Publications by authors named "Shankar Balakrishnan"

Chitin, a highly valuable mucopolysaccharide, has revolutionized the biomedical industry due to its exceptional properties and versatile applications. With a focus on green chemistry and sustainable development, this study extracted α-chitin from Metapenaeus monoceros and β-chitin from Uroteuthis duvaucelli using an eco-friendly Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES) system, consisting of choline chloride (hydrogen bond acceptor) and malonic acid (hydrogen bond donor). Chitin nanowhiskers (CNWs) were synthesized via DES and uniformly incorporated into DGEBA epoxy resin using a modified slurry compounding technique.

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Hydroxyapatite (HA), the main inorganic bone component, is the most widely researched bioceramic for bone repair. This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent advancements in HA synthesis methods and their integration into additive manufacturing (AM) processes. Synthesis methodologies discussed include wet, dry, and biomimetic routes, emphasizing their impact on tailoring the physicochemical properties of HA for biomedical applications.

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The pervasiveness of cancer is a global health concern posing a major threat in terms of mortality and incidence rates. Magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) employing biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) ensuring selective attachment to target sites, better colloidal stability and conserving nearby healthy tissues has garnered widespread acceptance as a promising clinical treatment for cancer cell death. In this direction, multifunctional iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are of significant interest for improved cancer care due to finite size effect associated with inherent magnetic properties.

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Wearable tear-based biosensors have garnered substantial interest for real time monitoring with an emphasis on personalized health care. These biosensors utilize major tear biomarkers such as proteins, lipids, metabolites, and electrolytes for the detection and recording of stable biological signals in a non-invasive manner. The present comprehensive review delves deep into the tear composition along with potential biomarkers that can identify, monitor, and predict certain ocular diseases such as dry eye disease, conjunctivitis, eye-related infections, as well as diabetes mellitus.

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Prolonged inflammation induced by orthopedic metallic implants can critically affect the success rates, which can even lead to aseptic loosening and consequent implant failure. In the case of adverse clinical conditions involving osteoporosis, orthopedic trauma and implant corrosion-wear in peri-implant region, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity is enhanced which leads to increased oxidative stress. Metallic implant materials (such as titanium and its alloys) can induce increased amount of ROS, thereby critically influencing the healing process.

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Unlabelled: Access and personalized instruction required for laboratory education can be highly compromised due to regulatory constraints in times such as COVID-19 pandemic or resource shortages at other times. This directly impacts the student engagement and immersion that are necessary for conceptual and procedural understanding for scientific experimentation. While online and remote laboratories have potential to address the aforementioned challenges, theoretical perspectives of laboratory learning outcomes are critical to enhance their impact and are sparsely examined in the literature.

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Article Synopsis
  • Dystonia is a movement disorder that affects quality of life, and while Botulinum Neurotoxin (BoNT) is a common treatment, it doesn't work for all patients; deep brain stimulation (DBS) has also been shown to benefit those with dystonia.
  • A study of 67 dystonia patients treated with DBS over 7 years found significant improvements in symptoms, using scales like the Global Dystonia Severity (GDS) and Burke-Fahn-Marsden (BFMDRS) scores.
  • The results showed average reductions in scores 5 to 7 years post-DBS, indicating DBS is an effective long-term treatment for various types of dystonia, despite not completely eliminating symptoms.
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Copper (Cu) and its alloys are prospective materials in fighting covid-19 virus and several microbial pandemics, due to its excellent antiviral as well as antimicrobial properties. Even though many studies have proved that copper and its alloys exhibit antiviral properties, this research arena requires further research attention. Several studies conducted on copper and its alloys have proven that copper-based alloys possess excellent potential in controlling the spread of infectious diseases.

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We implemented gas-phase (argon plasma) and wet-chemical (HNO) surface treatments on close space sublimated (CSS) Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) thin films exhibiting morphologies of (i) vertically aligned walls on copper (Cu) and stainless steel (SS) substrates, (ii) valley-hills on aluminum (Al) substrates and (iii) micro-granules on nickel (Ni). As all the growth conditions (temperature, pressure, duration and source/substrate distance) were exactly the same in the CSS process to coat CdTe films, it is asserted that the various microstructures were raised only on Cu, Al, Ni and SS substrates. Plasma and HNO surface treatments on metal substrates did not affect the CdTe morphologies in terms of specific structures but it was observed that structural, optical and electrical charge transport characteristics were highly tunable by the two surface treatments.

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In most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), bovine tuberculosis (bTB) remains endemic due to the absence of control programs. This is because successful bTB control and eradication programs have relied on test-and-slaughter strategies that are socioeconomically unfeasible in LMICs. While Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine-induced protection for cattle has long been documented in experimental and field trials, its use in control programs has been precluded by the inability to differentiate BCG-vaccinated from naturally infected animals using the OIE-prescribed purified protein derivative (PPD)-based tuberculin skin tests.

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Aggressive scaling of silicon technology over the years has pushed CMOS devices to their fundamental limits. Pioneering works on carbon nanotube during the last decade possessing exceptional electrical properties have provided an intriguing solution for high performance integrated circuits. So far, at best, carbon nanotubes have been considered only for the channel, with metal electrodes being used for source/drain.

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