Tsukasa Sawato - Synthesis of Optically Active Oxymethylenehelicene Oligomers and Self-assembly Phenomena at a Liquid–Solid Interface

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It is my great pleasure to introduce the work of Dr. Tsukasa Sawato for publication in the Springer Theses series as an outstanding original work from one of the worlds top universities. Dr. Sawato joined my laboratory in Tohoku University in October 2012 as an undergraduate student. In April 2014, he entered the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Tohoku University and started his doctoral study with me and Dr. Masanori Shigeno. He was accepted as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) doctoral fellow in April 2018, and he received his doctors degree in March 2019.

Chemical reactions are ubiquitous in nature and living things, and their understanding and control are important subjects of chemistry. Among them, covalent and noncovalent bond rearrangements, conformation changes, and aggregations of organic molecules at liquidsolid interfaces are important phenomena and exhibit different properties from those in solution. The differences can be ascribed to factors including interactions of molecules with the solid surface, a high concentration of molecules on the solid surface, and the confined conformation of molecules on the solid surface. Little, however, is known about the chemical reactivities of molecules at the interface compared with those in solution; this may be due to the extremely low concentration of molecules at the interface. Dr. Sawato tackled this subject employing helix-forming synthetic oligomers and has found and analyzed various phenomena, which are characteristics of the interfaces. The notable results are highlighted in this thesis. As shown in his additional publication list, Dr. Sawato has also been involved in the related studies on dynamic properties of several helix-forming oligomers.

Knowing his passion, executive ability, leadership, and communication ability, I am quite convinced that Dr. Sawato will become a leading chemist in our scientific society.

I express my sincere and wholehearted appreciation to Prof. Dr. Masahiko Yamaguchi (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University) for his constructive discussions, warm encouragement, and guidance in the ways of thinking as a chemist.

I am profoundly grateful for the kind support and detailed, careful guidance given to me by Dr. Masanori Shigeno (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University).

I also would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Mieko Arisawa (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University) and Dr. Nozomi Saito (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University) for valuable comments and kind encouragement.

I gratefully acknowledge Prof. Dr. Takayuki Doi (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University) and Prof. Dr. Yoshiharu Iwabuchi (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University) for their thoughtful comments on the revision of my original manuscript.

In addition, I am grateful to Ms. Misa Sakuma, Ms. Ikuko Goto, and Ms. Aiko Abe for their official work and to all colleagues at the Yamaguchi Laboratory (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University) for their cooperation, encouragement, and competitive spirit.

The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) is gratefully acknowledged for financial support and for the fellowship of young Japanese scientists that I received.