Posted by Born on Jun.15, 1933 Prof. Nagai will celebrate his 90th birthday. He has 355 publications with over 11000 citations (researchgate). He was one of the pioneers in cyclodextrin’s pharmaceutical applications.
Tsuneji Nagai is chairman of The Nagai Foundation, Tokyo. From 1971 to 1999, he was professor Hoshi University in Tokyo, and from 2001 to 2004 was that institution’s president. Nagai received a BS in pharmacy in 1956, an MS in pharmacy in 1958, and a PhD in pharmacy in 1961, all from the University of Tokyo. He then completed postdoctoral studies at Columbia University (1965-66) and the University of Michigan (1966-67). In 1996, he received the Doctor Honoris Causa Degree from Hacettepe University, Turkey, and in 2001, the Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa Degree from the University of London, U.K.
Over his long and distinguished career, Nagai has received many awards and honors including the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Hoest-Madsen Medal (1986), the Japan National Invention Prize (1984), The Society Prize of Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (1988), The Society Prize of Society of Cyclodextrins Japan (1997), the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Research Achievement Award in Drug Delivery (1999), and others. In 1999, Nagai received the Japan Imperial Prize, Medal of Purple Ribbon, one of his nation’s greatest individual honors. This honor carried with it an audience with His Imperial Majesty Akihito, the 125th Emperor of Japan.
He was founder and president of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Japan (1985-87), and of The Society of Cyclodextrins, Japan (1993-96); vice president of FIP (1986-94), and president of Controlled Release Society (1996-97). Today, he is president of the Federation of the Asian Pharmaceutical Association College of Pharmacy and is editor–in-chief of the International Journal of Pharmaceutics and the Journal of Controlled Release.
Prof. Tsuneji Nagai started his research on cyclodextrins in the seventies. His first CD-related paper was published on the interaction of α- and β-CD with several non-steroidal antiimflammatory drugs in 1975. The number of his CD-related publications is about 60. The main topics include: inclusion complex formation of NSAID drugs, barbitals, cinnarizine, carmofur, nitroglycerine, epinephrine, nasal formulation of β-interferon with DIMEB, cyclodextrin polymers for drug delivery, stabilization of photosensitive drugs via complexation, solubilization of fullerenes, preparation and characterization of large cyclodextrins and branched cyclodextrins, etc. He discovered that the drug (cinnarizine) release from its complex with βCD can be enhanced by using a competitive guest (phenylalanine). His one of the latest publication on cyclodextrins in 2010 is on fullerene solubilization with large CDs.
Proceedings of the 9th International Cyclodextrin Symposium was dedicated to the 65th birthday of Tsuneji Nagai and Jozsef Szejtli.
In the name of the whole cyclodextrin community, happy birthday!
https://pharmacy.umich.edu/2006-distinguished-alumni-lifetime-achievement-award-winner-tsuneji-nagai
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