Professor

Devarai Santhosh Kumar

CHE-105

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Research Lab: Lab 314, CHE Block

PhD: Ph.D, IIT Madras

Research Interests: Bioreactor Scale-up Studies,Therapeutic Enzymes, Bioactive Compounds

“Edible fungi for Nutritive and Medicinal applications for anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-Covid-19. Cost-effective process development for biodiesel.”

Research Overview

Production of therapeutic enzymes (L-Asparaginase and Lipase), Edible mycelial biomass and Bioactive metabolites from Fungal sps by Sub-Merged (SmF) and Solid-State Fermentation (SSF). Application of metabolites as a promising drug for Malnutrition, Anti-Cancer, and Anti-COVID-19. Fungal Lipase production and its Application for Biodiesel Synthesis. Detection of toxic analytes through hybrid Nanomaterial at ambient temperature.

Research Highlights

Edible Fungi for Bioactive Compounds:

Identification of ergosterol and gallic acid from fungal mycelium as a promising anti-COVID-19 metabolites. Purification of Biomolecules, Nutraceuticals and Recombinant Proteins.

Fungal Enzymes for Therapeutics:

Collection, Isolation and Screening of fungal species. L-asparaginase for chemotherapy applications as well as in food processing industries. Scale-up studies and growth kinetics of L-asparaginase in bioreactor.

Lipase and Biodiesel Synthesis:

Prosopis juliflora as a novel substrate to produce lipase by SSF. Developed to separate and quantify the methyl esters (MeP and MeO) in RP-HPLC for accurate analysis. Immobilized lipase used to waste cooking palm oil and found the biodiesel yield.

Sustainable Bio-Materials:

Mycelium based material for applications in packaging and fabrics. Mycelium binds the agro-waste to obtain a rigid and compact composite material. Bio-Nano sensor, which can detect NO2 at room temperature with extreme precision.

Selected Publications

Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using mushrooms for medical and industrial applications

Shankar M.P.; Nisha R.; Lavanya E.; Spandana R.; Kupireddy S.; Devarai S.K.

Journal: Inorganic Chemistry CommunicationsYear: 2026DOI: 10.1016/j.inoche.2025.115173

Submerged production of mycelium biomass and bioactive compounds from P. ostreatus in a controlled fermentation medium

Arman Hamza, Mohana Priya Shankar, Uppuluri Shwetha Chowdary, Shreya Ghanekar, Subhamshree Sahoo, Ch Venkata Krishnaiah, Devarai Santhosh Kumar

Journal: Food and HumanityYear: 2024DOI: 10.1016/j.foohum.2024.100302

Enhanced production of mycelium biomass and exopolysaccharides of Pleurotus ostreatus by integrating response surface methodology and artificial neural network

Arman Hamza, Abdul Khalad, Devarai Santhosh Kumar

Journal: Bioresource TechnologyYear: 2024DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130577

An insight into the nutritional and medicinal value of edible mushrooms: A natural treasury for human health

Arman Hamza, Ankit Mylarapu, K. Vijay Krishna, Devarai Santhosh Kumar

Journal: Journal of BiotechnologyYear: 2024DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2023.12.014

Engineering mushroom mycelium for a greener built environment: Advancements in mycelium-based biocomposites and bioleather

Mohana Priya Shankar, Arman Hamza, Abdul Khalad, Ganapathi Shanthi, Suresh Kuppireddy, Devarai Santhosh Kumar

Journal: Food BioscienceYear: 2024DOI: 10.1016/j.fbio.2024.105577

Current trends in health-promoting potential and biomaterial applications of edible mushrooms

Hamza A.; Ghanekar S.; Devarai S. K.

Journal: Food BioscienceYear: 2023DOI: 10.1016/j.fbio.2022.102290

Biomass and exopolysaccharide production from P. ostreatus

Hamza A.; Mandari V.; Devarai S. K.

Journal: Food BioscienceYear: 2023DOI: 10.1016/j.fbio.2023.103073

Types of bioreactors and important design considerations

Shanmugam M. K.; Mandari V.; Devarai S. K.; Gummadi S. N.

Journal: Biotechnology & Bioengineering (Book Chapter)Year: 2022DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-91167-2.00008-3

Separation and quantification of methyl palmitate and methyl oleate using HPLC

Mandari V.; Devarai S. K.

Journal: Indian Chemical EngineerYear: 2022DOI: 10.1080/00194506.2021.1997652

Biodiesel production using homogeneous, heterogeneous, and enzyme catalysts: A critical review

Mandari V.; Devarai S. K.

Journal: BioEnergy ResearchYear: 2022DOI: 10.1007/s12155-021-10333-w