Seeram Ramakrishna

National University of Singapore | NUS · center for nanofibers and nanotechnology

Research Paper

Bacterial infections and multidrug-resistant bacteria are major health burdens in wound care. Biocompatible antimicrobial agents, e.g., ε-polylysine (ε-PL), provide a broad spectrum of antibacterial properties and support dermal cell growth. Here, ε-PL was incorporated into polycaprolactone (PCL)/gelatin electrospun scaffolds collected at varying r...

On top of the increasing level of foot injuries, designers, physiologists, biomedical engineers, ergonomists, and biomechanists know the potential of 3D printing technology in podiatric medicine. This book is intended to cover best practices, 3D printing methods to capture, document, and validate those challenges at the early stage of the design pr...

High-performance polyether ether ketone (PEEK) thermoplastic is considered to be one of the most desirable materials for its intended biomedical implications, including oral implantology, prosthodontics, dental implants, and orthopaedics. Therefore, the processing of PEEK through material extrusion (ME) as a 3D printing process has been preferred d...

Isoatomic NiTi alloy (Nitinol) has become an important biomaterial due to its unique characteristics, including shape memory effect, superelasticity, and high damping. Nitinol has been widely used in the biomedical field, including orthopedics, vascular stents, orthodontics, and other medical devices. However, there have been convicting views about...

There has been a recent interest in microfluidics due to their wide application and unique integration of concepts, including physics, materials science, chemistry, microelectronics, and biology. Microfluidic chips can be applied in different fields, particularly in the biomedical sector, such as drug delivery, diagnosis devices, cell culture, and...

Nowadays, textile industries have severely polluted the ecosystem and water sources via disposal of highly thermo- and photo-stable dyes within the ecology that require practical strategies to remove them from nature. In studies, the photocatalytic disinfection technique has been shown to have widespread applications in indoor air, environmental he...

The use of fiber-reinforced composites (FRC) in off-shore structures and marine vessels is growing rapidly due to their high strength and modulus, increased design flexibility, desirable thermal expansion characteristics, good resistance to corrosion, and economic efficiency. They possess additional advantages of better vibration damping than metal...

Transparent lead glasses are vital equipment for protecting the radiation personnel and people against harmful radiation sources for applications requiring line-of-sight, such as diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, and nuclear fuel processing. However, the low chemical stability, toxicity, and heaviness of lead-based shields highlighted the req...

Drug delivery can be defined as the group of approaches a drug or pharmacologically active agent can be transported to the target cell to treat disease or health issue. Conventional routes for drug delivery are oral, buccal, rectal, subcutaneous, intranasal, intramuscular, intravenous, pulmonary and transdermal. These are the commonly used methods...

Serious health hazards of volatile organic compounds such as methanol and ethanol for living species and their adverse effects on the environment raised a global requirement for developing a portable, precise, and sensitive detection platform capable of simultaneous and differentiable detection of alcohols in aquatic biological and non-biological f...

The low thermal resistance of composite materials poses a major hindrance in using them for various applications. These limitations are subdued by flame and fire retardants, which when added into polymers and composites provides an enhanced thermal and flame resistance. In this review, the various methods of improving the fire retardancy of composi...

Cardiotoxicity and other side effects of current antineoplastic agents with narrow therapeutic windows, such as doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), have increased the need for advanced real-time monitoring approaches to control their dosage and minimize common side effects. In this study, we reinforced the biocompatible and electrosensitive polymeric...

Climate change is a hot topic these days as it makes our earth a hotter place to live in. Almost all the countries are working on their climate policy to do their part in reducing carbon emissions. Many global conferences and events have been happened in the past 50 years to control the global temperature rise. But still, there is no evidence of si...

Nowadays, due to the continuous developments in economies, various dilemmas are emerging, including energy demand, waste management, and greenhouse gas emissions (GHE). A promising approach to address these issues is a transition toward a circular economy (CE), and one of its successful approaches is the waste-to-energy (WTE). By exploiting WTE, th...

Increasing demand for non-biodegradable plastics undesirably leads to their accumulation and calls for an appropriate solution for this global crisis. Environmental impacts of PET waste have long been addressed; although some remedies have been proposed, their extensive use in the modern world use demands new studies and recycling techniques. It sh...

In this review, the issue of food recycling was comprehensively studied from the perspective of recent research. Firstly, the concept of circular economy and its application in reducing waste production and the strategies for waste reduction (waste prevention) were discussed. The concept suggests that we can produce less waste from the beginning to...

