(2av) Understanding Nanostructured Materials for High Catalytic Activities in Biosensors, Anti-Bacterial Activity, and Batteries

The manipulation of the material nanostructure is an important research area in the field of material science. Nanoscale materials exhibit high surface to volume ratio than bulk materials which leads to their improved performance and makes them a good candidate for the creation of effective catalysts. Such materials can be further used for developing biosensors, point of care (POC) devices, and mimicking natural enzymes’ catalytic activity. The nanomaterials that can mimic an enzyme's catalytic activities are called nanozymes. Therefore, my research interest lies at the intersection of nanoscience and biosensors. In my Ph.D. thesis, I developed the first reusable nanozyme with peroxidase-like activity for colorimetric detection of uric acid.¹ The nanozyme exhibited high surface energy, which was further enhanced with NH₃ plasma modification to closely mimic the natural enzyme’s (peroxidase) catalytic activity.² Additionally, these nanostructured materials were also used to develop an enzymatic electrochemical sensor for food freshness (through xanthene detection) monitoring.³ Finally, I have also worked towards developing sandwiched nanomaterials for piezoresisitve based pressure (100 Pa to 3500 Pa) sensing.

Being a Presidential Postdoc Fellow, has allowed me to expand my expertise in different directions such as bacteria handling (gram positive and gram negative), mammalian cell handling, cell-free system, protein expression, and even batteries. My first project involved studying the antibacterial properties of copper coated nanotextured steel and investigate the interaction between protein and nanotextured steel. Till now, it has been observed that nanotextured steel in presence of oxygen and hydrogen peroxide can rupture the outer protein shell of bacteria in less than 30 minutes with ~96% efficacy. Equipment like flow cytometer, colony counting, and confocal microscope have been used to validate the findings. Parallelly, I am also investigating oxidase/peroxidase-like activities of electrochemically etched copper for developing colorimetric biosensor for creatinine, a biomarker for kidney infection. The etched copper substrate has demonstrated high defects to catalyze creatinine to glycine till date. Lastly, I am also investigating sustainable and economic approaches to mitigate corrosion and minimize hydrogen generation in Zinc ion batteries (ZIBs), where it’s been found that a protective layer of carbonate over cathode could reduce less hydrogen generation, low electrolyte consumption, and reduced solution and charge transfer resistance.

My future research would typically aim towards addressing the design spaces for reusable nanostructured materials, sustainable process techniques for nanostructured materials’ synthesis, and their application to healthcare, environment, and energy. I plan to explore different methods for developing nanostructured materials with controlled features using electrochemical and physical vapor deposition techniques. The primary goal would focus on three main thrusts using the nanostructured materials: (1) Nanozymes to mimic oxidase, peroxidase, catalase, and superoxidase enzymes’ catalytic activity for developing affordable point-of-care devices, (2) Understand different transition metal-based nanostructures for antibacterial properties, (3) Investigate metal oxide-based nanostructures with high electrocatalytic activities for batteries. These thrusts will aim to address the fundamental questions for two major research directions – utilizing the artificial enzymes as a substitute under uncontrolled operating conditions of pH and temperature, and the development of reusable nanostructured material enabled stimuli-responsive devices.

Teaching interests

Based on my teaching assistance experience during my Ph.D, I am interested in teaching courses related to electrochemistry, thermodynamics, analytical chemistry, and chemical reaction engineering. I am also interested in proposing new chemical engineering-based elective courses at the undergraduate or graduate level, whose focus would be on nanostructured materials fabrication and their applications in healthcare, anti-bacterial activities, and energy. I further look forward to contributing towards STEM diversity through outreach programs that would focus on training high school students and creating research opportunities for underrepresented students.