Odai, Shunsuke

Research Overview

Oxygen is an indispensable molecule for aerobic organisms and plays an important role in sustaining life functions. For example, it is utilized for energy production through oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria, serves as a substrate for oxidative reactions, and is involved in the regulation of cellular functions through the generation of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, measuring intracellular oxygen concentrations and understanding their spatiotemporal changes are essential for elucidating biological phenomena. Traditionally, physical sensors such as electrochemical sensors have been used to measure oxygen concentration. However, these methods suffer from limitations related to sensor size and invasiveness. In contrast, chemical sensors based on dye molecules can be readily introduced into cells, enabling detection of local oxygen environments while minimizing perturbation to cellular functions. Among them, phosphorescent dyes exhibit oxygen-dependent quenching of their excited states, allowing oxygen concentrations to be quantified from changes in phosphorescence lifetime or intensity. This makes it possible to detect subtle intracellular oxygen fluctuations and gradients. In addition, as an optical technique, this approach allows simultaneous observation of oxygen distributions ranging from cell aggregates to intracellular organelles. By combining phosphorescent dyes with live-cell imaging, intracellular oxygen concentrations can be measured continuously in both time and space. This enables real-time tracking of changes in oxygen consumption associated with metabolic alterations, as well as oxygen dynamics linked to cellular responses to pharmacological treatments. However, currently available phosphorescent dyes still have room for improvement in terms of quantitative accuracy and suitability for long-term observations. To address these challenges, I am developing new dye molecules through molecular design strategies that allow more accurate and long-term measurement of intracellular oxygen concentrations.

Specialty

Chemical biology

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