Primary research interest lies in application of nanotechnology to develop treatment strategy against cancer. The major limitations in cancer treatment is development of resistance against chemotherapeutic drug and the side effects of these drugs. Among various mechanism of drug resistance in cancer cells, overexpression of anti-apoptotic genes like BCl-2 and BCl-xL is of prime focus in our studies. Use of nanotechnology can lead to reduction in dosage of the chemotherapeutic drugs resulting in reduced side effects. Additionally, nanotechnology can be used to efficiently co-deliver multiple therapeutics into the cancer cells, ex- co-delivery of drug and siRNA. I have carried out similar work for my PhD research work.

Herein, I have developed a Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles based nanocarrier for targeted co-delivery of drug and siRNA (against antiapoptotic gene)for treatment of drug resistant cancer cells.

1. Pramod Kumar, Prajakta Tambe, Virendra Gajbhiye and K. M. Paknikar. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles as cutting-edge theranostics: Advancement from merely a carrier to tailor-made smart delivery platform. J Control Release, 2018;287.
2. Pramod Kumar, Prajakta Tambe, Kishore M. Paknikar and Virendra Gajbhiye. Folate/N-acetyl glucosamine conjugated mesoporous silica nanoparticles for targeting breast cancer cells: A comparative study. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2017, 156, 203-212.
3. Pramod Kumar, Kishore M. Paknikar and Virendra Gajbhiye. A robust pH-sensitive unimolecular dendritic nanocarrier that enables targeted anti-cancer drug delivery via GLUT transporters. Colloids surf B: Biointerfaces, 2018;171. (IF- 3.8)
4. Prajakta Tambe, Pramod Kumar, Virendra Gajbhiye and K.M. Paknikar. Smart triblock dendritic unimolecular micelles as pioneering nanomaterials: Advancement pertaining to architecture and biomedical applications. J Control Release, 2019, 299:64-89. (IF- 7.9)
5. Prajakta Tambe, Pramod Kumar, Virendra Gajbhiye and K.M. Paknikar. siRNA mediated gene silencing: hurdles, strategies and applications. Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, 2015, 3, 322-333.
6. Prajakta Tambe, Pramod Kumar, Y A Karpe, K. M. Paknikar and Virendra Gajbhiye. Triptorelin tethered multifunctional PAMAM-Histidine-PEG nanoconstructs enable efficient targeting and gene silencing in LHRH overexpressing breast and prostate cancer cells. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2017;9(41). (IF- 8.5)
7. Prajakta Tambe, Pramod Kumar, K.M. Paknikar and Virendra Gajbhiye. Decapeptide functionalized targeted mesoporous silica nanoparticles with doxorubicin exhibit enhanced apoptotic effect in breast and prostate cancer cells. Int J Nanomedicine, 2018; 13: 7669–7680. (IF- 4.47)
8. Nida Syed, Prajakta Tambe, Pramod Kumar, Sachin Jadhav, K.M. Paknikar and Virendra Gajbhiye. miRNA transfection via poly(amidoamine)-based delivery vector prevents hypoxia/reperfusion-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Nanomedicine, 2019, 15, https://doi.org/10.2217/nnm-2019-0363. (IF- 4.71)
9. HridayBera, Yasir Faraz Abbasi, Law Lee Ping, DaphishaMarbaniang, Bhaskar Mazumder, Pramod Kumar, Prajakta Tambe, Virendra Gajbhiye, DongmeiCun, Mingshi Yang. Erlotinib-loaded carboxymethyl temarind gum semi-interpenetrating nanocomposites. Carbohydrate Polymers, 2020, 230, 115664. (IF- 6.23)
10. HridayBera, Yasir Faraz Abbasi, Virendra Gajbhiye, KokFui Liew, Pramod Kumar, Prajakta Tambe, A.K.Azad, DongmeiCun, Mingshi Yang. Carboxymethyl fenugreek galactomannan-g-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N,N’-methylene-bis-acrylamide)-clay based pH/temperature-responsive nanocomposites as drug-carriers. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 2020, 110, 110628. (IF- 5.08)
11. Leila Fotooh Abadi, Pramod Kumar, Virendra Gajbhiye, K M Paknikar, Smita Kulkarni. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 2020, 194, 111227.

Book chapter published

1. Pramod Kumar, Kavita Gajbhiye, Kishore M. Paknikar and Virendra Gajbhiye. Current Status and Future Challenges of Various Polymers as Cancer Therapeutics. In book: Polymeric Nanoparticles as a Promising Tool for Anti-cancer Therapeutics, 2019.