Dr. Subha Nagarajan

Dr. Subha Nagarajan is an instructor of Chemistry at BGSU Firelands.  Dr. Nagarajan teaches General chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at BGSU Firelands. She works with BGSU Firelands students on undergraduate research projects. Dr. Nagarajan is a recipient of the Dorn Fellowship  and collaborates with the BGSU Firelands community on a number of  projects. She is the recipient of Distinguished Creative Scholar Award at BGSU. 

Research Interests:

The role of wetlands in controlling algal blooms by reducing nutrient loading to Lake Erie
This project is done in collaboration with the research team at Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Reserve. Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Reserve is a shallow wetland located in Erie County along the south-central shore of Lake Erie. The goal of the research project is to evaluate the role of wetlands in reducing nutrient loading to Lake Erie. Understanding how storms and wetland connectivity to Lake Erie impact nutrient retention by coastal wetlands is important for managing and/or restoring wetlands .

Role of subject-specific acceleration in gifted education
Our goal in this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of subject-specific acceleration in chemistry among gifted learners in elementary and middle schools This research project is being done in collaboration with the Regional Center for Advanced Academic Studies. An accelerated curriculum in chemistry is being developed and student learning outcomes and new learning assessment tools are being developed.  This project is funded by the Randolph J. and Estelle M. Dorn Foundation and the Materials Research Society’s grassroots awards.

Antimicrobial activity of polymers from Flavonoids
This project is done in collaboration with Dr. Ram Veerapaneni.  We are interested in investigating and enhancing the antimicrobial properties of flavonoids. To further enhance stability and efficacy, these natural compounds are modified using environmentally friendly methods. The synthesized compounds are being tested their efficacy as antimicrobial agents. This research is funded through a grant from the Center for Undergraduate Research (CURS) at BGSU.

Environmentally friendly hybrid formulations for the removal of cyanobacterial toxins
Cyanobacterial toxins have been proven to be capable of poisoning both aquatic species and humans upon acute or prolonged exposure. Nanoparticles based on titanium dioxide have been reported to photocatalytically inactivate different cyanotoxins. However most of these photocatalytic experiments have been performed under reaction conditions which do not reflect the actual composition of water and pH conditions in a Lake or Estuary. The goal of this project is to develop benign and environmentally friendly formulations based on TiO₂ dispersions with photocatalytic activity in the visible region. This project is funded from a seed grant through the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research.

Funding obtained at BGSU:

Materials Research Society
Fostering Environmental Consciousness in Classrooms through Sustainable Materials and Biopolymers. $10,000 (2014-16)
Faculty Development and Instructional grant
Use of Atomic absorption spectroscopy as a teaching tool in introductory chemistry. $2000 (2015)

Patents:

1.      “Synthesis of water-soluble poly(catechins)” Bruno, F. F.; Braunhut S. J., Kumar, J., Nagarajan, S., Nagarajan, R., Samuelson, L. A. and Gorski, K. U. S. 2006/039228, A2, 2006.

2.     Flame retardant derivatives” Kumar, J.; Couglin, B.E.; Emrick, T.S.; Ku, B.C.; Ravichandran, S.; Nagarajan, S.; Nagarajan, R. US9080001B2, 2015.

Book Chapters (Invited):

1.     “Metalloporphyrin based biomimetic catalysts for materials synthesis and biosensing” Nagarajan, S., Bruno, F.F., Samuelson, L. A., Kumar, J., Nagarajan, R. Biomaterials, 12,  221-242, 2011

2.     “Enzymatic synthesis of electrically conducting polymers” Bouldin, R., Kokil, A., Ravichandran, S., Nagarajan, S., Kumar, J., Samuelson, L.A., Bruno, F. F., Nagarajan, R. Chapter 23, pp 315–341 ACS Symposium Series, Vol. 1043, 2010.

Publications:

1.       “Enzymatic and biomimetic approaches to the synthesis of electrically conducting polymers” S. Nagarajan, J. Kumar and R. Nagarajan. Apple academic press., in Functional Polymers
Design, Synthesis, and Applications. 2016

2.      “Halogen-free   ultra-high   flame-retardant   polymers   through   enzyme   catalysis”   Ravichandran, S., Nagarajan, S.,  Ku, B-C., Coughlin, B., Emrick, T., Kumar, J. Nagarajan, R. Green Chem., 14, 819, 2012.

3.        “Biocatalytic Synthesis of Two-Photon Active Resveratrol Oligomer” Satapathi, S., Ravichandran, S., Mosurkal, R., Nagarajan, S., Li, L.,  Samuelson, L.A.,  Kumar, J. J. Macromol. Sci. - Pure Appl. Chem., 48(12), 1061, 2011.

4.       “Synthesis  of  polypyrrole  with  fewer  structural  defects  using  enzyme  catalysis”  Bouldin,  R., Ravichandran, S., Kokil, A., Garhwal, R., Nagarajan, S., Kumar, J., Bruno, F. F., Samuelson, L.A. Synthetic Metals., 161, 1611, 2011.

