Current research interest
Dr. H. Ihara's Group

in Japanese in English


1. Nano-architecturing & self-organization chemistry with peptide-derived lipids

    Organic nanotubes
    published in 1984

    Organic nanotubes on the basis of
    uni-lamellar bilayer membranes

    Nanohelical aggregates on the basis of
    uni-lamellar bilayer membranes

    Template polymerization
    using nanohelical bilayers
      Selected Papers:
    1. Cu2+-induced bilayer formation of single-chain telomer surfactants in dilute aqueous solution: Chem. Lett., 1981.
    2. Formation of helical super structure from single-walled bilayers by amphiphiles with oligo-L-glutamic acid-head group: Chem. Lett., 1984.
    3. Exceptional morphologies and metamorphosis of bilayer membranes formed from amphiphiles with poly(L-aspartic acid)-head groups: Polymer, 1986.
    4. Effect of photopolymerization on the morphology of helical supramolecular assemblies: Langmuir, 1992.
    5. Formation of nanofibrillar aggregates by water-soluble beta-structural oligopeptide, (L-Lys-L-Leu)8: Chem. Lett. 2003.
    6. Helical superstructure of conductive polymers as created by electrochemical polymerization using synthetic lipid assemblies as a template: Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2004.
    7. Synthetic and in Vitro Evaluation of Glutamide-Containing Cationic Lipids for Gene Delivery: Bioconjugate Chemistry, 2006.
    8. Self-Assembly of Nucleoamphiphiles: Investigating Nucleosides Effect and the Mechanism of Micrometric Helix Formation: Langmuir, 2007.


2. Self-assembled molecular gels, organogels

    Key compound

    Xerogels from self-assembled organogel

    Polymeric organogel

    Porphyrin organogel

    Fluorescence organogel

    Optically active films from organogels
      Selected Papers:
    1. Lipid membrane analogues. Formation of highly-oriented structures and their phase separation behavior in benzene: Chem. Commun., 1992.
    2. Functional organic gels. Chirality induction through formation of highly-oriented structure: Liquid Crystals, 1995.
    3. Thermal isomerization process in benzene gel of L-glutamic acid-derived lipids with spiropyran-head groups: Chem. Commun., 1997.
    4. .Detection of highly-oriented aggregation of L-glutamic acid-derived lipids in organic solution: Liquid Crystals, 1999.
    5. Determination of critical aggregation concentrations of self-assembling lipids in nonpolar organic media using spiropyrans as photochromic probes: Chem. Lett. 1999.
    6. Chirality Control of Self-Assembling Organogels from Lipophilic L-Glutamide Derivative with Metal Chlorides: Langmuir, 2002.
    7. Novel self-assembling organogelators by combination of double chain-alkylated L-glutamide and polymeric head group: Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2003.
    8. Self-assembled nanofibers: Encyclopedia of Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, American Science Publishers, 2004.
    9. Optical Active Polymer Film Tuned by Chirally Self-assembled Molecular Organogel: Tetrahedron, 2007.
    10. Functional Organogel Based on Salicylideneaniline Derivative with Enhanced Fluorescence Emission and Photochromism: Chemistry - A European Journal, 2007.
      11. Molecular organogel-forming porphyrin derivative with hydrophobic L-glutamide: Tetrahedron Lett., 2008.


