(6d) Morphological Aspects in Materials for Biotechnological Applications

My scientific research focuses on the use of both experimental and computational tools to study the effects of morphological aspects of structurally modified or complex heterogeneous materials on the mechanical, electrokinetic and transport behavior.

Research Experience

Transport and separation in structurally modified materials: Research involving polymer gels with embedded nanoparticles of varying properties is quite attractive because of the multitude of potential applications, including separation of biomacromolecules for environmental proteomics; more effective and less time consuming clinical diagnostics, growth of tissue in synthetic or natural scaffold etc. Tuning the nanometer-scale pore structure has been shown to improve mechanical properties and also alter the electrophoretic mobility of the biomolecules thus improving separation efficiency. Using analytical and computational based approaches the heterogeneous structure was modeled by considering the material as a network of small and large domains having idealized geometries connected to each other through which the solute particles transport under different driving forces such as 1D or 2D electric-fields, and pressure gradient. This research also introduced a novel approach to investigate the morphological effects of nanocomposite gel electrophoresis by integrating the numerical simulations based on finite element method and population-based search algorithm such as differential evolution. Execution of the efficient methodology outputs the final optimal values of the parameters and the separation resolution for the range of parameter values specified by the user.

Capturing mechanical behavior of filamentous network in complex biomaterials: From the nano/microscale filaments found in cells, tissue and gels to macroscale high-tensile ropes and cables, many structural components are designed as slender elements. Since slender elements bend more easily than stretch and quickly undergo nonlinear deflections several analytical, and numerical approaches have been proposed to tackle this geometric non-linearity but present different kinds of drawbacks, the most important being their high computation time. In this work, string-of-continuous beams (SOCB) methodology to capture the three-dimensional nonlinear bending dynamics is presented which is applicable for large deflection systems while considerably reducing the computational cost. The SOCB approach serves as a generalized platform for solving the nonlinear deformation of arbitrary 3D networks of slender filaments. The model has been able to successfully capture the unusual mechanics such as the reversible softening exhibited by compressed actin networks in dendritic morphology attributed to filament buckling.

Environmental bioremediation using heterogeneous biofilm matrix: Release of radioactive ¹²⁹I to the subsurface due to leaking tanks and direct disposal at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site has resulted in the generation of Iodine isotopes in groundwater. Speciation of radioiodine has shown that iodate comprises a major percent of iodine . One way to reduce iodate is by the action of biofilms which are predominantly found in natural environment. A biofilm is a surface or interface associated, sessile microbial community embedded in a matrix of self-produced extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The polyionic nature, physical and chemical heterogeneity of biofilm matrices, combined with the reduced susceptibility of bacterial biofilms to toxicity by inorganic and organic pollutants, make them particularly suitable for bioremediation applications. This work develops a protocol for the proliferation of bacterial biofilms and investigates the potential of these biofilms to reduce iodate. These studies could lead to novel approaches and techniques for the bioremediation of radioiodine at contaminated sites.

Teaching Interests:

In addition to the research, I also have teaching experience, where I have designed and taught classes in Fluid Mechanics, Mass Transfer, Process dynamics and Control, Chemical Engineering Operations. During this time, I had the opportunity to develop the entire course from preparing syllabus to assessment. I was also involved in developing laboratory experiments for undergraduate engineering courses. I have also used various learning methods such as problem, team and project-based learning along with online tools which allow students to access course material and to collaborate on projects at any time. I am experienced in using the state-of-the-art computational engineering tools and would be interested in integrating some of the tools in my lectures. I have always been passionate about transfer of knowledge, and I bring that energy into the classroom to encourage and engage students.