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4th iCONM/CHANGE Open Academic Seminar in FY2025
On December 3rd, we welcomed Professor Katsunori Tanaka from the Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo for the speaker of the 4th iCONM/CHANGE Open Academic Seminar in FY2025, titled "Therapeutic In Vivo Synthetic Chemistry: Producing and Administering Drugs Only in Cancer Tissues."
Professor Tanaka, an organic synthetic chemist, proposed “Therapeutic In Vivo Synthetic Chemistry”, a method for treating cancer while minimizing side effects. This therapy works by synthesizing drugs directly at the disease site within the body, thereby reducing damage (side effects) to healthy cells and tissues. During the seminar, he spoke extensively, covering everything from the mechanism of “Therapeutic In Vivo Synthetic Chemistry” to an introduction to his laboratory’s projects.
Given the strong relevance to the drug delivery systems being developed at iCONM, an active Q&A session followed, with questions such as, "Can we target not only cancer cells but also tumor-surveilling cells?" and "Is it possible to visualize molecules synthesized in the body in real time?"
