Amit Kumar

@iitm.ac.in

PhD Scholar, Department of Biotechnology
Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Amit Kumar

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Biotechnology, Biomaterials, Drug Discovery, Surfaces, Coatings and Films
8

Scopus Publications

125

Scholar Citations

5

Scholar h-index

4

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • Leveraging cancer microenvironment pH shift for actuation-induced multidrug release from chitosan/carboxymethyl cellulose bilayer film
    Amit Kumar, Shaik Sameer Basha, Mukilarasi B, Vimalraj Selvaraj, Pijush Ghosh, et al.
    International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2025
  • 4D printing of pH-responsive bilayer with programmable shape-shifting behaviour
    Smruti Parimita, Amit Kumar, Hariharan Krishnaswamy, Pijush Ghosh
    European Polymer Journal, 2025
  • A Numerical Simulation of Ceramic Powder Particles Interaction with Laser Powder Feed Additive Manufacturing
    Amit Kumar, G. L. Samuel
    Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, 2025
  • MICROSTRUCTURE REFINEMENT AND HARDNESS ENHANCEMENT OF LASER DIRECTED ENERGY DEPOSITED 15-5 PH STEEL CUBES USING NANOSECOND LASER PROCESSING
    Tishta Das, Amit Kumar, Niketh S., Dongbin Wei, Samuel G. L.
    ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition Proceedings Imece, 2025
    15-5 precipitation hardened (PH) stainless steel, widely used in aerospace, automotive, and medical industries, benefits significantly from additive manufacturing techniques like laser-directed energy deposition (L-DED). While L-DED facilitates the creation of complex geometries and customized material properties, it often introduces challenges such as residual stresses, surface roughness, and microstructural inhomogeneities, compromising ductility and fatigue resistance. This study explores nanosecond laser processing as an advanced post-production technique to address these limitations and enhance the material’s surface properties and mechanical performance. Nanosecond laser processing uses ultrafast laser pulses with precise control over parameters such as spot size, scanning speed, and pulse energy, enabling localized and controlled modifications of the material’s surface. Single-line scanning trials were conducted to identify optimal parameters, which were then scaled to process the entire surface. This method significantly refined the microstructure near the surface by reducing grain size, increasing dislocation density, and minimizing surface irregularities. It can also improve the hardness property. The treatment led to a marked improvement in the mechanical behaviour of the material. Enhanced yield strength was achieved without compromising ductility, and fatigue resistance saw significant gains due to the combination of refined microstructure and reduced surface roughness. These advancements position femtosecond laser processing as a transformative solution for optimizing the performance of 15-5 PH stainless steel and other advanced alloys, offering new possibilities for high-performance applications.
  • Superhydrophobic asymmetric pH-responsive soft actuators: Implications for the development of anti-fouling medical devices
    Amit Kumar, Smruti Parimita, Kumari Kiran, Nitish R. Mahapatra, Pijush Ghosh
    Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024
  • Efficient reduction of the scrolling of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty grafts by engineering the medium
    Nidhi Gupta, Amit Kumar, Pravin K Vaddavalli, Nitish R. Mahapatra, Akhil Varshney, et al.
    Acta Biomaterialia, 2023
  • Solvent triggered shape morphism of 4D printed hydrogels
    Smruti Parimita, Amit Kumar, Hariharan Krishnaswamy, Pijush Ghosh
    Journal of Manufacturing Processes, 2023
  • Engineering the Nonmorphing Point of Actuation for Controlled Drug Release by Hydrogel Bilayer across the pH Spectrum
    Amit Kumar, Raja Rajamanickam, Joyita Hazra, Nitish R. Mahapatra, Pijush Ghosh
    ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2022
    Hydrogel-based pH-responsive bilayer actuators exhibit bidirectional actuation due to the differences in the concentration gradient developed across the thickness, the volume expansion due to swelling, and the mechanical stiffness of the layers involved. At a pH value (point), where the sum of these factors generates moments of equal magnitudes, the moments cancel each other and result in no net actuation. This pH point is termed here as a "nonmorphing point". In this work, we present a bilayer of chitosan (CS) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) cross-linked with citric acid (CA) with tunable nonmorphing points across the pH spectrum by modulating the concentration and cross-linking density of the layers involved. The standard CS/CMC bilayer films took about 40 s to completely fold (clockwise) in 0.1 M HCl and 78 s to completely fold (anticlockwise) in 0.1 M NaOH. Generally, pH-responsive actuators are designed for targeted drug delivery to a specific site inside the body as they show bidirectional (clockwise/anticlockwise) actuation around a single nonmorphing point. The same pH-responsive system cannot be applied for drug release at another site with a different functioning pH. Thus, having a pH-responsive system with multiple nonmorphing points is highly desirable. Drug release experiments were performed with FITC and EtBr as model drugs loaded in CS and CMC layers. Moreover, the clockwise/anticlockwise actuation of the bilayer around the nonmorphing point can facilitate or inhibit the release of a drug. The clockwise actuation resulted in 55% FITC release and inhibited EtBr release to 4%; anticlockwise actuation resulted in 50% EtBr release and inhibited FITC release to 5%. We demonstrated morphing induced drug release by hydrogel bilayer films with tunable nonmorphing points across the pH spectrum.

