Lecture
Can Small Biomolecules Become Drugs? Harnessing Cancer Metabolites for Diagnosis and Therapy via In Vivo Synthetic Chemistry
- Date
- Tuesday 15 September 2026
- Time
- Location
-
Gorlaeus Building
Einsteinweg 55
2333 CC Leiden - Room
- CM.3.23
Living systems are sustained by an intricate network of chemical reactions between biomacromolecules — proteins, nucleic acids, and glycans — and countless small biomolecules (metabolites). Recent technological advances have made it increasingly possible to manipulate biomacromolecules, yet most of the small biomolecules that underpin life remain passive “biomarkers”: they can be observed but not actively used. In this seminar, I will introduce our strategy for cancer diagnosis and therapy that reframes these small biomolecules as “endogenous reagents” capable of driving organic reactions inside the body. We exploit metabolites that cancer cells specifically overproduce — most notably acrolein, polyamine, and carbon monoxide — to trigger selective reactions with otherwise harmless compounds administered externally. In this way, fluorescent labels and pharmacologically active molecules are synthesized exclusively within tumor tissues, minimizing side effects on healthy cells. Topics will include: (i) the click-type reactivity of aryl azides toward endogenous acrolein; (ii) its clinical translation into the “click-to-sense” probe for rapid intraoperative diagnosis of breast cancer, currently evaluated in multi-center clinical studies; and (iii) recent extensions to cancer-selective prodrug activation, in-cell synthesis of antitumor heterocycles and fluorescent polymers, and α-emitting radiotherapeutics. Through the question “Can small biomolecules become drugs?”, I hope to illustrate how in vivo synthetic chemistry — applying the logic of synthetic organic chemistry to the complexity of living systems — opens new opportunities at the interface of chemistry, biology, and medicine.
Biography
Ambara Rachmat Pradipta is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, at the Institute of Science Tokyo (Formerly: Tokyo Institute of Technology), and a Visiting Scientist at RIKEN Pioneering Research Institute. Born in Bandung, Indonesia, he received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Padjadjaran University in 2003 and moved to Japan in 2005 as a Japanese Government (MEXT) scholar. He obtained his M.Sc. (2008) and Ph.D. (2011) from Osaka University under the supervision of Prof. Koichi Fukase, working on the isolation, structural elucidation, and synthesis of natural NOD1 ligands. After postdoctoral research at Osaka University, he joined the group of Prof. Katsunori Tanaka at RIKEN as a Researcher (2012–2020), before taking up his current position at Tokyo Institute of Technology (now Science Tokyo) in 2020.
His research explores the chemistry and biological functions of endogenous small molecules — particularly acrolein, polyamine, and carbon monoxide — and their use as “endogenous reagents” for in vivo synthetic chemistry, cancer diagnosis, and therapy. His “click-to-sense” technology for rapid intraoperative diagnosis of breast cancer is currently being evaluated in multi-center clinical studies in Japan. He has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications and three patents. His honors include the RIKEN Researcher Incentive Award (2016), the CSJ Annual Meeting Best Presentation Award (2016), Research Incentive Awards from Tokyo Tech / Science Tokyo (2021, 2024, 2025), and the Science Tokyo Social Transformation Challenge “Game Changer Award” (2026).