3. Polymer-inorganic hybrids and their applications (HPLC, etc.)

    Polymer grafting

    Separation for molecular size

    Separation for position isomers

    Separation for cis/trans

    Separation mechanism

    Core-shell type with silica particle-monolayer

    Polymer-grafted Fe nanoparticles
      Selected Papers:
    1. Lipid membrane analogues. Specific retention behavior in comb-shaped telomer-immobilized porous silica gels: Macromolecules, 1992.
    2. Immobilization of highly-oriented perfluoroalkyl polymers onto porous silica gels: Polym. J., 1994.
    3. Chromatographic separation of geometrical isomers using highly oriented polymer-immobilized silica gels: J. Chromatogr. A, 1994.
    4. Linear polystyrene-grafted silica gels for high-performance liquid chromatography: Anal. Sci., 1995.
    5. Lipid membrane analogue-immobilized silica gels for separation with molecular recognition: J. Liq. Chromatogr., 1996.
    6. .Detection of potential molecular recognition ability in linear poly(methyl acylate): Chem. Lett., 1997.
    7. Polymer-silica hybrids: Evaluation of grafted poly(acrylonitrile) as organic phase for high-performance liquid chromatography: Anal. Sci., 1998.
    8. Crystalline polymer on silica. Geometrical selectivity for azobenzenes through highly-oriented structure: Polymer, 1999.
    9. New Organic Phase for HPLC Using Lipid Membrane Model - Enhanced Molecular-Shape Selectivity through Molecular Orientation: Chormatography, 2000.
    10. .Enhanced Molecular-shape selectivity for polyaromatic hydrocarbons through isotropic-to-crystalline phase transition of poly(octadecyl acrylate): Chem. Lett., 2001.
    11. Selectivity enhancement for diastereomer separation in RPLC Using crystalline-organic phase-bonded silica instead of simply-hydrophobized silica: Chromatographia, 2002.
    12. Binding behavior of crystalline and noncrystalloine phases: Evaluation of enthalpic and entropic contribution to the seaparation selectivity of nonpolar solutes with a novel chromatographic sorbent: J. Phys. Chem. B, 2002.
    13. Poly(4-vinylpyridine) as novel organic phase for RP-HPLC. Unique selectivity for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, J. Liq. Chromatogr., 2003.
    14. Preparation and characterization of poly(1-vinylimidazole)-grafted magnetic nanoparticles: Chem. Mater., 2004.
    15. Enhanced molecular shape selectivity through multiple carbonyl-pi interaction with noble non-crystalline solid phase for RP-HPLC. Analytical Chemistry, 2005.
    16. Polymer grafting to silica surface for high selective RP-HPLC: Encyclopedia of Chromatography, 2007.
    17. Synthesis, Self-Assembling Properties and Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Alkylated L-Phenylalanine-Derived Monomeric Organogel from Silica: A New Approach to Prepare Packing Materials for High Performance Liquid Chromatography: Chemistry - A European Journal,2008.
    18. A novel approach to magneto-responsive polymeric gels assisted by iron nanoparticles as nano cross-linkers: Chem. Commun., 2008.
    19. A facile preparation method for self-assembled monolayers with silica particles on polystyrene-based microspheres: Mat. Chem. Phys., 2008.


4. Spherical particles from polysaccharides and polypeptides & their applications

    Polypeptide particle

    Polypeptide particles

    PMLG spheres for Immunoassay

    Porous chitosan particle

    Sphering & functionalization

    Cellulose particles

    Colored cellulose particles

    Application for Skin-care
      Selected Papers:
    1. Preparation and gel permeation chromatographic properties of porous spheres from poly(methyl or benzyl L-glutamate): J. Chromatogr., 1986.
    2. Macroporous glucomannan spheres for the size separation of aqueous macromolecules: J. Chromatogr., 1987.
    3. Totally organic stationary phase from perfluoroalkyl acrylate for liquid chromatography: J. Chromatogr., 1987.
    4. Removal of endotoxins using macroporous spherical poly(methyl L-glutamate) beads and their derivatives: J. Chromatogr., Biomed. Appl., 1990.
    5. Polypeptide spheres. VII. Macroreticulation of spherical poly(methyl-L-glutamate) beads: J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 1991.
    6. Polypeptide artificial carrier particles for use of passive agglutination immunoassay: Polym. J., 1991.
    7. Reduction of endotoxin contamination of various crude vaccine materials by gram-negative bacteria using aminated poly(methyl L-glutamate) spherical particles: Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 1993.
    8. Spherical carbon packings prepared from spherical cellulose particles for high-performance liquid chromatography: Anal. Sci., 1994.
    9. Preparation of poly(amino acid) spherical particles and their applications: Polymeric Materials Encyclopedia, 1996.
    10. Preparation of poly(e-lysine) adsorbents and application to selective removal of lipopolysaccharides: J. Chromatogr. B, 1999.
    11. Preparation of carbon/TiO2 microsphere composites from cellulose/TiO2 microsphere composites and their evaluation: J. Mol. Cat. 2001.
    12. Preparation and novel application of cellulose microbeads: Cellulose Communications, 2006.


