1. Health Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials Used in Food:
Nanomaterials (NMs) with unknown biological consequences are increasingly being added to food and agricultural products to improve their functional properties. The potential for human exposure to NMs present in food warrants systematic risk assessment with relevance to gastro intestinal system. Dr George’s research group conducts systematic studies for the detection, exposure assessment, and hazard profiling of engineered and incidental nanomaterials using high throughput screening platforms. The overall aim is developing guidelines for safe use, tools for regulatory oversight, and safety assured nanotechnology for food safety and security.
Infrastructure and Expertise: In vitro Toxicology, Adverse Outcome Pathway, High Throughput Screening, Computational Analysis.
2.Developing Sustainable Nanotechnology Applications:
Nanotechnology holds tremendous potential in overcoming local and global challenges associated with food safety and security. Dr George is working on developing sustainable nanotechnology for agricultural applications (e.g. therapeutics and nutrient delivery in farmed animals and fish). His strategy for developing sustainable and translational technology is based on multi-parametric optimization of performance and environmental and economical sustainability.
3.Antimicrobial Nanotechnology:
Microbial resistance to conventional therapeutics are on rise. The effort here is to custom make nanotherapeutic that circumvent resistance mechanisms in microorganisms (bacteria, fungi etc) that causes recalcitrant superficial infections in animals and human.