Associate Professor,
Department of Chemistry, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-560037, India
Centre of Excellence in Materials & Sensors, CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru 560037, India
Email : varsha.b@cmrit.ac.in
Google scholar : https://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?user=P87dUAgAAAAJ&hl=en
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9650-729X
Scopus ID : 36349798100
Design and Fabrication of Novel nanomaterials and nanocomposites
Research Interests
Design and fabrication of nano-bioconjugates for drug delivery
Noble metal nanoparticles (AuNP, AgNP) and metal oxide nanoparticles
Mesoporous materials: Synthesis of MCM-41, MCM-48, and SBA-15
Metal-organic Frameworks: ZIF-8, ZIF-67, and Hybrid MOFs
Drug-polymer nanoparticles for protein aggregation inhibition
Polyoxometalate Chemistry: Design at the molecular level to develop efficient catalysts
Nanomaterials for disease management (Cancer, Alzheimer's, and Antimicrobial action), Sensing, and Catalysis
Teaching Interests
Engineering Chemistry: Electrochemistry, corrosion, polymers, and Fuels
Inorganic Chemistry: Fundamentals, Acids and basis, Reactions and kinetics of coordination compound, Metal-liquid equilibria,
Analytical Chemistry: Fundamentals and instrumentation of Chromatography, Gas Chromatography, thin layer chromatography
Chemistry of Biomolecules: Amino acids, peptides and proteins, DNA, RNA, and Enzymes.
Ph. D coursework teaching: Synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials, Design, and fabrication of MOF nanocomposites,
Plasmonic nanoparticles (gold, silver nanoparticles)
Education
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) 2008-2013
Department of Chemistry, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India
Master of Science (M.Sc.) 2005-2007
Department of Chemistry, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India
University Gold Medalist in Inorganic Chemistry
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) 2002-2005
Chemistry -Physics-Zoology
Work Experience
Associate Professor (2024-till date)
Department of Chemistry
CMR Institute of Technology, Bangalore
Senior Associate (2022-2023)
Indegene Pvt ltd
Assistant Professor (2017-2022)
Center for Nano and Material Science (CNMS),
Jain University, Bangalore, India
Postdoctoral Research Associate (2013-2016)
NMR Research Center, Indian Institute of Science, IISc Bangalore
Key Publications
Antimicrobial activity of Pharmaceutically Important Pyrimidines
Dual MOFs for targeted Cancer therapy and MRI
List of Publications
Hybrid Metal–Organic Framework and Polyoxometalate Nanocomposite for Efficient Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide and Ascorbic Acid, P Rananaware, P Pandit, V Brahmkhatri, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2025, article in Press, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.iecr.5c02236 (selected for Journal Cover art)
Nanoparticle-Encapsulated Metal-Organic Frameworks: Innovative Design Strategies and Biomedical Applications, P Rananaware, P Pandit, M Narayan, V Brahmkhatri, Nano Trends, 11, 2025, 100125
Pranita Rananaware, Seekha Naik, Lokanath Mishra, Rangappa S. Keri, Monalisa Mishra, and Varsha P. Brahmkhatri*, Polymeric Nanodiscs Comprising 5-Fluorouracil for Inhibition of Protein Aggregation and Their Anti-Alzheimer’s Activity in the Drosophila Model, ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2025 16 (3), 342-354 (IF 4.2)(selected for Journal Cover art)
Rananaware, P., Pandit, P. & Brahmkhatri, V*. Gold nanoparticle encapsulated hybrid MOF: synthesis, characterization, and co-drug delivery of 5-fluorouracil and curcumin. Discover Nano 19, 201 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-024-04152-z (IF 5.5)
Shelke, T., Rananaware, P., Choudhary, N. Brahmkhatri. V* et al. Quercetin Nanoconjugates for Anti-Alzheimer’s Activity: An Investigation on Drosophila melanogaster Model. Bio Nano Science. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12668-024-01369-1 (IF 3.0)
Limaye, A; Rananaware, P ; Ghosh, A; Rajashekarreddy, T; Raghavendrarao, N; Brahmkhatri, V; Hegde, R; Dateer, R, Greener Approach for Synthesis of δ-MnO2 Nanoparticles: Access to Pharmaceutically Important Pyrimidines and Its Antimicrobial Activity Studies. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 2024, article in press, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.3c01191 (IF 4.4)
P. Rananaware, S. Bauri, R. Keri, M. Mishra,Varsha Brahmkhatri* Polymeric curcumin nanospheres for lysozyme aggregation inhibition, antibacterial, and wound healing applications. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29160-x (IF: 5.8)
P. Rananaware, Varsha P. Brahmkhatria*, D. Dasgupta, Anjali Patel*, Functionalized Mesoporous Silica for Drug Delivery of poorly soluble Polyphenols: Synthesis, Characterization, and Antimicrobial action, Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 2023, 326, 124214 (IF: 3.3)
Magnetic Quantum Dots for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Biomedical Applications, Pranita Rananaware, Varsha Brahmkhatri*, Book chapter, Magnetic Quantum Dots for Bioimaging by CRC press 2023
Mukherjee, S.; Rananaware, P.; Brahmkhatri, V*.; Mishra, M., Polyvinylpyrrolidone-Curcumin Nanoconjugate as a Biocompatible, Non-toxic Material for Biological Applications. Journal of Cluster Science 2023, 34, 395-414. (IF: 3.0)
Hegde, V.; Pandit, P.; Rananaware, P.; Brahmkhatri, V. P*., Sulfonic acid-functionalized mesoporous silica catalyst with different morphology for biodiesel production. Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering 2022, 16 (8), 1198-1210. (IF: 6.4).
