Dr. Aishik Chakraborty

Areas of Research Interest

Biomaterials Engineering, Soft and Composite Materials, Nanotechnology, Nanocomposite Hydrogels, Additive Manufacturing and 3D Bioprinting, Drug Delivery, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Sustainable and Circularly Sourced Biomaterials.

Research Overview
My research focuses on the design, synthesis, processing, characterization, and application of advanced biomaterials, with particular emphasis on natural polymers, nanocomposite hydrogels, and nanoparticle-based systems. I investigate material-property relationships to understand how composition, formulation, and manufacturing conditions influence mechanical performance, rheological behavior, printability, and biological functionality.
My research integrates materials engineering, nanotechnology, and additive manufacturing to develop multifunctional biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. My current research interests also include sustainable material processing and valorizing industrial waste into high-value biomaterials for healthcare applications.

Current Research Directions

1. Sustainable and Circularly Sourced Biomaterials for Healthcare Applications
   The work focuses on developing natural polymer-based hydrogels and nanocomposite systems using sustainably sourced materials, with potential applications in wound healing, hemostasis, and bone regeneration.
2. Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

This research investigates multifunctional hydrogels reinforced with engineered nanoparticles to improve their mechanical, rheological, and biological properties. Particular emphasis is placed on developing injectable and 3D-printable biomaterials for bone tissue engineering, wound healing, and controlled drug delivery.

