Ramakrishna Podila

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Ramakrishna Podila is an Indian-born American physicist and nanomaterials researcher. He is currently an associate professor of physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Clemson University and is the director of the Clemson Nano-bio lab. [1] He is known for his interdisciplinary research at the interface of physics, biology, and nanoscience. His lab integrates the principles of condensed matter physics, optical spectroscopy, and physiological chemistry to understand physics at the nanoscale and nano-bio interfaces.

Contents

His work led to new discoveries at the nanoscale such as: 1) time-reversal symmetry breaking with non-linear optical diodes, [2] [3] 2) a novel "wireless" tribo-electric generator that is capable of converting waste mechanical energy into electricity and transmit it wirelessly for storage [4] 3) alleviating quantum capacitance effects in graphene [5] 4) smartphone based rapid inexpensive biosensors for resource-limited settings, [6] [7] and 4) elucidating the origin of nano-toxicity from a fundamental quantum electronic energy levels standpoint. [8]

Research work

Podila's research made many strides in fundamental understanding and applications of nanomaterials in energy, health, and photonics. 1) Energy conversion and storage: Podila's group has been endeavoring to develop highly efficient triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for converting waste mechanical energy into useful electric power; in addition, his group focuses on engineering defects and dopants in nanomaterials to achieve batteries (Li-ion, Li-sulfur, and Al-ion) and supercapacitors (based on nanocarbons and their hybrids with electrochemically active polymers) with high-energy and high-power densities. [9] [10] [11] His work in this area led to many discoveries such as alleviation of quantum capacitance in graphene, wireless tribo-electric nanogenerators, [12] inexpensive TENGs, [13] and novel silicon electrodes for Li-ion batteries [14] [15] among other things. Through their research at the nanoscale, Podila's group has demonstrated the use of defects (including interfaces) for achieving novel functionalities. More importantly, his group successfully translated their research into scalable devices [16] 2) Nanotoxicity and Nanomedicine: Podila's group is presently identifying mechanisms of nanotoxicity with an emphasis on nanoparticle-protein interactions and their influence on physiological responses to ultimately develop benign nanoparticles for medical applications. Podila's collaborative work previously developed an atom-thick coating for preventing blood clots on stents, use carbon nanotubes as drug delivery vehicles for cancer etc. Recently, Podila's work (in collaboration with J. M. Brown group at UC Denver) showed how atomic defects in materials could elicit varying physiological responses by linking nanomaterials, quantum mechanics, and toxicity studies. His work also unravelled the fundamental mechanisms by which plaque formation in many diseases such as diabetes etc. can be stopped using nanomaterials [17] 3) Biosensing and imaging: Podila's group developed novel surface plasmon coupled emission platforms (some of this work done in collaboration with Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning) with high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing low abundance biomarkers. Most importantly, this work led to cheap and inexpensive smartphone sensors for rapidly detecting TB without the need to wait for bacterial cultures. [18] His group invented a new printer paper based analyte-induced disruption assay that is useful for rapidly detecting antibodies, cancer markers etc. Podila also developed novel fluorescent nanoparticles (doped ZnO, nanocarbons) through three-photon absorption (3PA) for bioimaging of cancer and image-guided surgery. [19]

Selected publications

Honors

Podila became a certified fellow of the Institute for Advanced Physics in 2020. He is actively involved in education and outreach through science workshops for K-12. [20]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ "Ramakrishna Podila, Ph.D." Clemson University.
  2. ↑ "An all-carbon optical diode for photonic computing". Nanowerk.
  3. ↑ Anand, Benoy; Podila, Ramakrishna; Lingam, Kiran; Krishnan, S. R.; Siva Sankara Sai, S.; Philip, Reji; Rao, Apparao M. (2013-12-11). "Optical Diode Action from Axially Asymmetric Nonlinearity in an All-Carbon Solid-State Device". Nano Letters. 13 (12): 5771–5776. Bibcode:2013NanoL..13.5771A. doi:10.1021/nl403366d. ISSN   1530-6984. PMID   24224861.
  4. ↑ Pacha, Aswathi (2017-12-30). "Nanogenerators go wireless". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X.
  5. ↑ "Improving the energy storage in graphene with defects". Nanowerk.
  6. ↑ "Novel 2D spacer materials for surface plasmon coupled emission sensing". Nanowerk.
  7. ↑ "Smartphone-based nano-biosensors for early detection of tuberculosis". Nanowerk.
  8. ↑ Persaud, Indushekhar; Raghavendra, Achyut J.; Paruthi, Archini; Alsaleh, Nasser B.; Minarchick, Valerie C.; Roede, James R.; Podila, Ramakrishna; Brown, Jared M. (March 2020). "Defect-induced electronic states amplify the cellular toxicity of ZnO nanoparticles". Nanotoxicology. 14 (2): 145–161. doi:10.1080/17435390.2019.1668067. ISSN   1743-5404. PMC   7036006 . PMID   31553248.
  9. ↑ "Batteries created by Clemson scientists could eventually help astronauts on Mars". A. B. C. News 4. 31 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "CU scientists create multipurpose batteries that could make it easier to get around on Mars". Clemson University. 31 August 2020.
  11. ↑ "Indian-origin Scientists Develop Lighter, Fast-charging Batteries that Can Power Mars Rover". News18. 3 September 2020.
  12. ↑ "Clemson researchers blaze new ground in wireless energy generation for future electronic gadgets". Clemson University.
  13. ↑ Mallineni, Sai Sunil Kumar; Behlow, Herbert; Dong, Yongchang; Bhattacharya, Sriparna; Rao, Apparao M.; Podila, Ramakrishna (2017-05-01). "Facile and robust triboelectric nanogenerators assembled using off-the-shelf materials". Nano Energy. 35: 263–270. Bibcode:2017NEne...35..263M. doi:10.1016/j.nanoen.2017.03.043. ISSN   2211-2855.
  14. ↑ "A new breakthrough in lithium-silicon batteries". Nanowerk.
  15. ↑ Pacha, Aswathi (2018-05-07). "Carbon nanotubes could revolutionise Li-ion batteries, say researchers". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X.
  16. ↑ "Lower Cost, Roll-to-Roll Production of Carbon Nanotube Based Supercapacitors". InterNano.
  17. ↑ "Clemson research could lead to therapeutic strategies to combat Alzheimer's, Type 2 diabetes and other diseases". Clemson University News and Stories, South Carolina. 29 June 2020.
  18. ↑ "Triboelectric device bypasses injured nerves to restore sense of touch". American Chemical Society.
  19. ↑ Raghavendra, Achyut J; Gregory, Wren E; Slonecki, Tyler J; Dong, Yongchang; Persaud, Indushekhar; Brown, Jared M; Bruce, Terri F; Podila, Ramakrishna (2018-07-23). "Three-photon imaging using defect-induced photoluminescence in biocompatible ZnO nanoparticles". International Journal of Nanomedicine. 13: 4283–4290. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S165201 . ISSN   1176-9114. PMC   6061205 . PMID   30087560.
  20. ↑ "Clemson Nanomaterials Center reaches out to community". Clemson University. 2 April 2015.
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