Sponge Research 

Sponge Material Extraction

Sponges are known to be a treasure trove of various bioactive compounds and secondary metabolites, suggesting a wide range of potential applications in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and other industries.

Specifically, compounds exhibiting antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, anti-malaria, anti-tumor, immunosuppression, and cardiovascular activity have been found in sponges. These compounds present new possibilities in the development of various disease treatments. However, securing enough of these useful substances from natural sponges is constrained by environmental and technical difficulties. Therefore, it is very important to develop sustainable production methods. Sponges are attracting attention as a promising alternative source of collagen and gelatin, which has great potential in biomedical applications.

Our laboratory is developing an environmentally friendly technology to extract collagen and gelatin from sponges. Silicate spicules, which form the skeletal structure of sponges, are of great interest in the field of materials science due to their unique physicochemical properties. These fine needle-like structures exhibit excellent optical and mechanical properties, suggesting innovative applications in nanotechnology and the optoelectronics industry. Sponges absorb silicon from their surroundings to form spicules, a process that provides important insights into the study of biomineralization.