5.       “Enzymatic  synthesis  and  characterization  of  polyquercetin”  Bruno,  F.  F.;  Trotta,  A.,  Fossey,  S., Nagarajan, S., Samuelson, L.A., Kumar, J. J. Macromol. Sci. - Pure Appl. Chem.,47(12), 1191, 2010

6.        “Soybean Peroxidase Catalyzed Enzymatic Synthesis of Pyrrole/EDOT Copolymers” Tewari, A., Kokil, A.,  Ravichandran,  S.,  Nagarajan,  S.,  Bouldin,  R.,  Samuelson,  L.  A.,  Nagarajan,  R.,  Kumar,  J. Macromol. Chem. Phys., 211, 14, 1610, 2010.

7.        “Biomimetic hematin catalyst for the synthesis of conductive polypyrrole in micellar nanoreactors” Ravichandran, S., Kokil, A., Nagarajan, S., Kumar, J. Polymer Preprints, 51(2), 656, 2010.

8.        “A stable biomimetic redox catalyst obtained by the enzyme catalyzed amidation of iron porphyrin” Nagarajan, S., Bruno, F. F., Samuelson, L. A., Kumar, J. Green Chem., 11, 334, 2009.

9.        “Enzymatically synthesized water-soluble polypyrrole” Bouldin, R., Ravichandran, S., Garhwal, Rahul., Nagarajan, S., Kumar, J., Bruno, F. F., Samuelson, L.A. Polymer Preprints 50(2), 23, 2009.

10.  “Flame retardant materials from oxidative polymerization of naturally derived cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) derivatives” Ravichandran, S., Bouldin, R., Nagarajan, S., Kumar, J. Polymer Preprints, 2009.

11.  “Detection of Explosives using nanofibrous membranes” Kumar, A., Leshchiner, I., Nagarajan, S.   Kumar, J. IEEE International Conference, 390, 2008.

12.  “Biocatalytically synthesized Poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxy thiophene)” Nagarajan, S., Kumar, J., Bruno, F.F., Samuelson, L. A., Nagarajan, R. Macromolecules, 41 (9), 3049, 2008.

13.  “Biocatalytically Oligomerized Epicatechin with Potent and Specific Anti-proliferative Activity for Human Breast Cancer Cells” Nagarajan, S., Nagarajan, R., Braunhut S. J., Bruno, F. F., Kumar, J., and Samuelson, L. A. Molecules, 13(11), 2008.

14.  “Biocatalytic  Modification  of  Naturally  Occurring  Iron  Porphyrin”  Nagarajan,  S.,  Tyagi, R., Kumar, J., Bruno, F. F., Samuelson, L. A. J. Macromol. Sci. - Pure Appl. Chem., 45(11), 952, 2008.

15.  “A Simple Technique for Submicron Scale Patterning of Silver Using  Visible Light  Interference” Kumar, A., Nagarajan, S., Yang, K., Anandakathir, R., Singh, Jagdeep., Nagarajan, R., Jain, A., Kumar, J. J. Macromol. Sci. - Pure Appl. Chem., 45(11), 964, 2008.

16.  “Biocatalysis for material science and drug discoveries” Bruno, F. F., Samuelson, L. A. Nagarajan, S., Nagarajan, R., Kumar, J. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, 1065E, 2008.

17.  “A novel template for the formation of water-soluble conducting polymers” Bruno, F. F., Nagarajan, S., Nagarajan, R., Kumar, J., Samuelson, L. A. Polymer Preprints, 48 (2), 80, 2007.

18.  “A  stable  biomimetic  redox  catalyst  obtained  by  enzyme  catalyzed  amidation  of  iron  porphyrin” Nagarajan, S.,  Bruno, F. F., Samuelson, L. A., Kumar, J. Polymer Preprints, 48 (2), 879, 2007.

19.  “Biomimetic synthesis of water-soluble conducting copolymers” Bruno, F. F., Fosey S., Nagarajan, S., Kumar, J and Samuelson, L. A. Polymer Preprints, 48 (2), 9, 2007.

20.  “Single Step Biocatalytic Synthesis of Sexithiophene” Nagarajan, S; Cazeca, M; Kumar, J; Bruno, F. F.; Samuelson, L.  Polymer Preprints, 47(2), 1043, 2006.

21.  “Biomimetic Synthesis of Water -Soluble  Conducting  Copolymers/Homopolymers  of  Pyrrole  and 3,4- diethylenedioxythiophene” Bruno, F. F., Fosey S., Nagarajan, S., Nagarajan, R., Kumar, J and  Samuelson, L. A. Biomacromolecules, 7(2), 586-589, 2006.

22.  “Biocatalytic synthesis of water-soluble oligo-catechins” Bruno, F. F., Nagarajan, S., Nagarajan, R., Kumar, J and Samuelson, L. A. J. Macromol. Sci. - Pure Appl. Chem., 42(11), 1547-1554, 2005.