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Programmable 4D-Printed Soft Actuators: Harnessing Bending Strain Distribution for Embedded Topological Functionality
    A Saifi, S Parimita, A Kumar, P Ghosh
    ACS Applied Engineering Materials 3 (6), 1745-1758 , 2025
    2025
  • Leveraging cancer microenvironment pH shift for actuation-induced multidrug release from chitosan/carboxymethyl cellulose bilayer film
    A Kumar, SS Basha, V Selvaraj, P Ghosh, S Sudhakar
    International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 316, 144701 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 3
  • 4D printing of pH-responsive bilayer with programmable shape-shifting behaviour
    S Parimita, A Kumar, H Krishnaswamy, P Ghosh
    European Polymer Journal, 113581 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 29
  • Superhydrophobic asymmetric pH-responsive soft actuators: Implications for the development of anti-fouling medical devices
    A Kumar, S Parimita, K Kiran, NR Mahapatra, P Ghosh
    Chemical Engineering Journal 497, 154772 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 12
  • Efficient reduction of the scrolling of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty grafts by engineering the medium
    N Gupta, A Kumar, PK Vaddavalli, NR Mahapatra, A Varshney, P Ghosh
    Acta Biomaterialia 171, 239-248 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 9
  • Solvent triggered shape morphism of 4D printed hydrogels
    S Parimita, A Kumar, H Krishnaswamy, P Ghosh
    Journal of Manufacturing Processes 85, 875-884 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 44
  • Engineering the nonmorphing point of actuation for controlled drug release by hydrogel bilayer across the pH spectrum
    A Kumar, R Rajamanickam, J Hazra, NR Mahapatra, P Ghosh
    ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 14 (50), 56321-56330 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 28

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Solvent triggered shape morphism of 4D printed hydrogels
    S Parimita, A Kumar, H Krishnaswamy, P Ghosh
    Journal of Manufacturing Processes 85, 875-884 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 44
  • 4D printing of pH-responsive bilayer with programmable shape-shifting behaviour
    S Parimita, A Kumar, H Krishnaswamy, P Ghosh
    European Polymer Journal, 113581 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 29
  • Engineering the nonmorphing point of actuation for controlled drug release by hydrogel bilayer across the pH spectrum
    A Kumar, R Rajamanickam, J Hazra, NR Mahapatra, P Ghosh
    ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 14 (50), 56321-56330 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 28
  • Superhydrophobic asymmetric pH-responsive soft actuators: Implications for the development of anti-fouling medical devices
    A Kumar, S Parimita, K Kiran, NR Mahapatra, P Ghosh
    Chemical Engineering Journal 497, 154772 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 12
  • Efficient reduction of the scrolling of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty grafts by engineering the medium
    N Gupta, A Kumar, PK Vaddavalli, NR Mahapatra, A Varshney, P Ghosh
    Acta Biomaterialia 171, 239-248 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 9
  • Leveraging cancer microenvironment pH shift for actuation-induced multidrug release from chitosan/carboxymethyl cellulose bilayer film
    A Kumar, SS Basha, V Selvaraj, P Ghosh, S Sudhakar
    International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 316, 144701 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 3
  • Programmable 4D-Printed Soft Actuators: Harnessing Bending Strain Distribution for Embedded Topological Functionality
    A Saifi, S Parimita, A Kumar, P Ghosh
    ACS Applied Engineering Materials 3 (6), 1745-1758 , 2025
    2025