We have developed a chemo-enzymatic synthesis for obtaining novel amphiphilic polymeric nanoparticles based on PEG having a broad range of additional chemical functionalities under mild conditions. Simplicity and versatility of this method for the synthesis of highly functionalized amphiphilic polymeric nanoparticles with the advantage of “Green appeal” further enhance its applications as an important strategy. 

These unique alternating copolymer micellar nanoparticles have been used successfully for the encapsulation of a large number of drugs of different classes and delivery vehicles targeted to human cancer cells expressing the underglycosylated mucin-1 antigen, which is found on almost all epithelial cell adenocarcinomas. The solubility of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin increased by encapsulation in these nanoparticles, and cellular uptake, and hence cancerous cell death, was enhanced as compared to that with the free drug. The encapsulated taxol and doxorubicin showed significant enhanced activity against neuroblastoma cancer cells than anti-cancer drugs alone, and doxorubicin encapsulation showed 3-6 times better activity against pancreatic cancer cells.

Nanospheres with different linker molecules such as naturally occurring aspartic acid and glutamic acid have also been prepared to assure non-toxic character of these nanomaterials and their biodegradability. The surface of these nanospheres is non-immunogenic as they are rich in PEG chains which do not interact with proteins. These polymers self assemble in water to produce nanospheres with a typical diameter of 10-70 nanometers. Critical micelle concentration for these micelles is low (~0.25 millimolar). These materials are non-toxic, 60 g material per kg body weight can be tolerated.  

A novel nanotechnology platform for in vivo imaging and delivery of multifunctional thererapeutics of cancer has also been designed based on perfluorinated amphiphilic copolymers. These nanoprobes are highly unique because of their ability to image and treat the cancer tumors by delivering the drugs to the cancer tumor sites. The methodology developed for the synthesis of perfluorinated copolymers is highly flexible and efficient. The in vitro and in vivo studies on these nanoprobes are in progress. Recently we have synthesized cationic polymers that constitute of guanidine functional groups and poly(ethylene glycol) units. Because of their strongly basic character, guanidines are fully protonated under physiological conditions. The positive charge thus imposed on the molecule forms the basis for specific interactions between ligand and receptor or enzyme and substrate, i.e. as ammonium cations, they may bind to polyanionic DNA’s and also to negatively charged cell surfaces to trigger endocytosis. Thus they may serve as gene siRNA delivery vehicles in order to cure many hereditary diseases and treat acquired diseases resulting from either multigenic disorders or foreign viral genes. 

The bio-derived non-crystallizable polymeric materials were used in formulating quasi-solid electrolyte compositions and incorporated into flexible dye-sensitized titanium oxide solar cells (DSSC). It was observed that the solar conversion efficiency of quasi –solid electrolytes incorporated solar cells depends strongly on the polymer microstructure used in formulating the redox electrolyte and our polymeric materials showed photovoltaic efficiency of up to 9 %.  

Further, highly useful novel, non-toxic “environment-friendly” non-halogenated flame retardant organo-silicone polymeric materials using the above environmentally benign “green” biocatalytic technologies have been developed. These show superior properties than commercial flame retardant materials. These results shall be presented in the talk.

Professor Virinder Parmar, born on 2nd November 1948 at Allahabad (India) is a Naturalized US Citizen. He did B.Sc. Honors, M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Delhi (India), and has worked for nearly 10 years as a Postdoctoral/Visiting Scientist at Cornell University, Harvard University, University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), NYU-Poly and MIT (USA); the University of Basel (Switzerland) and the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (London, UK). 

He is currently a Faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science at Medgar Evers College, The City University of New York (Brooklyn, New York, USA). He has been a faculty at St. Stephen’s College and the University of Delhi (India) for 44 years, he recently retired as Full Professor of Chemistry and has served as Head of the Department of Chemistry and as Chairman of the Board of Research Studies, and Provost of Gwyer Hall at this University. He has been a Visiting Full Professor at the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanomedicine (INSET), University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML, USA) from March 2001 to December 2005, an Honorary Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) since March 2008, a Visiting Professor at Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI, Indianapolis, USA) in May-June 2015, an Adjunct Professor at Long Island University, Brooklyn (LIU, New York, USA) in January-April 2013. He was appointed Full Tenured Professor of Chemistry & First Head of the Department of Nanoscience of the newly formed Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering (JSNN) at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG, USA). He has been an awardee of Medals for Excellence in Research from the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI, Bangalore) for the year 2001 and of the Indian Society of Chemists and Biologists (ISCB, Lucknow) for the year 2009. He has been a recipient of the Academic Staff Award from the EXPERTS II Consortium of the European Union (EU) in December 2012 and April 2013. 

Professor Parmar’s research interests include: Green/Sustainable Chemistry, Nanotechnology, Organic Synthesis, Nucleic Acid Chemistry, Advanced Materials, Medicinal Chemistry, Biocatalysis and the Chemistry of Natural Products. He has mentored 85 Ph. D. and Postdoctoral Scientists in several Belgian, British, Canadian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Indian and US Universities, and has published 492 research papers (in 2018: 7; in 2017: 7; in 2016: 11) in journals of high repute (published by ACS, RSC, Elsevier, Wiley, VCH, MDPI, Springer, Thieme, etc.; h-Index: 43/35; Citation Index: 47.27; Number of Citations: 8,600; Number of Reads: 171,000; Number of Readers: 4,100) in addition to being co inventor on 21 Patents and having co-authored six Books & Edited six special Issues of Journals.