Professor Bikramjit Basu’s research group has been actively pursuing research in the multidisciplinary area of Biomaterials and Engineering Ceramics. His research encompassing theory and experiments, earlier at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and now at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has the following key objectives,

(i) To significantly expand the understanding of the in vitro cell functionality modulation on engineered implantable biomaterials using electric field stimulation approach

(ii) To investigate the synergistic role of substrate properties (conductivity, stiffness, wettability, surface patterning) and the intermittent delivery of pulse electric/magnetic stimulation to modulate neurogenic/osteogenic/myogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells, in vitro (without differentiation inducers)

(iii) To understand bactericidal effect in pathogenic bacterial strains using magnetic field stimulation

(iv) To synthesize novel polymeric scaffolds with tunable physical and in vitro degradation properties 

(v) To fabricate complex three dimensional scaffolds with controlled porosity gradient using additive manufacturing technique (3D printing)

(vi) To advance concepts of superfast densification based processing approach to control microstructure of toughened structural ceramics over multiple length scales for hypersonic cruise vehicles and tribological applications

  In addressing various research questions, his research group has effectively used the advanced materials processing route (spark plasma sintering), state-of-art characterization facilities (HRTEM, XPS, AFM, micro-CT, Nanoindentation), cell culture and bacterial culture facilities, cell proliferation/differentiation assays (MTT, ALP, immunocytochemistry) and flow cytometry to quantify cell fate processes. On the computational aspects, we have used simple analytical tools to determine bioelectric (Maxwell) stress field around biological cells in E-field mediated culture conditions. He currently leads a Center of Excellence with an interdisciplinary team of researchers from multiple backgrounds, including clinicians and entrepreneurs to translate lab-scale research into implantable biomedical devices for orthopedic and dental restorative applications.

Over the years, Professor Basu has stimulated a large number of young researchers/young colleagues and mentored school students to pursue scientific research. As principal investigator, he has successfully led major multi-institutional interdisciplinary research collaborations with the leading research groups of USA and UK. In order to promote international collaborations, he has organised major bilateral workshops with Germany and Japan.

Multi-Institutional Research Programs