Broad Areas of Specialization:

• Crystal engineering of APIs (crystal habit modifications, polymorphism, hydrates, solvates, and amorphous state)
• Solid-state characterization (molecular, particle, and bulk level properties) to improve the performance of APIs
• Understanding of pharmaceutical APIs, formulations, and their processing
• Microneedles based drug delivery
• Dry Powder inhalations

Application of molecular modeling tools in the prediction of crystal habits, polymorphs, hydrates, solvates, and amorphous structures         

PH502  Drug Regulatory Affairs
PH511 Advanced Biopharmaceutics
PH512 Novel drug delivery systems
PH 513 Pharmacokinetics
PH411 Biopharmaceutics
PH413 Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery Systems                                                                                                                                                           
PH312  Hospital and Clinical Pharmacy
BO301 Microbiology and biotechnology
BL101 Biology                                                                                                                                                                                                                    PH311 Pharmaceutical Technology                                                                                                                                                                                  PH101 Basics of Pharmaceutical Sciences

1. Jha, A.K., Arora, S., Sahu, R.C., Kumar, D., Singh, S., Agrawal, A. K. 2025. A review on integrated design and application of stimuli-responsive ZIF-8 metal-organic frameworks for breast cancer theranostics, Next Materials, 8, 100611.
2. Dhondale, M.K., Singh, M., Agrawal, A.K., Kumar, D. 2025. Development of novel coprocessing technique for ethambutol hydrochloride to improve its processability, Powder Technology, 457, 120885. (I.F. 4.5).
3. Rani, K., Arora, S., Kumar, D.N., Chaudhuri, A., Sahu, R.C., Kumar, D., Agrawal, A. K. 2025.  Exploring combinations of dihydroartemisinin for cancer therapy: A comprehensive review, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 765, 151854. (I.F. 2.5)
4. Khadilkar, M., Arora, S., Sahu, R.C., Rawat, S., Kumar, D., Agrawal, A. K. 2025. Lemon-derived exosome-like nanovesicles: A promising avenue for drug delivery system and therapeutic applications in biomedical science, Food Bioscience, 68, 106474. (I.F.4.8)
5. Kumar, D.N., Chaudhuri, A., Dehari, D. Gamper, A. M., Kumar, D., Agrawal A.K. Oral delivery of dihydroartemisinin for the treatment of melanoma via bovine milk exosomes. Drug Deliv. and Transl. Res. (2025). (I.F. 5.7)
6. Gupta, D., Biswas. A., Sahu, R, C., Arora, S., Kumar, D., Agrawal, A.K. 2024. Advancing pharmaceutical Intelligence via computationally Prognosticating the in-vitro parameters of fast disintegration tablets using Machine Learning models. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 204, 114508. (I.F. 4.4)
7. Kumar, D.N., Chaudhuri, A., Dehari, D., Gamper, A, M., Kumar, D., Agrawal, A.K. 2024. Exosomes improved the in vitro anti-melanoma efficacy of dihydroartemisinin. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, 99, 105957. (I.F. 5.06)
8. Chaudhuri, A., Kumar, D.N., Kumar, D., Agrawal, A.K. 2024. Functionalized solid lipid nanoparticles combining docetaxel and erlotinib synergize the anticancer efficacy against triple-negative breast cancer. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 201, 114386. (I.F. 4.4)
9. Nagdiya, D., Arora, S., Kumar, V., Kumar, D., Singh, Arti., Singh, C., 2024. Application of Casein Micelles for Targeting Huntington’s Disease in Experimental Zebrafish Model. Molecular Neurobiology. (I.F. 4.6)
10. Chaudhuri, A.; Kumar, D.N.; Dehari, D.; Patil, R.; Singh, S.; Kumar, D.; Agrawal, A.K. 2024. Combinatorial Delivery of Docetaxel- and Erlotinib-Loaded Functionalized Nanostructured Lipid Carriers for the Treatment of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Using Quality-by-Design Approach. Pharmaceutics, 16, 1926. (I.F. 6.52)
11. Tripathi, D., Kumari, M., Chauhan, A.K., Kumar, D., Dhondale, MR., 2024. A study on red potato peel (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Red Holland): characterization, composition and formulation of tablet using diferent drying techniques. Journal of Food Science & technology. (I.F. 2.7)
12. Singh, M., Dhondale D. R., Agrawal, A K., Panda, S., Kumar, D., 2024. The potential of sonocrystallization in crystal habit modification for improving micromeritic and physicochemical properties of Dapagliflozin. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 207, 308-319. (I.F. 3.8)
