Past Events & Presentations
2026
22–23 October 2026 · Oral presentation – Day 1
122nd Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Society for Food Hygiene and Safety
Ken-ichiro Matsunaga, Michiko Kimoto, Hui Pen Tan, Joo Leng Low, Kim Tien Ng, Chee Siang Jeffrey Lee, Tomohiro Takatani, Osamu Arakawa, Takahide Hiramatsu, Yusuke Shibahara, Ichiro Hirao
Osaka, Japan
“XenoAptamer を用いた低分子自然毒・カビ毒の迅速高感度検出法”
22–23 October 2026 · Poster presentation – Day 1
122nd Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Society for Food Hygiene and Safety
Ken-ichiro Matsunaga, Michiko Kimoto, Hui Pen Tan, Kim Tien Ng, Chee Siang Jeffrey Lee, Takahide Hiramatsu, Yusuke Shibahara, Ichiro Hirao
Osaka, Japan
“カビ毒アフラトキシンのシグナルオン型迅速高感度検出法”
6–9 October 2026 · Information session – Day 4
Shellfish Toxin Analysis Training Workshop (貝毒分析研修会)
Michiko Kimoto
Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Yokohama, Japan
14 September 2026 · Invited lecture
College of Medicine & Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Cheng Kung University
Ichiro Hirao
Tainan, Taiwan
“Genetic Alphabet Expansion: A New Nucleic Acid Modality and Its Applications”
10–13 September 2026 · Invited keynote speech
2nd International Symposium on Living Systems Design Research (2nd ISLSDR)
Ichiro Hirao
National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
“Genetic Alphabet Expansion Technology for Small Molecule Detection: Applications in Food Safety, Biosecurity, and Diagnostics”
10–13 September 2026 · Poster presentation
2nd International Symposium on Living Systems Design Research (2nd ISLSDR)
Ken-ichiro Matsunaga, Michiko Kimoto, Hui Pen Tan, Kim Tien Ng, Chee Siang Jeffrey Lee, Takahide Hiramatsu, Yusuke Shibahara, Ichiro Hirao
National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
“Rapid and Sensitive Detection of Aflatoxin B1”
10 July 2026 · Invited talk
1st Annual Meeting of the Chemical Terrorism Countermeasure Technology Research Group (CTAC)
Ichiro Hirao, Michiko Kimoto
Tokyo, Japan
“人工塩基対技術を用いたＤＮＡによる低分子物質の高感度検出法”
26 June 2026 · Oral presentation
45th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Forensic Toxicology
Ichiro Hirao
Chiba, Japan
“XenoAptamer-Based Rapid and Ultrasensitive Detection of Small Molecules”
28 May 2026 · Invited talk
FY2026 1st Transcendent Biomedical DX Research Hub Neo Excellent Core Seminar
Ichiro Hirao, Michiko Kimoto
Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan Institute of Science and Technology Innovation Plaza 2F, Ishikawa, Japan
“Creation and Application of Gene Alphabet Expansion Technology Using Artificial Base Pairs”
27 May 2026 · Oral presentation
x2026 – 109th Canadian Chemistry Conference & 76th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference
Tong Ye Wang, Parmeetpal Dhillon, Ken-ichiro Matsunaga, Hui Pen Tan, Michiko Kimoto, Ichiro Hirao, Sergey N. Krylov
Toronto, Canada
“Deterministic Error Propagation in Kinetic Kd Determination: General Theory with Application to Surface-Based Assays”
6 March 2026 · Invited talk
11th Living Systems Design Research Conference
Ichiro Hirao
Oita, Japan
“人工塩基対を用いた遺伝情報の拡張技術”
29 January 2026 · Research seminar
National Research Institute of Police Science (NRIPS)
Ichiro Hirao
Japan
“人工塩基対技術を用いた高感度で簡便な低分子物質の新規検出”
Hosted by Dr. Hajime Miyaguchi.
2025
18 December 2025 · Invited talk
Pacifichem 2025 – Design and Screening of XNA Libraries (#BIO014)
Ichiro Hirao
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
“Six-letter DNA libraries by genetic alphabet expansion for high-affinity DNA aptamer generation”
16 December 2025 · Oral presentation
Pacifichem 2025 – Molecular Diagnostics to Therapeutics with Aptamers (#CLH016)
Michiko Kimoto, Ichiro Hirao
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
“XenoAptamers with Expanded Genetic Alphabets Toward Practical Applications”
16 December 2025 · Invited talk
Pacifichem 2025 – Molecular Diagnostics to Therapeutics with Aptamers (#CLH016)
Ichiro Hirao
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
“Six-letter DNA aptamer (XenoAptamer) generation for various target molecules”
12 December 2025 · Invited talk
RIKEN Seminar
Ichiro Hirao
RIKEN Wako Campus, Japan
“DNAの新たなモダリティ：遺伝情報の拡張技術による次世代の抗体としての高親和性DNAゼノアプタマー”
10 December 2025 · Oral presentation
5th World Biological Science and Technology Conference 2025 Singapore (BioST 2025 SG)
Kim Tien Ng
Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre, Singapore
“XenoAptamers: Refining Precision in Diagnostics and Therapeutics”
4 December 2025 · Poster presentation
48th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan
Eisho Tanida, Naoki Horikoshi, Michiko Kimoto, Yoshimasa Takizawa, Mitsuo Ogasawara, Ichiro Hirao, Hitoshi Kurumizaka
Yokohama, Japan
“Structural and biochemical analysis of nucleosome containing unnatural base pair Ds-Paʼ”
11 November 2025 · Invited talk
1st International Symposium on Chemical and Synthetic Biology – ENGINEERING THE FUTURE OF LIFE
Ichiro Hirao
Jinan, Shandong, China
“Genetic Alphabet Expansion Technology and Its Application to High-Affinity DNA Aptamer Generation”
26-28 February 2025
TIDES ASIA - Oligonucleotide & Peptide Therapeutics
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Michiko Kimoto delivered an oral presentation at this event on high-affinity six-letter DNA aptamers' capabilities.
