Discovery of photocatalytic reaction by Kenichi Honda and Akira Fujishima

macro — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:42:36 +0000

In 1967, Kenichi Honda, an associate professor of Tokyo University, and Akira Fujishima, a postgraduate student, discovered photocatalytic reaction, the result when UV light is irradiated to titanium dioxide, causing water to split into hydrogen and oxygen.

The reaction appears similar to photosynthesis, a process when oxygen is generated by light. They published a paper in the journal, Nature, in 1972.
Researchers in Europe and America took an interest in what was then called the “Honda-Fujishima effect“. Due to the discovery, energy and environmental applications broadened rapidly:
Outside walls of buildings with a self-cleaning function; Window glass that don’t fog; Development of deodorizers and air cleaners; Detoxication of waste fluids containing agricultural chemicals; Guardrails, sound insulation walls and paving blocks that decompose nitrogen oxide;　Fluorescent lamps, Paint and steel boards that decompose indoor organic gases, etc.

Seiji Shinkai: Discovery of nanoscale machinery and microelectronics that are capable of obeying orders.

macro — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:02:36 +0000

At the beginning of the 1980′s, Seiji Shinkai succeeded in creating a “supermolecule” (molecular nano-machine) that can be manipulated in the same way that meter sized or centimeter sized machines can. He developed methods of making atoms and molecules assemble, form a structure and function cooperatively.

He also succeeded in developing a sensor that can analyze blood sodium to a high-degree of accuracy in 1993. This application developed into technology by which DNA memory was carved on a print base (chip) becoming the basis for nanotechnology.

Moreover, He discovered that Shizophyllan derived from a mushroom, Suehirotake, could form a triple helixical complex with a single-stranded polynucleotide for the first time. New research where DNA effective for cancer therapy is amplified and carried into cancer cells with a polysaccharide is on going.

References

Seiji Shinkai

KYUDAI NEWS No.14 Page 1-4

Takahisa A, Kazuo S, Shinkai S: A new polynucleotide-polysaccharide complex and its application to functional oligonucleotide delivery. Trends in Glycoscience and Glycotechnology 17:49-57, 2005.

The World's Greatest Japanese » nobel prize candidates

Discovery of photocatalytic reaction by Kenichi Honda and Akira Fujishima

Seiji Shinkai: Discovery of nanoscale machinery and microelectronics that are capable of obeying orders.