In the current study, a thermal resistant polysulfide composite was prepared by the incorporation of carbon fibers (CFs). Poly(ethylene tetrasulfide) (PETS) was used as the polysulfide matrix as is the most efficient in terms of productivity. The preparation of the PETS/CF composite was conducted via in situ polymerization. Different loading weight...

Commercially pure titanium and titanium alloys have been among the most commonly used materials for biomedical applications since the 1950s. Due to the excellent mechanical tribological properties, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and antibacterial properties of titanium, it is getting much attention as a biomaterial for implants. Furthermor...

Rapid person-to-person transfer of viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and their occasional mutations owing to the human activity and climate/ecological changes by the mankind led to creation of wrecking worldwide challenges. Such fast transferable pathogens requiring practical diagnostic setups to control their transfer chain and stop sever outbreaks in ea...

Efficient release and the delivery of active substances are necessary for diverse medical applications including biosensors, biotechnology, and medical therapy. Meanwhile, drug delivery to special tissues or organs has been explored via various modes, especially magneto-responsive targeted drug delivery. Magneto-responsive nanoparticles (NPs), that...

Nonlinear elastoplastic behavior of the nanocomposites based on the styrene-acrylonitrile/carboxylated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (SAN/XNBR) blend was investigated using experimental and theoretical analysis. Graphene, graphene oxide nanoparticles, and glycidyl methacrylate-grafted-XNBR (XNBR-g-GMA) as a compatibilizer were incorporated in the...

Despite the advances that have been achieved in developing wound dressings to date, wound healing still remains a challenge in the healthcare system. None of the wound dressings currently used clinically can mimic all the properties of normal and healthy skin. Electrospinning has gained remarkable attention in wound healing applications because of...

Multifunctional gold nanorods (GNR) have drawn growing interest in biomedical fields because of their excellent biocompatibility, ease of alteration, and special optical properties. The great advantage of using GNR in medicine is their application to Photothermal therapy (PPTT), which is possible thanks to their ability to turn luminous energy into...

Resin-based dental composites are promising tooth-resembling materials in restorative dentistry. The limited longevity of dental composite restorations due to the bulk/marginal fracture and secondary caries as well as possible health risks are the critical challenges faced by such materials. Therefore, developments of resin-based dental composites...

To develop novel imprinted poly (methacrylic acid) nanoparticles for the controlled release of Rivastigmine Tartrate (RVS), the amalgamation of molecular imprinting techniques and polymerization of precipitates were applied in this work. By permuting different concentrations of pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) or trimethylolpropane triacrylate (T...

Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) as a biomaterial with excellent biocompatibility and cytocompatibility elicits a minimal immunological response from host tissue making it desirable for different biomedical applications. This article seeks to provide an in-depth overview of the properties and biomedical applications of pHEMA for bone tissu...

Rapid mutation of airborne pathogenic viruses, e.g., SARS‐CoV‐2, and their similar symptoms with flu or influenza, raises an urgent demand for the development of biomolecule‐less nanosensors capable of rapid, sensitive, specific, and differentiable detection of viruses in a single potential window to distinguish infected people from healthy ones th...

The massive plastic production worldwide leads to a global concern for the pollution made by the plastic wastes and the environmental issues associated with them. One of the best solutions is replacing the fossil-based plastics with bioplastics. Bioplastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) are biodegradable materials with less greenhouse gas (GHG) emi...

Silicone is a synthetic polymer widely used in the biomedical industry as implantable devices since 1940, owing to its excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Silicone biomaterials are renowned for their biocompatibility due to their inert nature and hydrophobic surface. A timeline illustration shows critical development periods of us...

In the present study, applications of advanced nanomaterials such as graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) as leading and potential candidates toward treating the human papillomaviruses (HPVs) were investigated. In this matter, a comprehensive summary of the formation of GO, rGO, and GQDs will be report...

Nylon is a human-made material and has been applied in many industrial fields. This literature review explores the use of nylon in biomedical applications and discusses the properties and three-dimensional (3D) printability of this material. Nylon is studied due to its versatility as an engineering plastic that can be easily transformed into fibers...

The dramatic increase in the number of diabetic people raised the requirement for developing practical diagnostic setups capable of rapid and precise detection of glucose molecules at physiological conditions through non-enzymatic approaches. To address this requirement, we have developed a highly stable and sensitive non-enzymatic glucose biosenso...