Pandit, P.; Bhagat, S.; Rananaware, P.; Mohanta, Z.; Kumar, M.; Tiwari, V.; Singh, S.; Brahmkhatri, V. P*., Iron oxide nanoparticle encapsulated; folic acid tethered dual metal organic framework-based nanocomposite for MRI and selective targeting of folate receptor expressing breast cancer cells. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 2022, 340, 112008. (IF: 5.2)
Brahmkhatri, V. P*.; Singh, A.; Chakraborty, A.; Sharma, R. S.; Chandra, K.; Atreya, H. S., Multilayer protein corona on gold nanorod surface: First evidence of soft corona protein-protein interactions using solution NMR spectroscopy. Applied Surface Science Advances 2022, 11, 100272. (IF:6.2)
Rananaware, P.; Pandit, P.; Naik, S.; Mishra, M.; Keri, R. S.; Brahmkhatri, V. P*., Anti-amyloidogenic property of gold nanoparticle decorated quercetin polymer nanorods in pH and temperature-induced aggregation of lysozyme. RSC Advances 2022, 12 (36), 23661-23674. (IF:3.9)
Brahmkhatri, V*.; Atreya, H. S., Chapter 9 Dynamics of Protein–Nanoparticle Interactions Using NMR. In NMR Spectroscopy for Probing Functional Dynamics at Biological Interfaces, The Royal Society of Chemistry: 2022; pp 236-253.
Structural basis of targeted imaging and therapy in cancer-explorations with the epigenetic drugs, Parimal Pandita, V. Brahmkhatri*, Hanudatta S. Atreya, Book chapter, Subcellular Biochemistry by Springer, 2022
Keri, R.; Patil, M.; Brahmkhatri, V. P.; Budagumpi, S.; Adimule, V., Copper (II)-β-Cyclodextrin Promoted Kabachnik-Fields Reaction: An Efficient, One-Pot Synthesis of α-Aminophosphonates. Topics in Catalysis 2022. (IF: 3.6)
Pandit, P.; Rananaware, P.; D’Souza, A.; Kurkuri, M. D.; Brahmkhatri, V*., Functionalized diatom biosilica decorated with nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, catalytic oxidation, and dye scavenging applications. Journal of Porous Materials 2022. (IF: 2.6)
Chauhan, R. S.; Katnori, M. S.; Bhatt, A. M.; Pandit, P. P.; Brahmkhatri, V.; Torubaev, Y.; Wable, J.; Prabhu, P., Synthesis of Nickel Precursors Derived from 1,1'-Bis(Diphenylchalcogenophosphoryl)Ferrocene Analogue and Their Catalytic Oxidation Reaction Studies. Russian Journal of Inorganic Chemistry 2022.
