Research Projects

: In view of the rapid increase in doping cases and lack of appropriate methods for doping detection, it is considered worthwhile to propose a fast, economical and handy method that can be used for on-site determination of doping cases. Due to the advanced electrocatalytic activity of metal-carbon nanocomposites due to their unique structural regularity, high surface area, electrical conductivity, chemical inertness, biocompatibility, and mechanical and thermal stability, it is planned to explore the metal-carbon nanocomposites as a nano-sensor for the determination of doping steroids such as bolandiol, stanozolol, zeranol, tibolone, formebolone, gestrinone, drostanolone propionate, furazabol, androstenedione, and zilpaterol in human body fluids (urine and blood samples). Both the exogenous and endogenous anabolic androgenic steroids (S1 class of doping agents) will be determined. No efficient electrochemical/voltammetric method is developed so far for the determination of these compounds. The similarities between electrochemical and biological reactions ameliorate the use of electrochemical studies in biological systems. The functional coupling of dimensionally similar steroids/biomolecules and nanomaterials provides effective electronic signal transduction in bio-nano hybrid systems. Furthermore the heavy and expensive instruments and tedious and time-consuming sample preparation, extraction, extract clean-up, derivatization, and extract storage steps make conventional techniques not suitable for doping detection. Electrochemistry-based voltammetric methods are rapid and simple alternatives having inexpensive and handy instrumentation for the on-site determination of doping cases. The sensitivity of these nano-sensors will be further enhanced by the ion beam irradiation techniques so that they can detect the minimum concentration of steroid also. Due to spatial selectivity by ion beam irradiation, the sensor can be modified by energy deposition at the required area and therefore its conductivity can be enhanced which will in turn help us in better detection of the steroids. Further, the ion beam treatment of carbon nanostructures by energetic ions produces columnar defects, a sputtering effect, and hybridization of the carbon system that makes irradiated nano-sensors more efficient than the pristine one. In the proposed work, it is planned to synthesize carbon-metal based nanocomposite (Au/Ag-GO, Au/Ag-rGO, Au/Ag-CNT, Au/Ag-C60, Au/Ag-C70 etc) which will work as nano-sensor for the detection of various steroids in human fluids. The sensitivity or efficiency of these nano-sensors will be further enhanced with the application of ion beam irradiation techniques using a beam high energy ions such as (120 MeV Au beam/ 120 MeV Ag beam etc) so that they can detect the minimum concentration of doping steroids in human body fluids.