Recent cell-atlas initiatives are charting the types and anatomical positions of every human cell; yet these maps remain essentially static and cannot reveal when, where or which molecules are functionally active. This review therefore focuses on four emerging analytical platforms that capture such dynamic information: (i) single-cell and spatial multi-omics, (ii) activity-based chemoproteomics (ABPP), (iii) AI-driven microscopy imaging, and (iv) spatial metabolomics via mass-spectrometry imaging. We compare their underlying principles, flagship techniques and representative applications, and discuss remaining challenges. Together, these technologies directly quantify cellular heterogeneity, enzyme activity states and metabolite distributions in space and time, opening new horizons for basic biology and drug discovery. Finally, we argue that cross-cutting issues—data standardization, interoperability and trustworthy AI—must be resolved to translate dynamic “functional maps” into the clinic and to realize a future “functional omics medicine” that optimizes truly personalized therapy.

Comprehensively mapping protein interaction networks remains a central challenge in the life sciences. To address this, we developed a high-throughput screening platform that combining human protein arrays, which contain tens of thousands of proteins synthesized using a wheat cell-free protein synthesis system, with the highly sensitive AlphaScreen assay. Here, we outline the principles and applications of this platform. We demonstrate its utility by identifying interaction partners of the cancer-related GTPase RhoB, thereby revealing its previously unknown role in regulating EGFR/HER2 phosphorylation in breast cancer cells. In a drug-discovery context, we applied the platform to target deconvolution of a small molecule inhibitor of allergy-related pathways, revealing that it acts on BET family proteins. These results demonstrate our platform as a powerful approach for accelerating both basic studies of protein function and mechanism-of-action investigations in drug discovery.

Sake is a complex alcoholic beverage composed of many components. This is because it is prepared through many processes and parameters, including the raw ingredient rice and the involvement of microorganisms, such as koji mold and yeast. The combination of these components determines sake’s flavor profile. In other words, the constituents of sake are produced through complex processes, resulting in diverse compositions and flavors. A comprehensive analysis of these components is essential for understanding sake production and quality. This paper reviews the current state of comprehensive analytical methods for characterizing sake components.

Ingested drugs can be taken up into hairs and nails from the bloodstream and the drugs can be stably retained over several months or more. Although urine and blood are generally collected to prove drug use in investigations of drug-facilitated crimes, drugs are not detected in urine and blood which were collected long after drug intake. In such cases, hairs and nails become effective biological specimens to provide evidence of drug intake. Additionally, hairs and nails can be useful to estimate the drug intake time because the location of drugs in a hair and a nail reflects the time of drug intake. The author developed an analytical method to measure the distributions of drugs in a hair with high spatial resolution. In the method, a single hair strand was cut at a 0.4-mm interval, which corresponds to a hair growth length of approximately one day, using a slicer and then drug concentrations in each segment were quantified using LC-MS/MS. Similarly, the author developed a method to measure the three-dimensional distribution of drugs in a nail by cutting a free edge of nail (0.2 × 1.5 × 0.06 mm size). The method was named micro-segmental analysis of hairs and nails. This manuscript describes the studies about micro-segmental analysis of hairs and nails to elucidate drug uptake mechanism and apply in forensic investigations.

In this study, we developed two MRI probes based on gadolinium (Gd) complexes, which are clinically used as MRI contrast agents, for the treatment and diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. First, we designed and synthesized Gd-Comp.B by conjugating a Gd complex with a curcumin derivative, inhibiting aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides that are pathological factors in Alzheimer’s disease. Gd-Comp.B exhibited inhibitory activity against Aβ fibril formation. Moreover, it also enabled evaluation of fibril growth stages and inhibitory efficacy by T₁ measurements. Next, we synthesized gadolinium-boron-albumin conjugates (Gd-MID-BSA) for MRI-guided boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). Gd-MID-BSA demonstrated high tumor accumulation and enabled MRI-based tracking of intratumoral boron concentrations in tumor-bearing mouse models. Furthermore, neutron irradiation led to significant suppression of tumor growth. These MRI probes provide a new strategy for the development of agents that combine both therapeutic and diagnostic functions.

Frequent disasters and routine building demolition work result in the disposal of large quantities of construction materials. These materials are highly likely to contain asbestos. Additionally, they may also contain fibrous substances similar to asbestos. To prevent environmental risks and health hazards associated with disaster waste and building demolition work, it is essential to detect asbestos at disaster sites and demolition sites, as well as to quickly identify non-asbestos fibrous substances. We have established a method to detect and identify asbestos and fibrous substances by staining the surfaces of waste building-materials with two types of dyes, methylene blue and erythrosine (a red food coloring), and observing them under a stereomicroscope at 50 magnifications. Asbestos and other fibrous substances were detected and identified based on differences in color and shape. Furthermore, the results were confirmed using microscopic Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), and polarized light microscopy (PLM). This method enabled the rapid detection and identification of asbestos and similar fibrous substances in building materials collected at the sites through simple operations and at low cost. The analysis results of 64 samples were compared with those obtained using the official analytical method (JIS A 1481-2, JIS A 1481-3) recommended by the Japanese government and XRD results. The results obtained by this method were consistent with those obtained by the official analysis method for all 20 samples. However, regarding the XRD results, asbestos was not detected in one of the 64 samples due to weak XRD intensity in a sample containing a large amount of fibrous material (98.4 % consistency rate).

This study aimed to investigate the effect of self-excited sloshing, induced by a bubble plume, on mass transfer. In a rectangular tank, experiments were conducted by intentionally varying the bubble diameter using different gas spargers and by adding 1-butanol to the liquid phase. The characteristics of the liquid surface oscillation and the mass transfer coefficient k_L were measured. The results showed that decreasing the bubble diameter promoted sloshing and increased its amplitude. However, a further reduction in bubble size through the addition of 1-butanol suppressed the oscillation. This was attributed to the formation of a foam layer, which dissipated energy through friction with the tank walls. Regarding mass transfer, the mass transfer coefficient k_L tended to increase with the gas flow rate, suggesting that sloshing could potentially enhance mass transfer. Nevertheless, no simple correlation was found between the sloshing amplitude and the value of k_L. The study concludes that bubble diameter and liquid properties significantly alter sloshing characteristics, but further detailed investigation, including the improvement of CFD predictions, is required to fully elucidate the relationship between the fluid dynamics and mass transfer.

Super sulfur molecules are sulfur metabolites with a polysulfide structure, in which sulfur atoms are polymerized and linked. These molecules have recently attracted attention for their diverse physiological activities. Conversely, sulfur compounds exhibit high levels of chemical reactivity and instability, which complicates their detection and analysis. In this study, we report the successful detection of sulfur standard compounds using a microscope-type Raman spectrometer. The goal of this study is to detect and evaluate ultra sulfur molecules in living organisms. In the course of the experiments, commercially available reagents S8 and sodium polysulfide (Na₂S_n, n = 2, 3, 4) were utilized. It is evident that Na₂S_n represents the simplest structure of a sulfide sulfur donor. When Raman spectra were measured in both solid and aqueous solutions, characteristic peaks were observed for Na₂S₂, Na₂S₃ and Na₂S₄, respectively. In the presence of a limited supply of oxygen, alterations in the peaks and waveforms were detected. This finding suggests that sulfur is influenced by the solvent. Principal component analysis was performed in order to analyze the complex waveform changes, and a bias was observed in the plot. This finding indicates that the analysis of unstable super-sulfur compounds is possible through the utilization of Raman spectroscopy in conjunction with statistical analysis.