2004-2006, University of Texas at San Antonio, Post Doc (Biomedical Engineering)
1998-2004, Polytechnic University, PhD (Materials Chemistry)
1996-1997 UMIST, UK, M.Sc (Polymer Science and Technology)
1991-1996 Maharashtra Institute of Technology, India, B.Eng. (Polymer Engineering)

Email: amahapatro@nsu.edu
Phone: 757-823-8494
Address: Department of Chemistry
                Norfolk State University
                700 Park Avenue
                Norfolk, VA 23504
 

My research interests lie in two distinct but overlapping areas biocatalysis and biomaterials. My academic training in polymers lead to a keen research interest in materials. During my doctoral dissertation I worked on the synthesis of biodegradable polymers using biocatalysis. After my Ph.D. I decided to gain some experience in more applied materials research which led to post doctoral work in industrial immunoassay research as well as cardiovascular biomaterials research in an aca-demic setting.

My specific research interests include:

• Biomaterials
• Drug delivery from implants using surface modification of metal surfaces via self assembled monolayer (SAMs)
• Synthesis of biodegradable aliphatic/ aromatic / functional polymers for biomedical applications.
• Development of enzyme linked immunoassays and biosensors.
• Biocatalysis
• Surface modification of functional SAMs using biocatalysis, biocatalysis in polymers science, enzyme-catalyzed reactions in organic medium.
• Process engineering of enzymatic reactions. Approach towards the mechanism, kinetics, scale up procedure, biocatalyst stabilization by immobilization.
• Enzyme catalyzed polymerizations via ring opening polymerizations, direct condensation polymeri-zations and transesterification between polymer chains.

• ACS-PRF Summer School on Sustainability Science and Technology, Selected as one of the 16 professionals all over the world (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, Au-gust 7 – 13, 2005)
• Younger Chemists Committee (YCC) Leadership development award (2004).
• Recipient of Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (2003).
• Senior Member of Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) (2003).

Co-editor for “Polymers for Biomedical Applications,” ACS symposium series, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C, anticipated release, December, 2006.

Mahapatro, A., Johnson, D. M., Patel, D. N., Feldman, M. D., Ayon, A. A. and Agrawal, C. M. 2006.  Stability of Functional Self Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) on 316L Stainless Steel.  Nanomedicine, (In press)

Mahapatro, A., Johnson, D. M., Patel, D. N., Feldman, M. D., Ayon, A. A. and Agrawal, C. M.  2006.  Surface Modification of Functional Self Assembled Monolayers on 316L Stainless Steel via Lipase Catalysis.  Langmuir, 22, 901.

Mahapatro, A., Kumar, A., Kalra, B., and Gross, R. A.  2005.  Lipase Catalyzed Polyesterifications.  Polymer Biocatalysis and Biomaterials., Cheng, H. N. and Gross, R. A., Eds.,  Oxford University Press, pp: 318-326.

Mahapatro, A., Kumar, A., Kalra, B., and Gross, R. A.  2004.  Solvent free Adipic acid/1,8-Octanediol Condensation Polymerizations Catalyzed by Candida antarctica Lipase B.  Macromolecules 37, 35.

Mahapatro, A., Kumar, A., and Gross, R. A.  2004.  Mild Solvent-Free ϖ-Hydroxyacid Polycondensations Catalyzed by Candida antarctica Lipase B", Biomacromolecules 5, 62.

Mahapatro, A., Kalra, B., Kumar, A., and Richard A. Gross.  2003.  Lipase Catalyzed Polycondensations: Effect of Substrates and Solvent on Chain Formation, Dispersity and End-Group Structure.  Biomacromolecules 4, 544.

Mahapatro, A., Mills, N. J., and Sims, G.L.A.  1998.  Experiments and Modeling of the Expansion of Crosslinked Polyethylene Foams.  Cellular Polymers 17, 252.