Our group research interests lie at the interface of Materials Science, Biology, and Bioengineering.
State-of-the-Art: Developing Functional Biodegradable Materials for Biomedical Applications to prevent the long-term adverse effects due to non-degradability of nanomaterials, and for better clinical translation of biomaterials (e.g., Au, Ag, CNTs accumulated in the liver and spleen).
We employ 2D materials such as graphene oxide, MoS2, MXenes, black phosphorus, etc., in combination with biopolymers or biominerals (CaCO3) for developing degradable biomaterials for Drug/Gene Delivery, Nanotheranostics, Biomimetic Systems, and Antimicrobial Coatings to tackle multidrug resistance bacteria including pandemic virus-like COVID-19.
Biodegradable Drug Carriers: Hybrid Black Phosphorus Nanoparticles for Synergistic Chemo-photothermal Therapy (Funded by the DBT-Ramalingaswami Fellowship 2020-21)
Biodegradability of Nanomaterials: Evaluation of the ability of peroxidases secreted by immune cells to oxidize/degrade the emerging 2D materials such as black phosphorus, MXenes, etc. and intracellular (macrophages) stability of 2D materials and their cytotoxicity. E.g., Biodegradation of Graphene by human enzymes. (Funded by SERB through Start-up Research Grant 2022 for the next 2 years)
Graphene Composites Materials: Antimicrobial, including antibacterial and antifungal coatings and antifouling paints to prevent the corrosion of ships, will be developed using the inherent antimicrobial properties of 2D materials like graphene in combination with the biopolymers.