: single-round screening of a DNA-type targeted covalent binder possessing a latent warhead, Chem. Commun., 2024, 60, 14964; DOI: 10.1039/D4CC04594G.

We would like to express our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers and to Professor Hamachi and the Editors for selecting our work as a Back-Cover Article. This paper is open access and can be freely accessed via the following link. We also extend our thanks to the University of Electro-Communications (UEC) for funding the high open-access publication fees.

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/cc/d4cc04594g



Side Note: It took a full four years from conception and initial experiments to completion, and we nearly abandoned the project in January of this year due to the lack of results. The cover artwork is inspired by the Hanafuda card game?particularly the scenario where a bold first move earns the sake cup in the chrysanthemum card suite, symbolizing our achievement of a "first-round (fastest/shortest)" success. Naturally, we aim to "Koi-Koi" (continue playing) and achieve the highest score of Goko. The decision not to use the cherry blossom card reflects the project's completion in September (linked to the boar card). Subtly, the wild geese card, representing the aptamer library, has been replaced with cormorants,inspired by Japan's traditional cormorant fishing (an idea from co-corresponding author Prof. Yang). We are grateful to the team at Science Graphics for their help in realizing this concept
2024.11.24
Our lab participated in the UEC Open Campus event for the 2024 academic year. As part of the "Chemical and Biological Program Research Introduction," Prof. Taki presented a talk titled "Drug Discovery through Artificial Evolution of Biological Molecules." Thank you to everyone who attended!

We also extend our appreciation to students and educators from various external institutions (Kanagawa Ofuna High School, Utsunomiya University Affiliated High School, Johoku High School, Tokyo Gakugei University High School, Yokohama Hayato High School,Setagaya Gakuen, Kawasaki Technical High School, Jissen Gakuen, Tama Science and Technology High School, Tokyo City University, Toyotama High School, AICJ High School, among others) for visiting our lab.
2024.11.14
Prof. Taki (=I) had the honor of delivering an invited lecture at the Biomedical Engineering Symposium 2024 (Simposium Teknik Biomedis 2024) at Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia.

Presentation Title BIOmolecular Targeted Covalent Inhibitor (bioTCI)

Many thanks to Prof. Ridwan Wicaksono and the organizing team, as well as to everyone who attended my presentation. The traditional Indonesian cuisine, especially the spiced oxtail soup and other dishes,was absolutely exquisite.

On November 15, I also participated in the Capstone Expo, where I was impressed by the quality of the exhibits and the enthusiasm of the students explaining their projects. This event, which is mandatory for all third-year mechanical engineering students, reflects the exceptional dedication of their faculty. I also visited the Faculty of Pharmacy and engaged in discussions with Prof. Silmi in her lab. The infrastructure, supported by the Indonesian government and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), features state-of-the-art equipment with global competitive potential.
2024.10.29-30
We attended the 61st Japanese Peptide Symposium (JPS). Graduate students Koki Oginezawa (M2) and Koki Matsuzuka (M1) presented posters. We are grateful to Prof. Murakami of Nagoya University and the organizing committee for hosting this excellent event.

P-004: Complementing stability and affinity of a linear peptidic binder by adapting Retro?Inverso to a peptidic covalent binder Koki Matsuzuka, Riku Katsuki, Masumi Taki (Department of Engineering Science, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, UEC)

