The Department of Chemistry at SRM University-AP is hosting a guest lecture. The lecture will feature Dr Rajendra Kurapati who will be speaking on Functionalization Dependent Biodegradation of 2D Materials: Impact on Immune Modulation and Applications. The talk will allow students to explore the biodegradability of 2DMs and the impact of nanoparticle doping, such as iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs), ZnS nanoparticles, etc.
Here’s an abstract of the talk and details of the speaker.
Abstract of the Talk:
As the use of two-dimensional materials (2DMs) continues to grow and expand their range of industrial and biomedical applications, understanding their long-term effects on organisms and the environment is still in its infancy. However, the biodegradability of 2DMs in organisms by immune cells has been shown to be significant, especially by the peroxidase enzymes present in the neutrophils and macrophages. In addition, it is also necessary to thoroughly investigate their metabolite formation by the degradation of 2DMs. Herein, the biodegradability of 2D materials, including reduced graphene (rGO), antimonene, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and red phosphorus sheets by interacting with the peroxidase enzymes secreted by the primary immune cells (neutrophils, macrophages). In addition, we investigated the impact of chemical functionalization on the biodegradability of GFMs and the impact of nanoparticle doping, such as iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs), ZnS nanoparticles, etc. High-resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and mass spectrometry (MS) were employed to understand the biodegradation of GFMs and their by-products.1-6 However, these results indicate that the oxidized (functionalized) graphitic materials can undergo faster biodegradation than the pristine ones. The possible by-products of the biodegradation of graphene materials were characterised using mass spectrometry. Figure/Scheme: appropriate caption.
About the Speaker:
Dr Rajendra Kurapati obtained M.Sc. degree in Chemistry from the University of Hyderabad in 2008. He pursued his PhD at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, under the supervision of Prof. Ashok Raichur in biomaterials research. Kurapati worked as a Post-doctoral Fellow with Prof. Alberto Bianco at CNRS, University of Strasbourg. In 2018, he received the Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship with Prof. Abhay Pandit at CÚRAM, University of Galway, Ireland. In 2021, Kurapati received the prestigious DBT-Ramalingaswami re-entry fellowship hosted by the University of Hyderabad, India (with Prof. V V S S Srikanth). Since 2021, Kurapati has been an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at IISER Thiruvananthapuram and works on developing biomaterials for drug delivery and antimicrobial coatings, including sustainable bioplastic. He has recognised 2025’s rising stars of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology research, which gathers the best work from researchers in the early stages of their independent careers (below 5 years). Kurapati is recognised for his contribution to the investigations of the biodegradation of nanomaterials and the immune cell interactions in the blood and their importance in biomedical applications.