We are the experimental soft and nano materials lab at BITS-Pilani K. K. Birla Goa campus. Our interests lie in the area of soft materials, programmable self-assembly, active particles, nanomaterials and applied nanotechnology.  We have two major goals- the first one is to study the fundamental physics behind the large response function and emergent behaviors in soft, squishy materials like colloids, gels, polymers and biomaterials. Our second goal is technology development using programmable self-assembly and nanofabrication especially in the areas of smart, stimuli-sensitive materials , diagnostics and targeted drug-delivery.

In the area of soft matter, our research encompasses studies on active particles-microparticles that can be propelled using ion gradients, light or electric and magnetic fields and can be used as the 'engines' in micro-robots for targeted drug delivery. We also explore 'Programmable self-assembly' using colloids as building blocks that can be stitched together using specific DNA sequences and can be 'programmed' to assemble in desired configurations to fabricate a complex micro/nanostructure. Besides using colloidal particles as 'Lego blocks' and engines to produce microscale robots, we also use colloids as probes to study biomolecular interactions and diffusion physics in complex systems. For this we use techniques such as micro-rheology and machine learning based analysis of diffusion models. 

In the area of nanomaterials our interests lie in the fabrication of anisotropic nanostructures, for eg. metallic and semiconducting nanowires, nanotubes and hierarchical clusters.  We also develop patchy particles including Janus particles and nano/micro particles of various shapes and functionalities. The main aims here are a) development of stimuli-sensitive smart materials or switchable materials and b) applications in healthcare-from detection of  proteins and other biomolecules in a biosensor to targeted drug delivery.

Ours is an extensively interdisciplinary research area, and we combine techniques from physics, chemistry, material science and biology. 

We acknowledge funding from the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST, Government of India and Birla Institute of Technology and Science.