5. Host-guest chemistry using secondary structural polymers and highly-ordered systems

    Poly(L-lysine)

    Poly(L-Ala) & poly(L-Leu)

    Carbonyl-pi interaction
      Selected Papers:
    1. Enantioselectively catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl esters of N-protected L-amino acids by N-lauloyl L- or D-histidine in CTABr micelles: Tetrahedron Lett., 1979.
    2. Phase separation and reactivity changes of phenyl ester substrate and imidazole catalyst in the dialkylammonium bilayer membranes: J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1983.
    3. Functional fluorocarbon micelles. Specific rate enhancement in the catalytic hydrolysis of phenyl esters due to selective binding of fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon substrate: J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1984.
    4. Homogeneous immunoassay based on dihexadecyl-dimethylammonium bilayer membranes: Clinica Chimica Acta, 1988.
    5. Molecular recognition using cyanine-helical poly(L-lysine) complexes in methanol: Chem. Lett., 1992.
    6. Selective retention for structural isomers in aqueous liquid chromatography using poly(methyl L-glutamate) spherical particles: Chem. Lett., 1992.
    7. Host-guest chemistry using alpha-helical poly(L-lysine): Polymeric Materials Encyclopedia, 1996.
    8. Detection of molecular-shape recognition for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by alpha-helical poly(L-alanine) on silica: Chem. Lett., 1998.
    9. Structures and binding energies of benzene-methane and benzene-benzene complexes. An ab initio SCF/MP2 studies: J. Chem. Soc., Faraday Transactions 2, 1993.
    10. Crystalline polymer on silica. Geometrical selectivity for azobenzenes through highly-oriented structure: Polymer, 1999.


6. Chemistry in Mega-gravity
      Selected Papers:
    1. Preparation of SiO2-TiO2 Graded Glass by Using High Gravity Field Combined with Sol-Gel Method: J. Jpn. Soc. Powder and Powder Metallurgy, 2000.
    2. Synthesis and conformational characterization of oligopeptide-cyclotriphosphazene hybrids: Polym. J., 2003.
    3. Synthesis Method of Nanomaterials by Pulsed Plasma in Liquid: J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol., 2007.
    4. Chemistry in Mega-Gravity: Preparation of Molecular-Scaled Graded Materials from Radical Copolymerization: Chem. Lett., 2007.
7. Other Research topics
      Selected Papers:
    1. Induced left-handed helical arrangement of 4-nitrobenzyl ester residues in cast film from poly(L-glutamate) by using a cationic bilayer-forming compound: Chem. Lett., 1991.
    2. .Porous polymer packings from vinyl ether derivatives for reversed-phase liquid chromatography: Chromatographia, 1992.
    3. Facile synthesis of 5-substituted 2-acetylthiophenes: Synthesis, 1992.
    4. Structures and binding energies of benzene-methane and benzene-benzene complexes. An ab initio SCF/MP2 studies: J. Chem. Soc., Faraday Tran. 2, 1992.
    5. Conformational change in DNA induced by cationic bilayer membrane: FEBS Lett., 1996.
    6. A novel versatility of catalase I as a dioxygenase for indol-ring-opening dioxygenation: Chem. Lett., 1999.
    7. Supramolecular receptors from alpha-amino acid-derived lipids: Jo. Chem. Soc., Parkin Trans. 2, 1999.
    8. Inorganic-organic hybrids based on cyclotetraphosphazenes: Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst., 2002.
    9. Enhancement of isotacticity in bulk radical polymerization of poly(methyl methacrylate) under stronggravity field: Polym. J., 2003.
    10. Synthesis and conformational characterization of oligopeptide-cyclotriphosphazene hybrids: Polym. J., 2003.
    11. Synthesis of Novel Saccharide-Pendant Vinyl Polymer and Application to Oxygen Barrier Film, J. Mater. Sci. Lett., 2004.