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Development of Potential Strategies from Traditional Understandings

Development of Potential Strategies from Traditional Understandings

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Development of Potential Strategies from Traditional Understandings
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<strong>Seminar of the School of Physical Sciences -------------------------------------------------</strong> Title: <strong>Development of Potential Strategies from Traditional Understandings</strong> Speaker: <strong>Nitin Chattopadhyay</strong> (Jadavpur University, Kolkata) Date: <strong>December 4, 2015 </strong> <strong>Abstract:</strong> New strategies with potential applications can be developed from our existing ideas and perceptions simply looking at the things from different angles with open mind. In this talk I will be sharing some of such endeavors from our research group. It is a common and accepted understanding that an ionic molecular probe is unable to sense ions of similar charge characteristics due to the electrostatic repulsion disallowing any hand-shaking between the two interacting partners. However, with the experience from the society and realizing the beneficial role of a "BROKER" in certain fields, we have been successful to overcome this limitation. To the best of our knowledge this is the first example of this sort. Simply through modifying the environment by introducing some selected surfactants as "broker"s we have been able to detect and estimate Cu2+ by the cationic fluorophore, phenosafranin. Ratiometric absorbance of two bands of a pH sensitive probe has enabled us to detect and estimate the deadly toxic cyanide ion down to micromolar level of concentration by exploiting the basic chemistry of hydrolysis of cyanide salt that leads to an appreciable change in the solution pH. For improvement of the delivery of ionic drugs to the target region, the concept of electrostatic pushing has been exploited by us using model systems. An anionic probe (model of a drug) has been pushed deeper into the hydrophobic regions of a micelle as well as ctDNA by the electrostatic repulsion exerted by the anions of externally added salts. We have also developed a prospective strategy for the removal of excess drugs adsorbed on the cell membrane by exploiting the idea of competitive binding of a molecular probe between various environments. Using fluorophores as models of drugs and lipids as models of membrane, we have shown that the lipid bound probe can be extracted from the lipid bilayer into the aqueous medium by the simple use of cylodextrins. The strategy has further been shown to be applicable to the living cells. A simple and useful strategy has been developed for the specific synthesis of gold nanoparticles of desired dimension. Interestingly the instrument required for the size determination is spectrophotometer only. Thus, it is very much possible to engender imperative strategies simply by the logical extension of familiar notions.

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.