Product-as-a-service business models have been strongly promoted to support a transition to a circular economy. Prams for babies are an ideal product for this type of business model since they are widely used, are mature products, have established design cycles, and are very durable. A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment was conducted to compare...

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) can cool down objects by simultaneously reflecting sunlight and radiating heat to the cold external space, which has no energy consumption. Traditional PDRC design usually needs to rely on micro-nano structures, which are easily damaged and lose function. On the one hand, the mechanical strength of PDRC can...

Biocomposites being environmentally-friendly alternative to synthetic composites are gaining increasing demand for various applications. Hence, biocomposite development should be integrated within a circular economy (CE) model to ensure a sustainable production that is simultaneously innocuous towards the environment. This review presents an overvi...

As a hydrophilic renewable polymer, starch has been widely used in biocompatible plastics as a filler for more than two decades. The present study aimed at investigating the effects of polyethylene glycol (PEG), as a plasticizer, on the physicochemical properties of a hybrid composite -polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic starch (TPS). A solvent...

Polymer systems have typical multiscale characteristics, both in space and time. The mesoscopic properties of polymers are difficult to describe through traditional experimental approaches. Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) is a simulation method used for solving mesoscale problems of complex fluids and soft matter. The mesoscopic properties of p...

Over the past several decades, the formulation of novel nanofiber-based drug-delivery systems has been a frequent focus of scientists around the world. Aiming to introduce a novel nanofibrous transdermal drug-delivery system to treat pain, the nanofiber mats of buprenorphine-loaded poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (Bup/PVP) and buprenorphine-loaded poly(vi...

Bleeding in outdoor environments is often accompanied by bacterial infection. Due to poor outdoor conditions, it is essential to use the same materials to achieve one-stop treatment of fast hemostasis and simultaneously sterilizing bacteria, especially multidrug-resistant bacteria. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) can kill superbacteria, and local PDT th...

The incorporation of nanofillers such as graphene into polymers has shown significant improvements in mechanical characteristics, thermal stability, and conductivity of resulting polymeric nanocomposites. To this aim, the influence of incorporation of graphene nanosheets into ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) on the thermal behavior...

Nowadays, sustainable manufacturing has attracted numerous manufacturing organizations to adopt economically-sound processes which can minimize the negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources. The 3D printing technologies have been considered as greener manufacturing methods as these allow the optimal use of the mat...

The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has rapidly increased the demand for facemasks as a measure to reduce the rapid spread of the pathogen. Throughout the pandemic, some countries such as Italy had a monthly demand of ca. 90 million facemasks. Domestic mask manufacturers are capable of manufacturing 8 million masks each week, al...

High value-added materials are usually made from low-value materials or wastes. Producing these materials as by-products along with the main products of any industry or project can multiply the financial benefits of economic processes. Many of these processes today use fossil fuels that have two major problems: non-renewability and environmental po...

The study aimed to investigate the mechanical reliability and in vitro bioactivity of the three-dimensional (3D) printed hydroxyapatite (HA) reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) porous scaffolds. The experiments have been performed to study the effect of HA wt.% in PLA matrix, infill density, and post-printing thermal-stimulus on the flexural and compr...

Proton transport in proton exchange membrane is considered to depend on the hydrophilic domain formed by the microphase separation between hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments of the membrane. Therefore, the study of hydrated morphologies is crucial to understand proton transport. Here, the mesoscopic structure of sulfonated polyether ether ketone...

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles playing important roles in various physiological and pathological processes. These specific vesicles provide significant information on the status of donor cells, i.e., for the progression of some diseases. In the past decade, exosomes have been considered as important biomarkers for disease diagnosis. Thus, it i...

The diffusion of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) is projected to influence the electricity grid operation, potentially offering opportunities for load-shifting policies aimed at higher integration of renewable energy technologies in the electricity system. Moreover, the examined literature emphasizes electricity as a relevant driver of BEVs Life C...

Prompt development of electronic devices and sensors raised the requirement for design/fabrication of advanced energy sources capable of providing considerable amount of energy for consuming platforms through practical nanotechnological approaches. For this aim, we have developed a highly active 2D nanostructure consisted of reinforced conductive p...

3D printing technology is a versatile technology. The waste of 3D printed plastic products is a matter of concern because of its impact on the circular economy. In this paper, we discuss the current status and problems of 3D printing, different methods of 3D printing, and applications of 3D printing. This paper focuses on the recycling and degradat...

