Yuki Mochida, Horacio Cabral, Yutaka Miura, Kensuke Osada, Nobuhiro Nishiyama, Kazunori Kataoka Chem. Mater. 2025 Abstract Tailoring the secondary structure of a poly(amino acid) offers a powerful approach for precisely assembling nanostructures for biomedical applications. In this study, we demonstrated that the poly(α-l-glutamic acid) segment of the poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(α-l-glutamic acid) block copolymer forms an α-helix…

Qingzhen Zhu, Horacio Cabral, Kaori Sugihara ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2025 Abstract Membrane-active peptides, including antimicrobial peptides, cell-penetrating peptides, and ionophores, often require time-consuming and costly techniques for functional characterization, creating a bottleneck in drug screening. In this study, we present a high-throughput, high-sensitivity peptide functional assay utilizing the mechanochromic polymer polydiacetylene (PDA). We demonstrate…

Yasuhiro Nakagawa, Hayato Laurence Mizuno, Yuta Ushimaru, Jumpei Norimatsu, Kazunori Igarashi, Keita Masuda, Madoka Takai, Yasutaka Anraku, and Horacio Cabral Mol. Syst. Des. Eng., 2024, Advance Article Abstract Visualizing singlet oxygen (1O2) in biological systems could greatly enhance our understanding of its biological roles and offer new diagnostics and therapeutics. However, 1O2 is unstable and…

Jumpei Norimatsu, Hayato L. Mizuno, Takayoshi Watanabe, Takumi Obara, Makoto Makaido, Kouhei Tsumoto, Horacio Cabral, Daisuke Kuroda, and Yasutaka Anraku. Mater. Horiz., 2024, Advance Article Abstract Nanocarriers based on cationic materials play a central role in the success of mRNA-based therapies. Traditionally, amine-bearing lipids and polymers have been successfully employed for creating mRNA-loaded nanocarriers, though…

Yuki Nakashima, Wenqian Yang, Pengwen Chen, Keita Masuda, Teahun Hong, and Horacio CabralRSC Pharm., 2024, Advance Article Tryptophan intercalation in siRNA drives the formation of polymeric micelles with enhanced delivery efficiency. Abstract The construction of effective carrier systems is essential for delivering therapeutic small interfering RNA (siRNA). In this study, we present an innovative approach…