Maity Lab

28/09/2026

🎉We are delighted to share that our patent application has been granted! 🥳 Dineshkumar's work on “Hydrogel Composition for Shock Absorption in Protective Equipment” has been granted by the Indian Patent Agency as Indian Patent No. 602863.
This journey began quite some time ago when we were exploring the concept of “molecular stitching.” Although the original idea evolved in an unexpected direction, and led us to develop this hydrogel-based approach for impact protection.
The work has been published in Aggregate (Wiley, IF: 14.5; https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70412), featured in ChemistryViews (https://www.chemistryviews.org/a-recipe-for-soft-shields-a-self-healing-hydrogel-that-absorbs-hard-impacts/) and now, the grant of the patent is truly the cherry on top! 🍒 & there is even more to celebrate—Dinesh is also preparing to submit his PhD thesis! 🎓
What an incredibly eventful and rewarding month for all of us! Congratulations, Dineshkumar, on this remarkable achievement! 👏

20/09/2026

Can simple molecules perform sophisticated task?
Divya’s work, recently published in Communications Chemistry (https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-026-02117-0) explores how supramolecular organization can make aqueous organocatalysis switchable, offering an insight into the possible design of artificial enzymes.
We’re delighted that this work has now been highlighted in the Science Desk section of the current issue of Science Factor magazine (https://factors.press/articles/shining-light-on-artificial-enzymes-how-supramolecular-science-makes-aqueous-organocatalysis-switchable/). Congratulations Divya!
Do give it a read—we’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

17/09/2026

Our tiny vesicles reached to the Inside Cover!
We are delighted to share that Rohan Gharad’s finding on supramolecular vesicular nanoreactors has been selected for the Inside Cover of Nanoscale Advances by the Royal Society of Chemistry
This work demonstrates how supramolecular vesicles can function as confined and green nanoreactors for the in-situ synthesis of Ag2O nanoparticles, which are used for visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants.
✨ Tiny vesicles, tiny nanoparticles, and a step toward greener photocatalysis.
🔗 Inside Cover: https://doi.org/10.1039/D6NA90069K
🔗 Research Article: https://doi.org/10.1039/d6na00314a

13/09/2026

Nikita’s work on organocatalytically controlled in situ alginate hydrogelation, recently published in Chemistry – An Asian Journal https://doi.org/10.1002/asia.70980 🥳🧪Here, anthranilic acid gives the crosslinking reaction a catalytic push, enabling efficient hydrogelation at neutral pH. The resulting hydrogel can encapsulate Vitamin B12 and provide sustained, controlled release.
✨ Simple organocatalyst → Convenient hydrogelation & cargo encapsulation → Controlled delivery!
🫸 Reviewers were convinced quick - however, the editor needed a little more time to gel! 😉 After 8 long months, the manuscript has finally transformed into a publication! 📄Thanks to Prof. Amit Kumar Jaiswal and Aditya Kadam for collaborative help.

Can an organocatalytic strategy enable hydrogel formation under physiological conditions while preserving therapeutic cargo? This work demonstrates that anthranilic acid efficiently drives alginate h...

05/09/2026

🧪💥 When a water-rich material takes a hit, it doesn’t just survive — it HEALS! 🩹😎
From Aggregate Journal to ChemistryViews — Dineshkumar Bharathidasan’s recent research has made another impact, with the work now featured by ChemistryViews as:
🛡️ “Engineering a Soft Shield: A Self-Healing Hydrogel for Impact Protection.”
📄 Original article: https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70412
📰 ChemistryViews feature: https://www.chemistryviews.org/a-recipe-for-soft-shields-a-self-healing-hydrogel-that-absorbs-hard-impacts/
We’re thrilled to see our work on self-healing hydrogels for impact protection receive such wonderful recognition. 🙌🦚
And this perfectly captures Dinesh’s motto: “Absorb the impact & heal the damage.” 💥➡️🩹
Apparently, the material has taken the message seriously too 😂 it “Takes the hit, bounce back, and pretend nothing happened!”
👏 Congratulations, Dinesh! 🥳🔬
A proud moment for our team and a wonderful recognition of our efforts toward developing soft, smart, water-rich and self-healing materials for impact protection.

Researchers have transformed biodegradable agarose into a self-healing hydrogel that rapidly repairs damage, absorbs impacts, and protects fragile objects through dynamic molecular design

06/08/2026

Can a water-based material (a hydrogel) absorb impact, protect fragile objects like 🥚 eggs and 🧪 glassware, and even self-heal after being cut?
Our latest paper in Aggregate Wiley shows that it can.
Congratulations to Dineshkumar Bharathidasan! By integrating G4-quartet assemblies with dynamic boronate ester networks in agarose (a sugar-derived polymer), we developed a biodegradable, mechanically adaptive hydrogel that:
✅ Self-heals after damage
💥 Rapidly dissipates mechanical energy
💪 Withstands high compressive loads (~5.4 kg)
🥚🧪 Protects fragile objects (Eggs, Glass bottle, Grapes) from compression and impact
🔄 Retains its performance over repeated damage–recovery cycles

This work highlights the potential of supramolecular engineering for designing (next-generation) sustainable soft materials.

📄 Read the paper: https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70412
We'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback! 🙏

A biodegradable double-network hydrogel combines boronate ester covalent bonds and supramolecular G4-quartet structures to absorb impact energy and quickly self-heal. The robust AGK hydrogel shows lo...

25/07/2026

👨‍🔬 Rohan's manuscript on "Supramolecular vesicles as nanoreactors enable green synthesis of ultrasmall silver oxide nanoparticles for visible-light photocatalysis," has been published in Nanoscale Advances.

Congratulations Rohan Gharad.
Herein we demonstrate:
✔️NDI-based supramolecular vesicles serve as nanoreactors for "Green synthesis" of ultrasmall Ag2O nanoparticles at ambient conditions.
✔️The resulting nanohybrid exhibits excellent visible-light and sunlight-driven photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes, offering a sustainable approach for environmental remediation.🌞

Find out more at: https://doi.org/10.1039/D6NA00314A

16/07/2026

👩‍🔬Divya's manuscript on "Light-switchable enzyme-mimetic organocatalysis in water via supramolecular assembly" is published at Communication Chemistry in Springer Nature.

Congratulations Divya Chouhan! 🧪

Herein we develop:
⚡a light-regulated minimalistic supramolecular organocatalytic platform that enables reversible spatiotemporal control of enzyme-mimetic catalysis in water.

Find the full story at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-026-02117-0

And snippets of "Behind the paper" at: https://go.nature.com/44dScBs

We would love to have your feedback!

12/07/2026

🎙Attention!

We hereby introduce a freshly minted PhD from OmatSE lab!

Nikita Das successfully defends her thesis on 10.07.2026 and was recommended by the examination committee for the award of PhD degree. Thanks to Prof. Tarun K. Panda from IIT Hyderabad; and Prof. Ryo Tanaka from Hiroshima University, Japan for assesing the creditability of the work as Thesis Examiners. A special mention to Prof. Tarun for having joined for the oral viva and being a tough opponent to counter.

Congratulations Dr. Nikita! 👩‍🎓

Many more milestones to cross, but lets celebrate one at a time. 🥂

05/06/2026

👩‍🔬Devi's work on "METHOD FOR PREPARING REDUCED GRAPHENE OXIDE AND POLYOXOMETALATE-INTEGRATED HYDROGEL MATERIAL FOR PHOTODEGRADATION OF AMOXICILLIN" is granted as an Indian Patent (591164). 🧪⚗️

Congratulations Devi Lakshmi S! 🎉