Biotechnology and Bio-systems

Research in Biosystems Engineering is primarily focused on the following themes namely,

(i) Biomimetic Engineering (ii) Engineered Nanoparticles for biological applications (iii) Computer Aided Product and Process Design (iv) Systems Biology.

In the area of Biomimetic engineering, inspired by the unique physical characteristics and exceptional functional abilities of naturally adhesive surfaces, research groups in the department have explored the effect of geometry of surface patterns, softness of materials and resultant deformation in them by variety of forces including those induced by solid-liquid interfacial interactions. Researchers here have designed hierarchically structured adhesives, ones having viscoelastic inclusions, adhesive layers embedded with liquid filled channels thereby mimicking adhesive pads of organisms containing fluidic vessels and air pockets. In the area of engineered nanoparticles for biological applications, the group has been focusing on designing of a novel class of multifunctional nanoparticles (e.g. polymer nanoparticles/capsules, metal, magnetic, semiconductor, and lanthanide-doped nanoparticles) for variety of bioapplications such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents, drug delivery vehicles, biolabels, and biosensors. Work in the area of Computer aided product and process design focuses on health and environmental applications using molecular biology and mathematical programming e.g. the aim of one of the projects in this theme is to evaluate small interfering RNAs (siRNA) as a therapeutic for the Alzheimer's disease (AD) using in silico and in vitro frameworks. The major aim of another project is to develop a novel wastewater treatment technology using recombinant bacteria for source point application. In the area of Systems Biology, the group is working towards understanding the complex interactions between the transcription network and signaling network. In biosystems, researchers here are interested in the underlying mechanism of many such phenomena. For example, especially in cancer, homeostasis of the tissue is important and can be perturbed by changes that occurs in signaling and transcription network.