Profile picture
Administrative data

Nako Nakatsuka

nako.nakatsuka@epfl.ch +41 21 693 01 53 https://www.epfl.ch/labs/chemina/

Nationality: Japanese

EPFL STI INX-STI CHEMINA
B3 3 246.134 (Campus Biotech bâtiment B3)
Ch. des Mines 9
1202 Genève

Mission

At the Laboratory of Chemical Nanotechnology (CHEMINA), our mission is to develop translational chemical biosensing technologies that advance human health. Working at the intersection of chemistry, engineering, and neuroscience, we seek to probe the dynamic chemical landscape of biological systems across in vitro systems, in vivo models, and human clinical samples. We develop novel biorecognition elements and innovate biosensing platforms to enable monitoring of small molecules in complex biofluids, translating fundamental insights into practical tools for improved patient care.

Toolbox

  • DNA aptamers
  • Nanopipette biosensors
  • Field-effect transistors
  • Organic electrochemical transistors
  • Focal molography
  • Quartz crystal microbalance
Nako Nakatsuka leads the Laboratory of Chemical Nanotechnology (CHEMINA) at EPFL since January 2024. She was raised in Tokyo, Japan and moved to the U.S.A. for her bachelor’s in Chemistry at Fordham University (Bronx, NY) and pursued her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at UCLA (Los Angeles, CA). Upon receiving the ETH Zürich postdoctoral fellowship, she moved to Switzerland and remained a senior scientist at the Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics. For her work, she was named an MIT Under 35 Pioneer (2021), received the iCanX Young Scientist award (2022), the ACS Nano Lectureship Award and Prix Zonta (2023), the ACS Measurement Science Rising Star Award and C&EN Talented 12 Award (2024), and the Ruzicka Prize (2025). She has also illustrated a children’s chemistry book: “A is for Atom: ABCs for Aspiring Chemists” to inspire the next generation of chemists. 

Selected publications

Spatially controlled 3-D multiplexed aptamer patterning in hydrogels

K. Roost, A. Stuber, K. Wie, M. de Lapeyrière, K. Yang, V. Gantenbein, S. Pané, I. Corbeski, K. Maniura-Weber, N. Nakatsuka
Published in Advanced Materials Interfaces in 2025

Aptamer-functionalized interface nanopores enable amino acid-specific peptide detection

T. Schlotter, T. Kloter, J. Hengsteler, K. Yang, L. Zhan, S. Ragavan, H. Hu, X. Zhang, J. Duru, J. Vörös, T. Zambelli, N. Nakatsuka
Published in ACS Nano in 2024

Aptamer renaissance for neurochemical biosensing

A. Stuber & N. Nakatsuka
Published in ACS Nano in 2024

Interfacing aptamer-modified nanopipettes with neuronal media and ex vivo brain tissue

A. Stuber, A. Cavaccini, A. Manole, A. Burdina, Y. Massoud, T. Patriarchi, T. Karayannis, N. Nakatsuka
Published in ACS Measurement Science Au in 2024

Aptamer conformational dynamics modulate neurotransmitter sensing in nanopores

A. Stuber, A. Douaki, J. Hengsteler, D. Buckingham, D. Momotenko, D. Garoli, N. Nakatsuka
Published in ACS Nano in 2023

Nonspecific binding – fundamental concepts and consequences for biosensing applications

A. Frutiger, A. Tanno, S. Hwu, R. Tiefenauer, J. Vörös, N. Nakatsuka
Published in Chemical Reviews in 2021

Sensing serotonin secreted from human serotonergic neurons using aptamer-modified nanopipettes

N. Nakatsuka, K. J. Heard, A. Faillétaz, D. Momotenko, J. Vörös, F. H. Gage, K. C. Vadodaria
Published in Molecular Psychiatry in 2021

Aptamer conformational change enables serotonin biosensing with nanopipettes

N. Nakatsuka, A. Faillétaz, D. Eggemann, C. Forró, J. Vörös, D. Momotenko
Published in ACS Analytical Chemistry in 2021

Aptamer–field-effect transistors overcome Debye length limitations for small-molecule sensing

N. Nakatsuka, K.A. Yang, J.M. Abendroth, K.M. Cheung, X. Xu, H.Y. Yang, C. Zhao, B. Zhu, Y.S. Rim, Y. Yang, P.S. Weiss, M.N. Stojanović, A.M. Andrews
Published in Science in 2018

Teaching & PhD

PhD Students

Ali Mohammed Ahmed Rifaat Abdelhameed Elmorsy, Alexandra Stella Régina Banbanaste, Sandra Hernández Escobar, Lianxin Xu, Maxime Henrion

Courses

Surfaces and interfaces

MSE-304

This lecture introduces the fundamental concepts for describing, characterizing, and engineering surfaces and interfaces. Students will develop both theoretical and practical understanding of how interfacial phenomena influence surface properties and technological applications.