13. Biswas, A., Dhondale, M, R., Agrawal, A, K., Muthudoss, P., Mishra, B., Kumar, D. 2024. Development and comparison of machine learning models for in-vitro drug permeation prediction from microneedle patch. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 199, 114311. (I.F. 4.4)
14. Biswas, A., Dhondale, M, R., Agrawal, A, K., Serrano, D.R., Mishra, B., Kumar, D. 2024. Advancements in microneedle fabrication techniques: artificial intelligence assisted 3D-printing technology. Drug Delivery and Translational Research, 14, 1458–1479. (I.F.5.4)
15. Ali, H., Muthudoss, P., Chauhan, C. Kaliappan, I., Kumar, D., Paudel, A., Ramasamy G., 2023. Machine Learning-Enabled NIR Spectroscopy. Part 3: Hyperparameter by Design (HyD) Based ANN-MLP Optimization, Model Generalizability, and Model Transferability. AAPS PharmSciTech, 24, 254. (I.F. 4.02)
16. Kumar, D. N., Chaudhuri, A., Singh S., Kumar D., Agrawal A. K., 2023. Impact of the Drug Loading Method on the Drug Distribution and Biological Efficacy of Exosomes. AAPS PharmSciTech, 24, 166. (I.F. 4.02)
17. Dehari, D.; Kumar, D. N.; Chaudhuri, A.; Kumar, Akshay.; Kumar, R.; Kumar, D.; Singh, S.; Nath, Gopal.; Agrawal, A. K., 2023. Bacteriophage entrapped chitosan microgel for the treatment of biofilm- mediated polybacterial infection in burn wounds. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 25(3), 227247. (I.F. 8.2) 
18. Kara, A., Kumar, D., Healy, A. M., Lalatsa, A., Serrano, D.R., 2023. Continuous Manufacturing of Cocrystals Using 3D-Printed Microfluidic Chips Coupled with Spray Coating. Pharmaceuticals, 16 (8), 1064. (I.F. 4.6)
19. Patil, R., Dehari, Deepa., Chaudhuri, A., Kumar, D. N., Kumar, D., Singh, S., Nath, G., Agrawal, A, K., 2023. Recent advancements in nanotechnology-based bacteriophage delivery strategies against bacterial ocular infections. Microbiological Research, 273, 127413.  (I.F. 6.7)
20. Chaudhuri, A.; Kumar, D.N.; Dehari, D.; Patil, R.; Singh, S.; Kumar, D.; Agrawal, A.K. Endorsement of TNBC Biomarkers in Precision Therapy by Nanotechnology. Cancers 2023, 15, 2661. (I.F. 5.2)
21. Dehari, D.; Chaudhuri, A.; Kumar, D.N.; Patil, R.; Gangwar, M.; Rastogi, S.; Kumar, D.; Nath, G.; Agrawal, A.K. A Bacteriophage Microgel Effectively Treats the Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Bacterial Infections in Burn Wounds. Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16, 942. (I.F. 4.6)
22. Singh, M., Barua, H., Jyothi, V. S., Dhondale D. R., Nambiar, A G., Agrawal, A K., Kumar, P., Shastri, N. R., Kumar, D., 2023. Cocrystals by Design: A Rational Coformer Selection Approach for Tackling the API Problems. Pharmaceutics, 15, 1161. (I.F. 6.52)
23. D. R. Madhukiran., Nambiar A. G., Singh M., Mali. R. A., Agrawal A K., Shastri N. R., Kumar. P., Kumar D., 2023. Current Trends in API Co-Processing: Spherical Crystallization and Co-Precipitation Techniques. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 1, 19. (I.F. 3.78)
24. E. de Pablo., P. O’Connell., R. Fernandez-García., S. Marchand. , A. Chauzy., F. Tewes., M.A. DeaAyuela., D. Kumar., F. Bolas., M.P. Ballesteros., J.J. Torrado., A.M. Healy., D. R. Serrano., 2023. Targeting lung macrophages for fungal and parasitic pulmonary infections with innovative amphotericin B dry powder inhalers. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 635, 122788. (I.F. 4.21)
25. D. R. Madhukiran., Thakor P., Nambiar A. G., Singh M., Agrawal A K., Shastri N. R., Kumar. D., 2023. Co-Crystallization Approach to Enhance the Stability of Moisture-Sensitive Drugs. Pharmaceutics, 15, 189. (I.F. 6.52)
26. Chaudhuri, A., Korra, R., Kumar, D. N., Dehari, D., Singh S., Kumar D., Agrawal A. K., 2022.  Polymeric micelles: A novel drug delivery system for the treatment of breast cancer. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, 77, 103886. (I.F. 5.06)
27. Nambiar A. G., Singh M., Mali A. R., Serrano D. R., Kumar R., Healy A. M., Agrawal A. K., Kumar D., 2022. Continuous Manufacturing and Molecular Modeling of Pharmaceutical Amorphous Solid Dispersions. AAPS PharmSciTech, 23(7), 1-26. (I.F. 4.02)
28. Datir, S.R., Kumar, D., Bele, M.H., 2022. Modified crystal habits of glimepiride to improve manufacturing processability. Journal of Crystal Growth 592, 126711. (I.F. 1.57)
29. Kumar, D. N., Chaudhuri, A., Dehari, D., Shekher A., Gupta S. C., Majumdar S., Krishnamurthy S., Singh S., Kumar D., Agrawal A. K., 2022. Combination therapy comprising paclitaxel and 5-fluorouracil by using folic acid functionalized bovine milk exosomes improves the therapeutic efficacy against breast cancer. Life, 12 (8), 1143 (IF- 3.25).
