{"id":96782,"date":"2025-12-19T13:40:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T12:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/?p=96782"},"modified":"2026-02-02T11:08:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T10:08:43","slug":"new-antibacterial-materials-ncn-miniatura-grant-awarded-to-dr-tapendu-samanta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/new-antibacterial-materials-ncn-miniatura-grant-awarded-to-dr-tapendu-samanta\/","title":{"rendered":"New Antibacterial Materials. MINIATURA Grant Awarded to Dr.\u00a0Tapendu\u00a0Samanta\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Combating harmful bacteria in the era of increasing antimicrobial resistance is one of the major challenges facing modern science. Dr.\u00a0Tapendu\u00a0Samanta is working on a new class of advanced materials that may\u00a0exhibit\u00a0antibacterial activity without the use of traditional antibiotics. The researcher has been awarded a\u00a0MINIATURA grant from the National Science Centre (NCN)\u00a0for a pilot research project focused on the design of functional, photosensitive polymeric materials with potential applications in healthcare.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A new approach to counteracting bacteria <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The aim of the MINIATURA-funded project is to develop an innovative material based on\u00a0Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs)<\/span> that combines two independent antibacterial mechanisms within a single system. The first relies on the presence of charged functional groups, which promote interactions with bacterial cell wall or membranes. The second involves light activation, leading to the generation of reactive oxygen species<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>capable of destroying bacterial cells.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201c<\/em><\/span>We want to investigate whether combining photosensitivity and positive charge in one material can produce a synergistic effect \u2013 where one mechanism enhances the efficiency of the other,\u201d explains Dr. Samanta.\u201cThis is a preliminary study, but positive results would open the door to much broader applications,\u201d he adds.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The project is designed as a proof-of-concept study and focuses on material synthesis, detailed physicochemical characterization, and straightforward antibacterial screening tests to\u00a0validate\u00a0the proposed concept.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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From fundamental research to practical applications <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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A key strength of the project lies in its application potential. Due to their structural characteristics, COFs are highly porous materials with exceptionally large surface areas, making them particularly attractive for external applications.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201c<\/em><\/span>At the initial stage, we are focusing on surface-based applications \u2013 such as coatings, paints, or materials used in hospitals and intensive care units,\u201d says the researcher. \u201cIf the material proves to be effective and non-toxic, more advanced applications may be considered in the future.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This approach aligns with global efforts to\u00a0identify\u00a0alternative strategies to conventional antibiotics, whose effectiveness continues to decline as bacterial resistance increases.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A chemist developing materials for healthcare <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Dr.\u00a0Tapendu\u00a0Samanta comes from India (Kolkata, West Bengal). He is a chemist specializing in polymer chemistry and functional materials, with a strong focus on biomedical applications. His research interests include porous materials, photosensitive systems, and the use of optical phenomena in biology and medicine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201c<\/em><\/span>As a chemist, I always try to think about how materials can perform under real-world conditions \u2013 not only in the laboratory,\u201d he emphasizes. \u201cMy long-term goal is to design materials that can be used in biomedical applications, such as diagnostics or therapy.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The project is carried out within the\u00a0Functional Macromolecules and Porous Materials Research Group<\/strong><\/a>, which focuses on the design and synthesis of advanced functional materials, including metal\u2013organic frameworks (MOFs), metal\u2013organic cages (MOCs), and their derivatives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The group\u2019s goal is to develop environmentally friendly and durable materials for applications such as gas capture, separation, catalysis, and sensing. Research activities are grounded in a detailed understanding of material properties \u2013 from molecular interactions and functionality to reactivity \u2013 enabling rational material design and adaptation to specific applications.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Dr. Samanta\u2019s project fits naturally within this research profile, combining fundamental material\u00a0chemistry with clearly defined application potential.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Combating harmful bacteria amid rising antimicrobial resistance remains one of the key challenges of modern science. Dr Tapendu Samanta is developing a new class of advanced materials that may display antibacterial activity without relying on traditional antibiotics. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":98042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,204],"tags":[796],"class_list":["post-96782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bez-kategorii","category-uncategorized","tag-successes"],"acf":{"czas_czytania":"3","order":"0"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-30 16:46:04","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96782"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97162,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96782\/revisions\/97162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}