Among the several approaches for the protection of metallic structures from corrosion, covering with a polymeric coating has attracted more attention due to their convenient application, cost‐effective price, and the relatively benign environmental impact. However, the polymeric coatings are sensitive to mechanical/thermal shocks and aggressive env...

Nanobiotechnology has undoubtedly influenced major breakthroughs in medical sciences. Application of nanosized materials has made it possible for researchers to investigate a broad spectrum of treatments for diseases with minimally invasive procedures. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been a subject of investigation for numerous applications in ag...

Research on synthesis, characterization, and understanding of novel properties of nanomaterials has led researchers to exploit their potential applications. When compared to other nanotechnologies described in the literature, electrospinning has received significant interest due to its ability to synthesize novel nanostructures (such as nanofibers,...

It is very desirable to have good antibacterial properties and mechanical properties at the same time for bone scaffolds. Graphene oxide (GO) can increase the mechanical properties and antibacterial performance, while forsterite (Mg 2 SiO 4 ) as the matrix can increase forsterite/GO scaffolds' biological activity for bone tissue engineering. Interc...

Purpose The potential implications of the three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology are growing enormously in the various health-care sectors, including surgical planning, manufacturing of patient-specific implants and developing anatomical models. Although a wide range of thermoplastic polymers are available as 3DP feedstock, yet obtaining bioco...

Progenitor cells derived from the retinal pigment epithelium (RPECs) have shown promise as therapeutic approaches to degenerative retinal disorders including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and Stargardt disease. However, the degeneration of Bruch’s membrane (BM), the natural substrate for the RPE, has been identified as one...

The huge plastic production and plastic pollution are considered important global issues due to environmental aspects. One practical and efficient way to address them is to replace fossil-based plastics with natural-based materials, such as cellulose. The applications of different cellulose products have recently received increasing attention becau...

Carbon-based materials exhibit distinct structure and dimensionality which allow modification of their electrical properties and enable them to be integrated in various commercial systems. One of the interesting characteristics of carbon-based materials is efficient electron field emission (FE), which makes them good candidates for displays, in ele...

Polymer-based materials are increasingly produced through fused deposition modelling (FDM) – an additive manufacturing process, due to its intrinsic advantages in manufacturing complex shapes and structures at low overhead costs. The versatility of this technology has attracted several industries to print complex geometrical structures. This underl...

Traditional test paper cannot be reusable and needs much sample solution. In this study, a reusable perovskite nanocomposite fiber paper consisting of CsPbBr3 quantum dots in-situ growing in the solid polymer fibers with high concentration is fabricated via microwave and electrospinning methods. RhoB is used as the sample solution because it is a h...

Microneedle (MN) technology shows excellent potential in controlled drug delivery, which has got rising attention from investigators and clinics. MNs can pierce through the stratum corneum layer of the skin into the epidermis, evading interaction with nerve fibers. MN patches have been fabricated using various types of materials and application pro...

The goal of the current review paper is to classify the available ionic liquid compounds that have been used as effective and green (environmentally friendly) corrosion inhibitors in corrosive aqueous media during the last two decades, as well as to investigate their corrosion inhibition properties. The ionic liquids are classified into several gro...

Morphological changes of copper oxide (CuO) nano-structures have been studied in detail for renewable energy and electronic applications. The CuO nano-structures were grown on a silicon substrate via a two-stage process starting with radio frequency sputtering for the seed layer followed by chemical bath deposition. The study was focused on control...

Polymer processing techniques have experienced continued progress over decades to meet performance requirements in diverse applications. In the same period, various high-performance polymeric materials have been developed rapidly. Fabrication of polymer fibers has been in the center of attention from the origin of synthetic polymers, with applicati...

Kinetic modeling and degradation study of liquid polysulfide (LPS)/clay nanocomposite is possible through Ozawa-Flynn-Wall (OFW) and Kissinger methods. Comparing the results of these models with experimental data leads to provide an accurate degradation kinetic evaluation of these materials. To this aim, the morphology and distribution of clay nano...

Bioprinting of body tissues has gained great attention in recent years due to its unique advantages, including the creation of complex geometries and printing the patient-specific tissues with various drug and cell types. The most momentous part of the bioprinting process is bioink, defining as a mixture of living cells and biomaterials (especially...

Electrospinning is one of the most successful and efficient techniques for the fabrication of one-dimensional nanofibrous materials as they have widely been utilized in multiple application fields due to their intrinsic properties like high porosity, large surface area, good connectivity, wettability, and ease of fabrication from various materials....