Research Interests

Interactions involving membranes

Our team investigates the interactions between different biological systems and membrane constituents, with special emphasis on the role of endogenous/exogenous metal ions. Biophysical approaches such as IR, Raman, NMR, fluorescence and UV visible techniques are employed.

Current research projects:

 (a)    Interactions between drugs and membrane models: the objective is to understand their mechanism of activity or toxicity

 (b)   Structure and function of antimicrobial peptides: role of metal ions; the objective is to understand the nature of the killing mechanism. Aim 1. To investigate the effect of metal ion binding on the secondary and tertiary structure of antimicrobial peptides in the presence and absence of phospholipids using UV circular dichroism (UVCD), fluorescence, infrared, and Raman techniques as well as NMR. Aim 2. To assess the role of different metals on the biological activity of antimicrobial peptides. (c) Identification and mapping of compounds such as pharmaceuticals, proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates in biological samples using Raman microscopy.

Removal of metal ions from soil and groundwater

Clean water is a critical issue for many parts of the world for human, animal and agricultural use. Forest and agricultural by-products are the most abundant renewable resources worldwide. The objective is to selectively remove metal contaminants without creating hazardous waste or by-products, using forest and agricultural by-products as novel adsorbents. Actually our team is exploring the ability of cassava bark and lignin (from the paper and pulp industry) to remove metal ions. AA, ICP-AES, IR, UV visible and potentiometric titration techniques are used.