increasing demand of immediate medical care and off-the-shelf availability of wound

dressings and skin substitutes. Autografts and allografts, considered best to replace damaged

skin often lead to greater mortality risk, prolonged hospital stay and are very expensive.

There is a substantial need for tissue-engineered skin which can quickly restore all the

functions of skin without further complications. We are using silk fibroin biomaterial to

develop nanofibrous wound dressing matrices for chronic wounds and 3D scaffold for

artificial skin graft to reduce the cost and complications of the present scenario.

repair. Some of the major challenges still unresolved are osseo-integration, bio-resorbability

and long-term survivability of implant. We focus on addressing these shortcomings by

combining the innate osteoconductivity possessed by bio-ceramics and the inherent bioactive

properties of the North-East Indian silk varieties to develop bio-mimetic composites in

different formats viz., 3D scaffolds, electrospun mats, nano-composites to meet the required

clinical needs

surface of the joint. Tissue engineering has immense potential to revolutionize the treatment

of damaged articular cartilage, but faces a major challenge of producing functional cartilage

with thickness and biochemical properties comparable to native articular cartilage. Mature

joint cartilage is avascular, aneural and alymphatic connective tissue and therefore unable to

repair itself sufficiently when damaged. Our research delves on methods to fabricate an ideal

silk based scaffold system that supports the growth of chondrocytes and maintains their

phenotype.

mobility. IDD affects about 80% of the population and significantly contributes to healthcare

expenditures. Current therapeutic treatments are only effective in symptomatic pain relief

without restoring biomechanical function of intervertebral disc. In our lab, we are trying to

develop silk based cost effective tissue engineered construct that can restore biochemical and

biomechanical functions of damaged intervertebral discs.

reasons, coronary artery occlusion contributes the most. Unavailability of healthy autologous

grafts challenges the current treatment options and demands an appropriate alternative. In

our laboratory, we are working on developing small diameter vascular grafts using Indian

endemic silk varieties. Our major focus is towards mimicking native like architecture and

maintenance of functional cellular phenotype with optimal mechanical properties.

infarcted tissue undergoes a myriad of changes from variations in neuro-hormonal signalling,

invasion of fibroblast cells in the affected areas to complete ventricular remodelling. Our

research focuses on developing a tissue engineering approach in-order to rescue heart

functioning post MI. In order to accomplish this task we are exploring the potential of non-

mulberry silk fibroin for developing 3D constructs which can not only provide support to the

cardiomyocytes but also provide apt molecular cues for the cells to grow into a functional

tissue. Our research strives to translate this construct to clinical therapy where autologous

stem cells could be used to form the cardiac tissue.

producing ? cells and leads to hyperglycemia in the blood, which currently affects 200

million people all over the world. The cardinal objective of our research is development of a

'Bio-artificial Pancreas' (BAP) for the treatment of diabetes by mimicking pancreatic like

niche around resident cells allowing them to produce insulin overtime. This BAP is projected

as a surrogate for the host pancreas damaged in diabetics. Our silk-based BAP devices are

based on supply of high quality insulin producing cells for its successful clinical translation.

synthesis and regulation. People with chronic liver diseases rely on organ transplantation,

often associated with a number of complicacies. Bioartificial liver devices act as a bridge by

performing some of the liver functions and helping the damaged liver to regenerate. Herein,

we are evolving a matrix using silk protein that can be used in bioartificial liver systems.

Works are also directed to the development of scaffolds for liver tissue engineering.

sericulture industry) for prospective applications in biomaterial domain specifically for tissue

engineering. We are currently focusing on fabrication of skin care products based on sericin

endowed with desirable properties like antioxidant, anti-tyrosinase and anti-lipid peroxidation

among others. Apart from this, we are delving into the prospects of fabrication of 3D

nanomaterials for application as nanotherapeutics/anticancer agents.

avenues of exploring materials at the nano scale for diverse applications. In this context, we

are: a) Exploiting the prospects of electrospun nanofibrous silk fibroin mats for actuated

delivery of cells and bioactive cargoes and interfacial tissue engineering; b) Investigating the

biointerfacial action of bio-based carbonaceous nanoparticles for applications like bioimaging

and drug delivery and c) Fabricating silk fibrous nanocomposite for environmental

remediation with special impetus on arsenic mitigation.Furthermore, we are delving into the

intrinsic fluorescence of silk proteins, isolated from silk worms, endemic to North East India

for prospective applications in biomaterial science.