18-21 February 2025
First Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Regional Meeting - India 2025
We are excited to announce that our CSO, Ichiro Hirao, delivered a presentation at First Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Regional Meeting - India 2025 ↗ . The symposium was held at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), India.
Currently, Xenolis offers high-affinity XenoAptamers as an alternative to antibodies for research and development. Please feel free to contact us for more information!
2024
25 October 2024
RNA and Developmental Biology
We are pleased to announce that Professor Ichiro Hirao presented at the RNA and Developmental Biology ↗ – A Symposium Commemorating the End of the 12-Year RNA Medical Science Laboratory, sponsored by RIBOMIC Inc and IMSUT. Professor Hirao delivered a compelling talk on "High-affinity DNA XenoAptamer by Genetic Alphabet Expansion."
We are also honored to acknowledge that one of the symposium's organizers, Professor Yoshikazu Nakamura, a distinguished scientific advisor at Xenolis Pte. Ltd., has been instrumental in coordinating this prestigious event.
14-16 October 2024
1st International Symposium on Living Systems Design Research
Our CSO, Ichiro Hirao, presented a special lecture at the 1st International Symposium on Living Systems Design Research ↗ on “Genetic alphabet expansion for novel living systems.”
2-6 September 2024
IRT2024 Tokyo
Our COO, Michiko Kimoto, presented at IRT2024 Tokyo (XXV International Round Table on Nucleosides, Nucleotides, and Nucleic Acids) ↗ on “Six-Letter DNA Aptamer Generation as an Antibody Alternative.”
24 January 2024
1916th Zasshikai Seminar
Our CSO, Ichiro Hirao, presented at the 1916th Zasshikai Seminar ↗ on “New Modality of DNA Aptamers Through Genetic Alphabet Expansion.” The seminar highlighted the innovative development of DNA aptamers using expanded genetic alphabets, showcasing potential applications in research and therapeutics.
2023
23-24 November 2023
FNA Perth 2023
Our CSO, Ichiro Hirao presented at FNA Perth 2023 ↗ on ExSELEX for high-affinity six-letter DNA aptamer generation by genetic alphabet expansion.
25 October 2023
RNA biosensor research published in ACS Sensors
Our groundbreaking six-letter RNA engineering application, utilizing the combination of guanidine riboswitch and Spinach riboswitch, has been published in ACS Sensors. This innovative approach highlights our commitment to advancing RNA-based biosensor technology. <Systematic Mutation and Unnatural Base Pair Incorporation Improves Riboswitch-Based Biosensor Response Time> ↗
07 September 2023
XenoAptamer research published in JACS
Discover pioneering enhancements in XenoAptamers’ binding affinities through the innovative use of hydrophobic unnatural bases, as detailed in our publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. <Strict Interactions of Fifth Letters, Hydrophobic Unnatural Bases, in XenoAptamers with Target Proteins> ↗
30 March 2023
Aptamers 2023
Aptamer 2023, held in Oxford, UK on March 29-30, 2023, featured Professor Ichiro Hirao as a keynote speaker. Professor Hirao discussed the advanced ExSELEX technique for generating high-affinity, six-letter DNA aptamers through the expansion of the genetic alphabet. <Speakers in Aptamer 2023> ↗
08 March 2023
Handbook of Chemical Biology of Nucleic Acids
Handbook of Chemical Biology of Nucleic Acids, Published in 2023 by Springer Nature has included a chapter on the “Genetic Alphabet Expansion of Nucleic Acids”, authored by our COO, Michiko Kimoto and our CSO, Ichiro Hirao. <Read more> ↗
13 January 2023
Unnatural base pair research published in Nature Communications
Our paper (Oh, J. et al. Nature Commun, 2023 ↗ ) presents how T7 RNA polymerase can identify and integrate our unnatural Ds and Pa base pairs into RNA. This discovery advances the capabilities of genetic engineering and synthetic biology.