Centre for Nanobioscience (CNB) at  Agharkar Research Institute was established in 2007 as a spin-off of the erstwhile ‘Metal-Microbe Interactions’ Group of the Microbial Sciences Division. In an effort to seek an answer to a rather unpretentious question ‘do metal-interacting microbes synthesize nanoparticles?’ the Group pioneered a new approach for the synthesis of metal-based nanomaterials, viz. ‘Materials Science and Engineering through Microbiology’.  Eventually concerted efforts were made to develop a strong research program on Nanobioscience in the Institute covering an entire gamut, from nanomaterials synthesis and characterization to developing products and processes for the improvement of human health, agriculture, environment etc.

CNB’s research contributions touch upon diverse areas of Nanobioscience. Some of the salient achievements made so far are as follows:

Development of eco-friendly methods of synthesizing metal and semiconductor metal sulfide nanoparticles using yeasts (Nanotechnol. 43:95, 2003; Adv. Mat. 14:815, 2002; Phys. Edu. 19:31, 2002; Indian Pat. Nos. 202756, 202757, 205346); ordered assembly of nanoparticles on bacterial surface layer protein templates (J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 8:3565, 2008); and fabrication of a functional electronic device, viz. a diode using microbially synthesized semiconductor nanoparticles, for the first time (Biotech. Bioeng. 78:583, 2002) has paved a way for the development of a new field, viz. materials science through microbiology.

Our inventions on biostabilizing submicronic particles (US Pat. No. 7514600; Eurasian Pat. No. 010338; Chinese Pat. No. 200580014830.g; South African Pat. No. 2006/08552; PCT/IN05/00153); design and fabrication of an apparatus for separating nanoparticles (Indian Pat. No.206541) and discovery that biostabilized silver nanoparticles possess potent antimicrobial activity and are safe for human application (Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 236:310, 2009; Toxicol. Lett. 179:93, 2008; Nanotoxicol. 2:S75, 2008) has resulted in the development of a new drug formulation, viz. Nanocrystalline silver gel for the treatment of burns and wounds. This first-of-its-kind broad-spectrum topical antimicrobial gel formulation (Mol. Pharm. 6:1388, 2009; South African Pat. No.2006/08552; PCT/IN05/00155; Ind. Pat. No. 1688/MUM/2006) fulfils a longstanding demand of a drug for treating burns and wounds infected by pathogens not susceptible to conventional antibiotics. Nanocrystalline silver gel technology is licensed to a pharma industry and has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) after completing multi-centre clinical trials. The product was among the top six contenders for the global Innovation Awards at the International Convention of Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPhI- 2008) held in Frankfurt, Germany. It is expected to benefit millions of patients suffering from burns, wounds, diabetic ulcers, bed sores etc.

Our work on dextran / protein-coated and cerium-doped lanthanum strontium- manganese oxide (LSMO) nanoparticles has identified these paramagnetic materials as possible agents for treatment of cancer by targeted hyperthermia (Nanotechnol. 18: 345101, 2007; J. Biomed. Nanotechnol. 3:178, 2007; Nanomed. - Nanotechnol. Biol. Med. 2:217, 2006; Ind. Pat. No. 330/MUM/2006 and 331/MUM/2006).

Under Nano Cell Biology work being carried out in collaboration with National Institute of Cell Science, Pune and National Chemical Laboratory, Pune it was shown that SMAR1 derived P44 peptide retains its tumor suppressor function through modulation of p53 (J. Biol. Chem. 282:9902, 2007). The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) study of SMAR1 revealed that it modulates the roughness of cell surface and hence, it might be used as a phenotypic differentiation marker between cancerous and non-cancerous cells (BMC Cancer 9:350, 2009). AFM was also used to analyze the phenomenon of flocculation in dimorphic yeast Benjaminiella poitrasi (Bioresource Technol, 101: 1393, 2010) and to get a visual evidence for cholesterol deposition in preadipocytes (3T3-L1 cells) differentiated in the absence and presence of insulin (Biochim Biophys Acta (General Subjects), 1790: 57, 2009).

Our reports on catalytic degradation of a recalcitrant chlorinated pesticide- lindane using biopolymer-stabilized iron-sulfide nanoparticles (Sci. Technol. Adv. Mat. 6:370, 2005; Indian Pat. No. 1242/MUM/2006), reductive dechlorination of lindane with Fe-Pd bimetallic nanoparticles (J. Haz. Mater, 175, 680, 2010);  Fe-Ni bimetallic  nanoparticles mediated degradation of synthetic azo dyes (Env. Sci. Technol. 41:7437, 2007; Appl. Catal. B 79:270, 2008) and discovery that metal containing wastes can be bioconverted to value-added products, viz. metal nanoparticles are important contributions in environmental nanotechnology.

µSpore^® DNA preservation technology is a biomimetic method for long-term preservation of nucleic acids at room temperature in a structurally and functionally intact form. It uses microcapsules of sporopollenin - a structural biopolymer of plant pollen grains (PCT/IN2009/000641; Indian Pat. No. 956/MUM/2008) for encapsulating nucleic acid samples. The application areas for the technology cover forensic science, health care, pharmaceuticals, medicine, military and basic research. It won the India Innovation Pioneers Challenge (IIPC) 2009 competition and was showcased at Intel-University of California, Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge 2009. Development of this new technology coupled with our earlier invention that metal-based nanoparticles can be used as plasmid curing agents (Indian Pat. No. 841/MUM/2004) demonstrates tremendous potential of nanoscience in molecular biology.

Our studies on unraveling the nanoscience in traditional Indian medicine led us to prove that gold nanoparticles are effective in ameliorating the symptoms of mycobacterial-, collagen- and pristine-induced arthritis in rat models (Gold Bull. 40:245, 2007). Further, gold nanoparticles can be a cost-effective and safer substitute for gold bhasma preparations (Indian Pat. No. 551/MUM/2004).

In agricultural nanotechnology we have used environmentally benign nanomaterial-based enzyme formulations for biocontrol of plant pathogens and pests. Using this method, control of plant pathogen Fusarium as well as cotton mealy bug, Pseudococcus gossypiphilous has been demonstrated in laboratory experiments.

CNB has active collaborations with a number of highly reputed institutions and universities in India and abroad. It is in the final stages of initiating post-graduate courses to impart high quality education in nanobioscience and nanotechnology.

Information for prospective PhD students

Students who have obtained Junior Research Fellowship of UGC-CSIR, DBT, ICAR, ICMR etc. are encouraged to apply for PhD studentship at CNB. They could be from any branch of Life Sciences, Pharmacy, Chemistry, Agriculture, and Medicine.