Brahmkhatri, V*.; Pandit, P.; Rananaware, P.; D’Souza, A.; Kurkuri, M. D., Recent progress in detection of chemical and biological toxins in Water using plasmonic nanosensors. Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry 2021, 30, e00117. (IF: 11.2)
Pithadia, D.; Hegde, V.;Brahmkhatri, V. P.; Patel, A., New catalyst comprising Silicotungstic acid and MCM-22 for degradation of some organic dyes. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2021, 28 (9), 10633-10641. (IF: 5.8)
Sriram, G.; Uthappa, U. T.; Kigga, M.; Jung, H.-Y.; Altalhi, T.; Brahmkhatri, V*.; Kurkuri, M. D., Xerogel activated diatoms as an effective hybrid adsorbent for the efficient removal of malachite green. New Journal of Chemistry 2019, 43 (9), 3810-3820. (IF: 3.3)
Uthappa, U. T.; Brahmkhatri, V*.; Sriram, G.; Jung, H.-Y.; Yu, J.; Kurkuri, N.; Aminabhavi, T. M.; Altalhi, T.; Neelgund, G. M.; Kurkuri, M. D., Nature engineered diatom biosilica as drug delivery systems. Journal of Controlled Release 2018, 281, 70-83. (IF: 10.8)
Brahmkhatri, V. P*.; Sharma, N.; Sunanda, P.; D’Souza, A.; Raghothama, S.; Atreya, H. S., Curcumin nanoconjugate inhibits aggregation of N-terminal region (Aβ-16) of an amyloid beta peptide. New Journal of Chemistry 2018, 42 (24), 19881-19892. (IF: 3.3)
Uthappa, U. T.; Sriram, G.; Brahmkhatri, V*.; Kigga, M.; Jung, H.-Y.; Altalhi, T.; Neelgund, G. M.; Kurkuri, M. D., Xerogel modified diatomaceous earth microparticles for controlled drug release studies. New Journal of Chemistry 2018, 42 (14), 11964-11971. (IF: 3.3)
Mulleti, S.; Singh, A.; Brahmkhatri, V. P.; Chandra, K.; Raza, T.; Mukherjee, S. P.; Seelamantula, C. S.; Atreya, H. S., Super-Resolved Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. Scientific Reports 2017, 7 (1), 9651. (IF: 4.9)
Pal, I.; Brahmkhatri, V. P.; Bera, S.; Bhattacharyya, D.; Quirishi, Y.; Bhunia, A.; Atreya, H. S., Enhanced stability and activity of an antimicrobial peptide in conjugation with silver nanoparticle. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 2016, 483, 385-393. (IF: 9.9)
Brahmkhatri, V. P.; Prasanna, C.; Atreya, H. S., Insulin-Like Growth Factor System in Cancer: Novel Targeted Therapies. BioMed research international 2015, 2015, 538019.
Patel, K.; Brahmkhatri, V.; Patel, A., Manganese (III) Salen Supported onto Hydrous Zirconia: Synthesis, Characterization, and Solvent Free Aerobic Oxidation of Styrene. Synthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic, Metal-Organic, and Nano-Metal Chemistry 2015, 45 (4), 539-545.
Brahmkhatri, V. P.; Chandra, K.; Dubey, A.; Atreya, H. S., An ultrastable conjugate of silver nanoparticles and protein formed through weak interactions. Nanoscale 2015, 7 (30), 12921-12931. . (IF: 8.3)
Behaviour of Unmodified MCM-41 towards Controlled Release of Pro-drug Molecule, Cysteine, Varsha Brahmkhatri, Anjali Patel, Comprehensive Guide for Mesoporous Materials Volume 3: Properties and Development, pp. 271 -284, 2015
Narkhede, N.; Brahmkhatri, V.; Patel, A., Efficient synthesis of biodiesel from waste cooking oil using solid acid catalyst comprising 12-tungstosilicic acid and SBA-15. Fuel 2014, 135, 253-261.
Gitanjali, A.; Brahmkhatri, V. P.; Atreya, H. S. J. J. o. t. I. I. o. S., Nanomaterial based Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cancer. 2014, 94, 423-454.
Patel, A.; Brahmkhatri, V., Kinetic study of oleic acid esterification over 12-tungstophosphoric acid catalyst anchored to different mesoporous silica supports. Fuel Processing Technology 2013, 113, 141-149.
Patel, A.; Brahmkhatri, V.; Singh, N., Biodiesel production by esterification of free fatty acid over sulfated zirconia. Renewable Energy 2013, 51, 227-233.
Brahmkhatri, V.; Patel, A., Esterification of bioplatform molecules over 12-tungstophosphoric acid anchored to MCM-41. Journal of Porous Materials 2013, 20 (1), 209-217.
Brahmkhatri, V.; Patel, A., Biodiesel Production over 12-Tungstosilicic Acid Anchored to Different Mesoporous Silica Supports. In Environmentally Benign Catalysts: For Clean Organic Reactions, Patel, A., Ed. Springer Netherlands: Dordrecht, 2013; pp 189-208.
Brahmkhatri, V.; Patel, A., Esterification of lauric acid with butanol-1 over H3PW12O40 supported on MCM-41. Fuel 2012, 102, 72-77.
Brahmkhatri, V.; Patel, A., An efficient green catalyst comprising 12-tungstophosphoric acid and MCM-41: synthesis characterization and diesterification of succinic acid, a potential bio-platform molecule. Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews 2012, 5 (2), 161-171.