1. Chakraborty, A., Mamun, A. A., Xia, D., Vu, T., Zahid, A. A., Luo, W., & Paul, A. (2026). Engineering a dietary fiber-based injectable hydrogel for blood-clotting applications. Cell Reports Physical Science, 7(6), 103330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2026.103330
2. Zahid, A. A., Chakraborty, A., Luo, W., Bora, J., Kelly, J. J., Ronald, J. A., & Paul, A. (2026). Engineering a sonotherapeutic RBC membrane-derived nanoparticle platform for the treatment of liver cancer. Advanced Functional Materials, 36(31), e24571. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202524571
3. Santillán, F., Shamiya, Y., Chakraborty, A., Zahid, A. A., Veliz, L., Lagugné-Labarthet, F., Luyt, L. G., & Paul, A. (2026). Cyclic peptide-based shear-thinning and self-healing hydrogels as injectable nanotherapeutics. Biomaterials Science, 14(6), 1411–1417. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5BM01544H
4. Luo, W., Zahid, A. A., Chakraborty, A., Huang, J., Kelly, J., Borradaile, N., Ronald, J., & Paul, A. (2026). On-chip microfluidic production of sonosensitizer-loaded liposomes for sonodynamic therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, 9(1), 69–79. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.5c00522
5. Chakraborty, A., Luo, W., Shamiya, Y., Zahid, A. A., Grynyshyn, M. R., Bainbridge, N., Liu, Y., Veliz, L. F., Lagugné-Labarthet, F., Liu, L., Hamilton, D., & Paul, A. (2025). Surface-engineered WS₂ nanohybrids for implications in biomedicine. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 17(29), 41649–41665. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c06846
6. Chakraborty, A., Luo, W., & Paul, A. (2025). Nanominerals: A multifaceted biomaterial for regenerative medicine and drug delivery. Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 22(6), 763–768. https://doi.org/10.1080/17425247.2025.2491642
7. Coyle, A., Chakraborty, A., Huang, J., Shamiya, Y., Luo, W., & Paul, A. (2025). In vitro engineered ECM-incorporated hydrogels for osteochondral tissue repair: A cell-free approach. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 14(4), 2402701. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202402701
8. Huang, J., Chakraborty, A., Shamiya, Y., Luo, W., Zahid, A. A., & Paul, A. (2025). Self-assembled DNA nanocarrier-enabled drug delivery for bone remodeling and antimicrobial applications. npj Biomedical Innovations, 2, Article 29. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44385-025-00020-2
9. Modaresi, S., Pacelli, S., Chakraborty, A., Coyle, A., Luo, W., Singh, I., & Paul, A. (2024). Engineering a microfluidic platform to cryopreserve stem cells: A DMSO-free sustainable approach. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 13(29), 2401264. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202401264
10. Zahid, A. A., Chakraborty, A., Shamiya, Y., Wilson, R., Borradaile, N., & Paul, A. (2024). Cell membrane-derived nanoparticles as biomimetic nanotherapeutics to alleviate fatty liver disease. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 16(30), 39117–39128. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c08240
11. Huang, J., Chakraborty, A., Tadepalli, L. S., & Paul, A. (2024). Adoption of a tetrahedral DNA nanostructure as a multifunctional biomaterial for drug delivery. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, 7(8), 2204–2214. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.4c00308
12. Shamiya, Y., Chakraborty, A., Zahid, A. A., Bainbridge, N., Guan, J., Feng, B., Pjontek, D., Chakrabarti, S., & Paul, A. (2024). Ascorbyl palmitate nanofiber-reinforced hydrogels for drug delivery in soft tissues. Communications Materials, 5, Article 197. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-024-00641-x
13. Choi, C., Chakraborty, A., Adzija, H., Shamiya, Y., Hijazi, K., Coyle, A., Rizkalla, A., Holdsworth, D., & Paul, A. (2023). Metal organic framework-incorporated three-dimensional (3D) bio-printable hydrogels to facilitate bone repair: Preparation and in vitro bioactivity analysis. Gels, 9(12), 923. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9120923
14. Zahid, A. A., Chakraborty, A., Luo, W., Coyle, A., & Paul, A. (2023). Tailoring the inherent properties of bio-based nanoparticles for nanomedicine. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 9(7), 3972–3986. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.3c00364
15. Chakraborty, A., Alexander, S., Luo, W., Al-Salam, N., Oirschot, M. L. M. V., Ranganath, S. H., Chakrabarti, S., & Paul, A. (2023). Engineering multifunctional adhesive hydrogel patches for biomedical applications. Interdisciplinary Medicine, 1(4), e20230008. https://doi.org/10.1002/inmd.20230008
16. Chakraborty, A., Pacelli, S., Alexander, S., Huayamares, S., Rosenkrans, Z., Vergel, F. E., Wu, Y., Chakravorty, A., & Paul, A. (2023). Nanoparticle-reinforced tough hydrogel as a versatile platform for pharmaceutical drug delivery: Preparation and in vitro characterization. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 20(1), 767–774. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00564
17. Ravi, S. P., Shamiya, Y., Chakraborty, A., Coyle, A., Zahid, A. A., Wang, J., Boutilier, M. S. H., Ho, E. A., & Paul, A. (2022). Controlling differentiation of adult stem cells via cell-derived nanoparticles: Implications in bone repair. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 5(12), 17468–17475. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c03657
