Chirality, a fundamental structural property, is present across multiple length scales, from molecular amino acids to macroscopic helical structures. Harnessing and controlling chirality at the nanoscale opens new possibilities in spintronics, quantum computing, enantioselective catalysis, and biomolecular sensing. My research focuses on designing 3D chiral nanostructures by integrating the electronic properties of metals with the structural chirality of amino acids. By inducing chirality in traditionally non-chiral materials such as semiconductors, metals, and dielectrics, novel optically active materials with enhanced functionalities have been developed, enabling advancements in machine vision and biosensing. A key breakthrough of our work is the scalable synthesis of enantiomeric helical nanostructures, facilitating industrial-scale production of chiral metamaterials. Furthermore, we have demonstrated potential in deactivating SARS-CoV-2 using engineered chiral nanoparticles, providing an alternative to refrigeration-dependent solutions. Our work highlights how nanoscale chirality can drive technological and biomedical innovations while expanding the frontiers of materials science.[1-3]
Prashant Kumar, Thi Vo, Minjeong Cha, al. Photonically Active Bowtie Nanoassemblies with Chirality Continuum. Nature (cover article), 615, 418-424 (2023)
Rui Gao*, Xinxin Xu*, Prashant Kumar*, Ye Liu, Xiao Guo, Nicholas A. Kotov, Chuanlai Xu. Tapered chiral nanoparticles as broad-spectrum thermally stable antivirals for SARS-CoV-2 variants. PNAS, 121(13)e2310469121.(2024)
Prashant Kumar,Alexander Simon, Nicholas Kotov. Enantiomeric Discrimination by Chiral Electromagnetic Resonance Enhancement. Chirality, 35, 10, 732-738 (2023)
