Visiting Scientist — Office of Scientific Coordination

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Arjun Sharmah, Ph.D.
(870) 543-7121
NCTRResearch@fda.hhs.gov  

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About  |  Publications 

Background

Arjun Sharmah received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in chemistry from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Davis where his research focused on the synthesis of inorganic and organic (liposomes) nanostructures, their surface modifications, characterization, and the study of the effects of nanomaterials on X-ray radiation-driven reactive oxygen species (ROS) chemistry at nanoscale regime. In addition to using existing chemical assays, he developed new assays to study the catalytic effect – termed “chemical enhancement” – as well as physical enhancement of ROS (specifically, hydroxyl radicals) caused by such nanostructures under X-ray irradiation. As a graduate student at UC Davis, he also received an outstanding teaching assistant award. He undertook postdoctoral training at UC Davis in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Plant Biology, where he worked to develop nanoscale biosensors for sensing the plant stress hormone abscisic acid and theoretical simulations for the interaction of X-rays with nanomaterials of different structural configurations. He also completed an intellectual property internship, at the UC Davis Office of Research where he gained experience in assessing intellectual property and the patentability of inventions.

Research Interests

Dr. Sharmah's research interests include:

• Study of interactions between nanomaterials and biological moieties
• Analytical method development
• Study of nanomaterials and ionizing radiation for targeted cancer therapy and drug payload delivery
• Synthesis of higher-order nanostructures and their advanced characterization
• Toxicity of nanomaterials and their environmental impact
• Protein chemistry and molecular conjugation for spectroscopic and imaging applications
• Theoretical study of interaction of radiation with nanomaterials and reaction kinetics

Professional Societies/National and International Groups

American Chemical Society
Member
2017 – Present

Selected Publications

Towards Development of Fluorescence Quenching-Based Biosensors for Drought Stress in Plants.
Sharmah A., Kraus M., Cutler S.R., Siegel J., Brady S.M., and Guo T.
Anal. Chem. 2019, 19 (24), 15644-15651.

Sealable Spherical Mesoporous Silica Shell Nanoreactors as Fiducial Nanoscale Probes for X-rays.
Peck K.A., Su M., Lien J., Sharmah A., and Guo T.
J. Phys. Chem. A. 2018, 122(43):8686-8692, doi: 10.1021/acs.jpca.8b07968 [Epub Oct 18, 2018].

Theoretical Study of X-ray Induced Energy Transfer (XIET) from Nanomaterial Donors to Nanomaterial Acceptors.
Sharmah A., Lien J., Su M., and Guo T.
J. Phys. Chem. C. 2018, 122(32):18640-18650, doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b01696 [Epub Apr 11, 2018].

Concentration-Dependent Association Between Weakly Attractive Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solutions.
Sharmah A., Mukherjee S., Yao Z., Lu L., and Guo T.
J. Phys. Chem. C. 2016, 120(35):19830-19836, doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b06062 [Epub Aug 16, 2016].

X-ray-Induced Energy Transfer between Nanomaterials Under X-ray Irradiation.
Sharmah A., Yao Z., Lu L., and Guo T.
J. Phys. Chem. C. 2016, 120(5):3054-3060, doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b11859 [Epub Feb 2, 2016].

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Investigation of Radical Production by Gold Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solutions Under X-ray Irradiation.
Chang J., Taylor R.D., Davidson R.A., Sharmah A., and Guo T.
J. Phys. Chem. A. 2016, 120(18):2815-23, doi: 10.1021/acs.jpca.6b01755 [Epub Apr 28, 2016].

Influence of Particle Size on Persistence and Clearance of Aerosolized Silver Nanoparticles in the Rat Lung.
Anderson D.S., Patchin E.S., Silva R.M., Uyeminami D.L., Guo T., Das G.K., Brown J.M., Shannahan J., Gordon T., Chen L.C., Pinkerton K.E., and Van Winkle L.S.
Toxicol. Sci. 2015, 144(2):366-81. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfv005 [Epub Jan 9, 2015].

Persistence of Silver Nanoparticles in the Rat Lung: Influence of Dose, Size, and Chemical Composition.
Anderson D.S., Silva R.M., Lee D., Edwards P.C., Sharmah A., Guo T., Pinkerton K.E., and Van Winkle, L.S.
Nanotoxicology. 2015, 9(5):591-602. doi: 10.3109/17435390.2014.958116 [Epub 2014 Sep 18, 2014].

Chemical Enhancement by Nanomaterials Under X-ray Irradiation.
Cheng N.N., Starkewolf Z., Davidson R.A., Sharmah A., Lee C., Lien J., and Guo T.
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134(4):1950-3. doi: 10.1021/ja210239k, [Epub Jan 19, 2012].