Aug 2005 - Apr 2010: Ph.D, Dept. of Inorganic & Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India
Supervisor: Prof. Akhil R. Chakravarty
Aug 2003 - May 2005: M.Sc, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati, India
Jul 1999 - Jul 2003: B.Sc, Midnapore College, Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India
Bioinorganic Chemistry; Chemical Biology; Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry; Anticancer and Antimicrobial Metallodrugs; Bioorthogonal Catalysis; Biosensors
Oct 30th 2015 - Present: Assistant Professor, School of Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India
Jul 2014 - Sep 2015: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Princeton University, New Jersey, USA
Advisor: Prof. Robert K. Prud’homme
Nov 2012 - Jun 2014: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA
Advisor: Prof. Ki-Bum Lee
Oct 2010 - Sep 2012: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Chemistry, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
Advisor: Prof. Eric Meggers
May 2010 - Sep 2010: Research Associate, Dept. of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
Advisor: Prof. Akhil R. Chakravarty
The CRSI Young Scientist Award, CRSI, India
Best Ph.D Thesis Award in Inorganic Chemistry - Prof. S. Soundararajan Medal for the Academic Year 2010 - 2011, Dept. of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, IISc Bangalore, India
Qualified Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), Feb 2005
Awarded National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by CSIR- UGC, June 2004
(1) Harnessing the Power of Iridium AIEgens for NAD(P)H Detection in Aqueous Medium and Living Cells
Ajay Gupta, Aryan Gautam, Smaranika Patra, Amit Kunwar,* and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Chem. Commun. 2025, 61, 7305–7308.
(2) Eradication of Antibiotic-Resistant Gram-Positive Bacteria and Biofilms by Rationally Designed AIE-Active Iridium(III) Complexes Derived from Cyclometalating 2-Phenylquinoline and Ancillary Bipyridyl Ligands
Aryan Gautam, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Inorg. Chem. 2025, 64, 2905–2918.
(3) Multi-Functional Biotinylated Platinum(IV)-SAHA Conjugate for Tumor-Targeted Chemotherapy
Ajay Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Dalton Trans. 2024, 53, 17829–17840.
(4) Organoiridium-Catalyzed Bioorthogonal Chemistry
Deepika Chauhan, Puja Prasad, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Coord. Chem. Rev. 2024, 520, 216139.
(5) Multifunctional Iridium(III)-Platinum(IV) Conjugates as Potent Anticancer Theranostic Agents
Ajay Gupta, Abhishek Kumar Pandey, Titas Mondal, Jaydeep Bhattacharya,* and Pijus K. Sasmal*
J. Med. Chem. 2023, 66, 8867–8704.
(6) AIE-Active Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes for Detection of Lipopolysaccharide and Wash-Free Imaging of Bacteria
Aryan Gautam, Ajay Gupta, Puja Prasad, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Dalton Trans. 2023, 52, 7843–7853.
(7) Visible and NIR-Light Photoactivatable o-Hydroxycinnamate System for Efficient Drug Release with Fluorescence Monitoring
Ajay Gupta, Neelu Singh, Aryan Gautam, Neetesh Dhakar, Sunil Kumar, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
RSC Med. Chem. 2023, 14, 1088–1100. (Selected for Front Cover)
(8) Covid-19 Detection using AIE-Active Iridium Complexes
Ajay Gupta,† Tarun Adarsh,† Vikas Manchanda, Pijus K. Sasmal,* and Shalini Gupta*
Dalton Trans. 2023, 52, 1188–1192.
(9) Development of Mitochondria Targeting AIE-Active Cyclometalated Iridium Complexes as Potent Antimalarial Agents
Geeta Kumari,† Ajay Gupta,† Raj Kumar Sah, Aryan Gautam, Monika Saini, Aashima Gupta, Akhilesh K. Kushawaha, Shailja Singh,* and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Adv. Healthcare Mater. 2023, 12, 2202411.
(10) Photoactivatable o-Hydroxycinnamic Platforms for Bioimaging and Therapeutic Release
Ajay Gupta, Aryan Gautam, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
J. Med. Chem. 2022, 65, 5274–5287.
(11) Mitochondria-Targeted Photoactivatable Real-Time Monitoring of a Controlled Drug Delivery Platform
Neelu Singh,† Ajay Gupta,† Puja Prasad, Raj Kumar Sah, Arvind Singh, Sunil Kumar, Shailja Singh, Shalini Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
J. Med. Chem. 2021, 64, 17813–17823.
(12) Iridium-Triggered Allylcarbamate Uncaging in Living Cells
Neelu Singh,† Ajay Gupta,† Puja Prasad, Pritam Mahawar, Shalini Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Inorg. Chem. 2021, 60, 12644−12650. (Selected for Featured Article and ACS Editor’s Choice)
(13) Aggregation-Induced Emission Active Metal Complexes: A Promising Strategy to Tackle Bacterial Infections
Puja Prasad, Ajay Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Chem. Commun. 2021, 57, 174−186. (Cover Article)
(14) Simultaneous Ultrasensitive Detection and Elimination of Drug-Resistant Bacteria by Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes
Ajay Gupta,† Puja Prasad,† Shalini Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 35967−35976.
(1) Indian Patent No.: 401771
Application No.: 202011027461
Title: A Multi-Targeted Iridium(III)-Platinum(IV) Conjugates as Potent Anticancer Prodrugs to Overcome Drug Resistant Cancer
Date of Filing: 29/06/2020
Date of Grant: 21/07/2022
(2) Indian Patent Application No.: 202111015826
Title: Mitochondria-Targeted Photoactivatable Drug Delivery Platform: A Strategy for Real-Time Monitoring of Controlled Drug Release
Date of Filing: 03/04/2021