Research Area

• Bioanalytical chemistry based on advanced design and synthesis of fluorescent molecular probes

Research Subjects

• Design and synthesis of fluorescent peptide nucleic acids, peptides, small molecules and DNA-based aptamers for targeting biomarkers including non-coding RNA and extracellular vesicles
• Development of highly sensitive and selective detection methods for non-coding RNA and virus RNA
• Development of fluorogenic dyes for RNA imaging in living cells
• Development of RNA-binding fluorescent indicators for high-throughput drug screening
• Development of detection methods for extracellular vesicle
• Development of fluorogenic probes for hyaluronan
• Development of small ligands for the detection of DNA damage

Overview of Research

Our research interests focus on bioanalytical chemistry based on the advanced design and synthesis of fluorescent molecular probes that target significant biomarkers such as non-coding RNA, extracellular vesicles and extracellular matrix. We are actively developing a variety of molecular probes based on peptide nucleic acids (PNAs), peptides, and/or small organic molecules depending on the target to be detected. Our recent progress includes the development of triplex-forming PNAs for fluorescence sensing of double-stranded RNAs, fluorescent dyes for RNA imaging in living cells, fluorogenic indicators for drug screening, and amphipathic α-helix peptide-based probes for detection of exosomes. By providing such molecular probe-based analytical methods, we are trying to contribute to the further development of life science.

Selected Publications

1. E. T. T. Lee, Y. Sato, S. Nishizawa, "Small Molecule-PNA Oligomer Conjugates for rRNA A-site at neutral pH for FID Assays", Chem. Commun., 56, 14976–14979 (2020).
2. Y. Sato, K. Kuwahara, K. Mogami, K. Takahashi, S. Nishizawa, "Amphipathic helical peptide-based fluorogenic probes for a marker-free analysis of exosomes based on membrane-curvature sensing", RSC Advances, 10, 38323–38327 (2020).
3. Y. Yoshino, Y. Sato, S. Nishizawa, "Deep-red light-up signaling of benzo[c,d]indole-quinoline monomethine cyanine for imaging of nucleolar RNA in living cells and for sequence-selective RNA analysis", Anal. Chem., 91, 14254–14260 (2019).
4. Y. Sato, Y. Aiba, S. Yajima, T. Tanabe, K. Higuchi, S. Nishizawa, "Strong binding and off-on signaling functions of deep-red fluorescent TO-PRO-3 for influenza A virus RNA promoter region", ChemBioChem., 20, 2752-2756 (2019).
5. Y. Sato, S. Yajima, A. Taguchi, K. Baba, M. Nakagomi, Y. Aiba, S. Nishizawa, "Trimethine cyanine dyes as deep-red fluorescent indicators with high selectivity to the internal loop of the bacterial A-site RNA", Chem. Commun., 55, 3183–3186 (2019).
6. T. Sato, Y. Sato, S. Nishizawa, "Triplex-forming Peptide Nucleic Acid Having Thiazole Orange as a Base Surrogate for Fluorescence Sensing of Double-stranded RNA", J. Am. Chem. Soc., 138, 9397-9400 (2016).

Contact Information

“Please delete “/” after “@” in a mail address.”
Seiichi NISHIZAWA
(TEL +81-22-795-6549, Email: seiichi.nishizawa.c8@/tohoku.ac.jp)
Yusuke SATO
(TEL +81-22-795-6551, Email: yusuke.sato.a7@/tohoku.ac.jp)
Shinichi MORITA
(TEL +81-22-795-6563, Email: shinichi.morita.c6@/tohoku.ac.jp)
FAX +81-22-795-6552