P-080: Obtaining a cyclic peptide-type covalent binder by reactivity/affinity co-selection (ARC) Koki Oginezawa, Riku Katsuki, Masumi Taki (Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, UEC)
2024.4.25
A commentary article written by Mr. Matsuzuka (M1) has been published in Peptide Newsletter Japan, The Japanese Peptide Society, No. 132, April 2024, pp. 4-6.
Title: Covalent Conjugation of Peptide Drugs and Acquisition of Blood Stability
Koki Matsuzuka, Riku Katsuki, Masaki Taki
We thank Dr. Keitaro Suyama (Kyushu Univ.) for giving us the opportunity to write this paper at the best timing (mainly in terms of Matsuzuka's development) and the editorial board members of the Japanese Peptide Society for reviewing our manuscript.
2024.4.24
Mr. Matsuzuka (M1) gave a poster presentation at the International Conference on Biofunctional Chemistry (@Nagoya Univ.). We thank all the people who visited our poster.
Title: COMPLEMENTING STABILITY AND AFFINITY OF A LINEAR PEPTIDIC BINDER BY ADAPTING RETRO-INVERSO TO A PEPTIDIC COVALENT BINDER
Koki Matsuzuka, Riku Katsuki, Masumi Taki
Poster short talks (one-minute slide presentations in English) were also very creative and had a strong presence. After the conference, he said, "It was good that I could participate in the conference with a perspective that I did not have before, such as looking for ideas that could be used in other people's research." Taki also participated as a member of the program organizing committee. I had a chance to talk with Dr. Peng Zou of Peking University and others at the eve of the event, which gave me a lot of insights. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Asanuma, Dr. Tsukiji, Dr. Ojita, Dr. Sandong, and all the people involved for providing such a valuable opportunity.
2024.4.5
New joy. Welcome to Mr. Yanada and Mr. Tominaga (B4).
2024.3.25
Mr. Matsuzuka (B4) received the Best Presentation Award for his graduation thesis in the Class III Science and Engineering (Chemistry and Biochemistry Program) on campus. Congratulations.
2024.3.25
Graduation ceremony. Congratulations to Mr. Ichikawa and Mr. Tajima who received their master's degrees.
2023.2.9
Targeted Covalent Inhibitors (TCIs), such as aspirin (Bufferin), have a long history of more than 120 years, and most of them are small molecules. We have focused on biomolecular targeted covalent inhibitors (bioTCIs), which are more molecular-specifically targeted than small-molecular TCIs. We have specialized in "middle-sized bioTCIs" (midTCIs), which are particularly easy to produce. We have achieved:
(1) Combinatorial screening of peptide-type TCIs
(2) Transformation of DNA aptamers into TCIs
We have published a review of the historical background and the latest trends of bioTCI, including the above as an open access article.
bioTCIs: Middle-to-Macro Biomolecular Targeted Covalent Inhibitors Possessing Both Semi-Permanent Drug Action and Stringent Target Specificity as Potential Antibody Replacements
by Jay Yang, Yudai Tabuchi, Riku Katsuki, and Masumi Taki
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3525;
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/4/3525
In Topical Collection "State-of-the-Art Molecular Immunology in Japan"
We would like to thank the guest editors of the above Special Issue for inviting us, the two anonymous reviewers, and all the Editors of the Journal who were involved in the composition of this issue.
2023.1.23
I gave an invited talk at the JAIST Biofunctional Biomedical Engineering Research Area Seminar.
Title: Medium Molecular Covalent Drugs
We thank Profs. Hohsaka & Watanabe of JAIST for hosting our presentation.
2019.09.23
An article about mechano-chemistry/biology field is in press: M. Taki*, T. Yamashita, K. Yatabe, and V. Vogel*, Mechano-chromic protein-polymer hybrid hydrogel to visualize mechanical strain, Soft Matter, in press (2019); Prof. Taki (@UEC) & Prof. Yamashita (@Univ. Keio) equally contributed to the work.
2019.09.18
Hirasawa's work about middle molecules-Fc fusion made by the NEXT-A reaction was selected as a front cover article of Bioconjugate Chemistry (September). This work was also featured in UEC e-Bulletin English version:http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/research-highlights/2019/convenient-synthesis-of-biopharmaceutic-fc-conjugates.html
2019.09.17
2019.09.17 Prof. Taki performed a seminar at ETH Zurich (Switzerland) entitled:Targeted binders from combinatorial library for medicinal / diagnostic uses.
2019.09.08
Yudai & Prof. Taki poster presentations entitled: Yudai Tabuchi, Masumi Taki, Fluorescent "keep-on" type pharmacophore obtained from dynamic combinatorial library of Schiff bases at International Symposium on Dyes & Pigments (Seville, Spain).
2019.08.26
Prof. Taki performed a seminar at Nihon University.
2019.08.19
Kazuki poster presentations entitled: Kazuki Yatabe, Masaru Hisada, Yudai Tabuchi & Masumi Taki, Novel photo-crosslinking caged fluorophore as peptide cysteine modifier: binding-site determination of the targeted peptide binder at 27th FAOBMB & 44th MSBMB Conference (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).
2019.05.01
An article is in press:
Hirasawa S*, Kitahara Y, Okamatsu Y, Fujii T, Nakayama A, Ueno S, Ijichi C, Futaki F, Nakata K, and Taki M*,
Facile and Efficient Chemoenzymatic Semi-Synthesis of Fc-Fusion Compounds for Half-Life Extension of Pharmaceutical Components, Bioconj. Chem., 2019, in press; doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.9b00235.
2019.04.13
Our website has been renewed. Ichinose(B4) designed the logotype.
2019.04.08-12
Hirasawa performed poster presentations entitled:
A7: S. Hirasawa, Y. Kitahara, Y. Okamatsu, A. Nakayama, S. Ueno, M. Taki, Half-Life Extension Technology Using Semi-Synthetic Fc-Fusions @ Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
2019.03.25
Y.Tabuchi & K.Yatabe got awarded for their research activities.
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