18. Zahid, A. A., Chakraborty, A., Shamiya, Y., Ravi, S. P., & Paul, A. (2022). Leveraging the advancements in functional biomaterials and scaffold fabrication technologies for chronic wound healing applications. Materials Horizons, 9(7), 1850–1865. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2MH00115B
19. Choi, C., Chakraborty, A., Coyle, A., Shamiya, Y., & Paul, A. (2022). Contact-free remote manipulation of hydrogel properties using light-triggerable nanoparticles: A materials science perspective for biomedical applications. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 11(8), 2102088. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202102088
20. Basu, S., Chakraborty, A., Alkiswani, A. R. I., Shamiya, Y., & Paul, A. (2022). Investigation of a 2D WS₂ nanosheet-reinforced tough DNA hydrogel as a biomedical scaffold: Preparation and in vitro characterization. Materials Advances, 3(2), 946–952. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1MA00897H
21. Pacelli, S., Chakravarti, A. R., Modaresi, S., Subham, S. S., Burkey, K., Kurlbaum, C., Fang, M., Neal, C. A., Mellott, A. J., Chakraborty, A., & Paul, A. (2021). Investigation of human adipose-derived stem-cell behavior using a cell-instructive polydopamine-coated gelatin–alginate hydrogel. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 109(12), 2597–2610. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.a.37253
22. Ravi, S. P., Shamiya, Y., Chakraborty, A., Elias, C., & Paul, A. (2021). Biomaterials, biological molecules, and polymers in developing vaccines. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 42(10), 813–828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2021.07.006
23. Chakraborty, A., Roy, A., Ravi, S. P., & Paul, A. (2021). Exploiting the role of nanoparticles for use in hydrogel-based bioprinting applications: Concept, design, and recent advances. Biomaterials Science, 9(19), 6337–6354. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1BM00605C
24. Chakraborty, A., Ravi, S. P., Shamiya, Y., Cui, C., & Paul, A. (2021). Harnessing the physicochemical properties of DNA as a multifunctional biomaterial for biomedical and other applications. Chemical Society Reviews, 50(13), 7779–7819. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0CS01387K
25. Alhakamy, N. A., Alaofi, A. L., Ahmed, O. A. A., Fahmy, U. A., Shadab, M., Abdulaal, W. H., Alfaleh, M. A., Chakraborty, A., Berkland, C. J., & Dhar, P. (2020). Development of lipid membrane based assays to accurately predict the transfection efficiency of cell-penetrating peptide-based gene nanoparticles. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 580, 119221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.119221
26. Chakraborty, A., Ditmars, H., & Dhar, P. (2020). Impact of engineered carbon nanodiamonds on the collapse mechanism of model lung surfactant monolayers at the air-water interface. Molecules, 25(3), 714. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25030714
27. Larson, N. R., Wei, Y., Prajapati, I., Chakraborty, A., Peters, B., Kalonia, C., Hudak, S., Choudhary, S., Esfandiary, R., Dhar, P., Schöneich, C., & Middaugh, C. R. (2020). Comparison of polysorbate 80 hydrolysis and oxidation on the aggregation of a monoclonal antibody. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 109(1), 633–639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xphs.2019.10.069
28. Fresta, C. G., Chakraborty, A., Wijesinghe, M. B., Amorini, A. M., Lazzarino, G., Lazzarino, G., Tavazzi, B., Lunte, S. M., Caraci, F., Dhar, P., & Caruso, G. (2018). Non-toxic engineered carbon nanodiamond concentrations induce oxidative/nitrosative stress, imbalance of energy metabolism, and mitochondrial dysfunction in microglial and alveolar basal epithelial cells. Cell Death & Disease, 9(2), 245. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-018-0280-z
29. Chakraborty, A., Hui, E., Waring, A. J., & Dhar, P. (2016). Combined effect of synthetic protein, Mini-B, and cholesterol on a model lung surfactant mixture at the air-water interface. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Biomembranes, 1858(4), 904–912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamem.2016.01.008
30. Chakraborty, A., Mucci, N., Tan, M. L., Steckley, A., Zhang, T., Forrest, M. L., & Dhar, P. (2015). Phospholipid composition modulates carbon nanodiamond-induced alterations in phospholipid domain formation. Langmuir, 31(18), 5093–5104. https://doi.org/10.1021/la504923j

1. Member, Curriculum Advisory Committee (Industry Partners), Bahrain Polytechnic, Bahrain (2025–Present)
2. Member, Study Plan Committee, Bahrain Polytechnic, Bahrain (2026)
3. Member, IET Accreditation Committee, Bahrain Polytechnic, Bahrain (2025)
4. Academic Mentor, Chemical and Industrial Processes Engineering, Bahrain Polytechnic, Bahrain (2025–Present)
5. Member, Catalyst Grant Review Panel, Bone and Joint Institute, Western University, Canada (2024)
6. Co-chair, Biomaterials Technical Session, Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Canada (2024)
7. Judge, Undergraduate Research and Engineering Presentations, Canada (2023–2024)
8. Secretary (Elected for Two Consecutive Terms), Graduate Engineering Association, University of Kansas, USA (2014–2016)