Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam

Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering

Nanomaterials, Synthetic Biology, Protein Engineering, Biomaterials

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

A reminder that paying attention to unexpected observations can open entirely new research directions.

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

If you're interested in a new, minimally perturbative fluorescent labeling approach applicable to peptides, proteins, and enzymes, please take a look at our new contribution
https://t.co/xX2smgmbpg

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

The answer appears to be yes.

Krishna and P. S. Sivaprasad led the protein engineering and experimental work, Reman Singh provided key simulation insights, and Saranraj Krishnan synthesized an important control peptide.

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

A fun example of proteins engineered beyond biology → sustainable nanoparticle recovery.

Read more: https://t.co/tob26vWEIE

@ACS_Langmuir

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

Silica nanoparticles are everywhere, but recovering them from water remains a challenge.

In our latest work, engineered supercharged GFP proteins act like molecular “bridges” to capture and aggregate silica nanoparticles entirely in water.

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

Big shout-out to Vidhi and Gaurav Chauhan from IIT Indore, whose coarse-grained simulations revealed the underlying mechanisms and strengthened our understanding.

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

Our recent work, “Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation to Fabricate Microgels of Recombinantly Expressed Proteins,” is finally out!

Read the paper: https://t.co/Pu2ofsGYg4

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

What makes this exciting is that it avoids emulsion-based or microfluidic methods, which often use oils or have limited throughput. Instead, it relies on intrinsic protein interactions — a gentle, biocompatible, and scalable route to microgel fabrication.

🔗

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

Our paper in Communications Biology (https://t.co/TBx7MLPs3A) shows that a tiny 9-aa fragment from a light-cleaved protein doesn’t go dark — it aggregates and glows dim red.
Led by Yashwant Kumar & Krishna Agrawal. Grateful to @ANRFIndia for support!

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

Our latest from the lab — led entirely by students Aniruddha Kambekar, Vignesh Nandhagopal, Aditya Mehta & Yashwant Kumar (PhD)!
They built dual-layered hydrogels with spatially organized Au & Ag nanoparticles
Catalysis + photothermal in one.
🔗 https://t.co/UqX13f8xqx

[RegeLab @KaushalRege_Lab]

Our manuscript in @Biomaterials_
Histamine Receptor Agonism Differentially Induces Immune and Reparative Healing Responses in Biomaterial-facilitated Tissue Repair
#skinsealing
https://t.co/z7ttlBRaoN
@NIAMSFunding @NIBIBgov
@ASUBiodesign @ASUResearch @SEMTEatASU @jordanyaron

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

We welcome all interested students, whether you have cleared DBT-JRF, CSIR-NET, or INSPIRE fellowships, or have a passion for protein design and related fields to discuss PhD opportunities in our lab (kpsubram[at]https://t.co/7QPqZ4BoeL).

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

Are you passionate about protein engineering? We are looking for PhD candidates with an interest in molecular biology, protein engineering, and biotechnology.

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

Our research combines advanced molecular techniques to develop proteins with real-world applications in biosensing, environmental monitoring and therapeutic development.

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

This Teacher’s Day, my students surprised me with something truly special – they wrote about the regular phrases I use in our daily interactions. It’s incredible to see how something I say casually has become a (hopefully) lighthearted part of their day.

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

Our studies show LAMP can achieve over 90% purity, offering a promising alternative to conventional methods. This work was spearheaded by Yashwant Kumar, Krishna Agrawal and Manisha Ojha. We would like to thank @gsbtm for their funding support.

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

The production of recombinant proteins is central to biotech, yet downstream processing remains a major bottleneck. To tackle these issues, we’ve developed a light-activated molecular purification (LAMP) system using a photocleavable protein.
Explore LAMP https://t.co/KYvLM87Ev8

[Karthik Subramaniam Pushpavanam @KarthPush]

Traditional methods, like resin-based chromatography, face challenges such as nonspecific binding and complex elution buffers, which further enhance the final cost. This stimuli-responsive technique leverages light to purify proteins with precision.