Brahmkhatri, V.; Patel, A., Synthesis and Characterization of 12-Tungstosilicic Acid Anchored to MCM-41 as well as Its Use as Environmentally Benign Catalyst for Synthesis of Succinate and Malonate Diesters. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2011, 50 (24), 13693-13702.
Brahmkhatri, V.; Patel, A., 12-Tungstophosphoric acid anchored to SBA-15: An efficient, environmentally benign reusable catalysts for biodiesel production by esterification of free fatty acids. Applied Catalysis A: General 2011, 403 (1), 161-172.
Brahmkhatri, V.; Patel, A., Biodiesel Production by Esterification of Free Fatty Acids over 12-Tungstophosphoric Acid Anchored to MCM-41. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2011, 50 (11), 6620-6628.
Brahmkhatri, V.; Patel, A., Supported heteropolyacids: Sytnhesis, characterization and effect of supports on esterification reactions. Kinetics and Catalysis 2010, 51 (3), 380-384.
Patents
1. Polymeric Nano discs for Efficient Drug Delivery (Application No: 202441074591, Published)
2. Gold nanoparticle encapsulated hybrid MOF, ZIF-8@ZIF-67: Synthesis, characterization, and drug delivery applications (Application No: 202441063996, Published)
Awards
Outstanding reviewer recognition from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC Advances) 2020.
"Best Faculty Award (Female)" by International Academic and Research Excellence Awards (IARE-2019)
DBT-RA Postdoctoral fellowship (Jan 2013- Dec 2014)
INSPIRE fellowship AWARD (IF 110322) from DST, New Delhi
Selected amongst the eight National participants for Forth Hope meeting with Nobel Laureates organized by JSPS
(Japan Society of Promotion of Science) held at Tsukuba, Japan during 6-11th March 2012.
Best Oral Presentation award at “All Gujarat Research Scholar’s Meet”, at the Chemistry
Department, The M. S. University of Baroda, 6th AGRSM, 31st Jan (2010)
Gold medalist of M. S. University of Baroda for standing first in the Inorganic Chemistry (2007) Master of Science
Editorial
Joined as Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports, Springer, Nature
Editing a Special Issue on "Targeted Cancer Treatment Strategies Using Nanotechnologies" in Discover Oncology (Springer Nature)
Membership
Member of Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC)
Life membership of the Society of Materials Chemistry (SMC), BARC, Mumbai
Life membership of National Magnetic Society (NMRS) of India, NMR research centre, IISc Bangalore
American Chemical Society- ACS member (2024-2025)
Life membership of the Catalysis Society of India, Bangalore Chapter
Invited Talks
Noble metal nanoparticle incorporated Natural Diatom Biosilica catalyst for oxidation of D-Glucose, by Varsha Brahmkhatri at 8th Edition of Global Conference on Catalysis, Chemical Engineering & Technology (Virtual Event) during September 27-29, 2021, Magnus group, USA.
Bio-Nanoconjugates for Anti-Alzheimer and Anti-microbial applications, by Varsha Brahmkhatri 17th Annual Meeting (SFRR-INDIA-2020) and International Conference on “Role and Management of Oxidative Stress in Human Disease” at BARC, Mumbai, India during February 12-15, 2020.
Visualization of protein coronas on Nanoparticle surface by solution NMR, by Varsha Brahmkhatri at “26th National Magnetic Resonance Society (India) Meeting and Conference on “NMR-from Molecules to Human Behaviour and Beyond” from February 18-21, 2020 at Department of Chemistry, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, Gujarat
Nanoparticle-Decorated Diatom Biosilica catalyst for oxidation of D-Glucose, by Varsha Brahmkhatri at National seminar on Frontiers in Heterogenous catalysis (HETCAT 2018), 8-9th December 2018, by Department of Chemistry, M. S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat.
Thesis Supervision
Parimal Pandit (Ph.D. awarded 2023), Title: Nanoparticle encapsulated Metal-organic frameworks composites for biomedical applications.
Pranita Rananaware (Ph. D. thesis submitted 2024), Title: Synthesis and Characterization of Drug-Polymer Nanoconjugates: Enhanced Therapeutic Potential of Water Insoluble Drugs
Vinayak Hegde (Master thesis, 2020), Title: Functionalized Silica Nanoparticles of Different Morphology: Synthesis, Characterization, and Catalytic Applications
Bhagwan Aftab (Master thesis, 2021) Title: Zn doped Nano-Mg (OH)2 catalyst: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application in Biodiesel Production
Shwetha H (Master thesis, 2022) Title: Biogenic and chemically synthesized gold nanoparticles: Interaction with Bovine Serum Albumin protein and antibacterial applications
