Physical and chemical biology LABoratory [PCBL]
Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad
Welcome to the physical and chemical biology laboratory (pcbl)
We are an interdisciplinary group at IIT Palakkad. We carry out research in the fields of biophysics, chemical biology, membrane mechanics & mechanics in general, and mechanobiology. The activities in the lab are focused on understanding biological systems from a single molecule to an entire living organism—and beyond, using tools and techniques from physics and chemistry.
The group combines theory, experiments, and computational modelling in order to investigate the fundamental principles governing the structure, mechanics, and dynamics of living systems as well as physical and engineering systems.
Mechanics & Biophysics
Main focus of our group is developing and/or applying continuum theory (mechanics and thermodynamics) based models and perform experiments to elucidate the role of cell membrane and its mechanical properties in various cell-biological processes. The group also carries out research in contact mechanics of thin structures and rapid flow of granular materials.
Mechanobiology & Active Matter
Our research aims to understand the interaction of living systems with their environment. Specifically, we are studying the process of "mechanosensing" by which living cells sense and respond to the external mechanical stimuli at different length scales.
Chemical Biology
We integrate the aspects of chemical synthesis, enzymology, metabolomics, and proteomics to study the chemical biology of natural products. We aim to capitalize on our findings to develop novel natural product-based therapeutics for the treatment of human diseases. We are also interested in deciphering the role of various protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) in physiological and pathological conditions using the chemical biology toolbox.
