Area(s) of Expertise

Selective chemical reactions on natural proteins: Research in the Ohata group—leveraging expertise in organic/organometallic chemistry, protein science, bioconjugation techniques, fluorescence imaging, and biochemical analysis—focuses on (1) the development of chemical tools, especially protein labeling methods to study chemistry of proteins in living systems (e.g. mammalian cells and animal samples) and (2) the creation of functional protein conjugates with the chemical tools for material and medicinal applications.

Publications

• It's a Gas: Bioconjugation With Vapor‐Phase Reagents , Chemistry - A European Journal (2026)
• Prebiotic Organic Chemistry of Diketopiperazines , Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry (2026)
• Prebiotic Organic Chemistry of Diketopiperazines, Cyclic Dipeptides , ChemRxiv (2026)
• A histochemical approach to activity-based copper sensing reveals cuproplasia-dependent vulnerabilities in cancer , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025)
• Catalysis in Chemical Modification of Proteins , ChemCatChem (2025)
• Catalytic Serine Labeling in Nonaqueous, Acidic Media , Chemistry - A European Journal (2025)
• InP-Based Quantum Dots as Photosensitizers in Photodynamic Antimicrobial Materials , ACS Applied Bio Materials (2025)
• Prebiotic Roles of Formaldehyde as an Activating Agent and a Building Block in Solid-State Peptide Modification , ACS Bio & Med Chem Au (2025)
• Tryptophan Bioconjugation through Auxiliary Boron-Accelerated, Additive-Free Friedel–Crafts Alkylation , JACS Au (2025)
• Catalysis in Protein Bioconjugation , ChemRxiv (2024)