30. Kumar, D. N., Singh, S., Kumar, P.,    Bolla, K.  P., Kumar, D., Agrawal, A. K., 2022. Emergence of Nanotechnology as a Powerful Cavalry against Triple‐Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). Pharmaceuticals,      15, 542. (IF-5.86)
31. Datir, S.R., Kumar, D., Kumar, P., Jain, S., Bansal, A.K., Nallamothu, B., Thakore, S.D., Bele, M.H., 2021. Study of Different Crystal Habits of Aprepitant: Dissolution and Material Attributes.   Applied sciences, 11, 5604. (IF-2.67)
32. Kumar, D., Worku, Z. A., Gao, Y., Kamaraju, V. K., Glennon, B., Babu, P. R., Healy. A. M., 2018. Comparison of wet milling and dry milling routes for ibuprofen pharmaceutical crystals and their impact on pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical properties. Powder Technology 330, 228-238. (IF-3.41)
33. Worku, Z. A., Kumar, D., Gomes, J. V., He. Y., Glennon. B., Ramisetty. K. A., Rasmuson. A. C., O’Connell. P., Gallagher. K. H., Woods. T., Shastri. N. R., Healy. A. M., 2017. Modelling and understanding powder flow properties and compactability of selected active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients and physical mixtures from critical material properties. International Journal of Pharmaceutics 531, 191-204. (IF-4.21)
34. Healy, A. M., Worku, Z. A., Kumar, D., Madi, A. M., 2017. Pharmaceutical Solvates, Hydrates and Amorphous Forms. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 117, 25-46.  (IF-15.51)
35. Chavan, R. B., Thipparaboina, R., Kumar, D., Shastri, N. R., 2016. Co Amorphous Systems: A Product Development Perspective. International Journal of Pharmaceutics 515, 403-415. (IF-4.21)
36. Chavan, R. B., Thipparaboina, R., Kumar, D., Shastri, N. R., 2016. Evaluation of inhibitory potential of HPMC, PVP and HPC polymers on nucleation and crystal growth. RSC Adv 6, 77569–77576. (IF-3.04)
37. Thipparaboina, R., Thakur, A., Kumar, D., Kodukula, S.G., Shastri, N.R., 2016. Crystal Engineered Albendazole with Improved Dissolution and Material Attributes. CrystEnggComm 18, 1489-1494. (IF-3.38)
38. Thipparaboina, R., Kumar, D., Chavan, R.B., Shastri, N.R., 2016. Multidrug co-crystals: towards the development of effective therapeutic hybrids. Drug Discovery Today 21, 481-490. (IF. 6.88)
39. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Modi, S. R., Bansal, A. K., Shastri, N., 2015.  How Nifedipine crystal habit varies in the presence of HPMC? CrystEnggComm 17, 1615-624. (I.F. 3.38)
40. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Sreedhar, B., Shastri, N.R., 2015. The role of surface chemistry in crystal morphology and its associated properties. CrystEngComm 17, 6646-6650. (I.F. 3.38)
41. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Modi, S.R., Bansal, A.K., Shastri, N.R., 2015. Effect of surfactant concentration on nifedipine crystal habit and its related pharmaceutical properties. Journal of Crystal Growth 422, 44-51. (I.F. 1.57)
42. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N.R., 2015. Can vacuum morphologies predict solubility and intrinsic dissolution rate? A case study with felodipine polymorph form IV. Journal of Computational Science 10, 178-185. (I.F. 2.50)
43. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N.  R., 2015. The Impact of Nisoldipine Crystal Morphology on its Biopharmaceutical Properties: A Layer Docking Assisted Study. Organic Process Research & Development, 19, 1912–1917. (I.F. 3.32)
44. Thipparaboina, R.; Kumar, D.; Mittapalli, S.; Sridhar, B.; Nangia, A.; Shastri, N., 2015. Ionic, Neutral and Hybrid Acid-Base Crystalline Adducts of Lamotrigine with Improved Pharmaceutical Performance. Crystal Growth & Design 15, 5816–5826. (I.F. 4.15)
45. Narayana, L., Chella, N., Kumar, D., Shastri, N.R., 2015. Design of a novel type IV lipid-based delivery system for improved delivery of drugs with low partition coefficient. Journal of Liposome Research, 1-9. (I.F. 2.50)
46. Thipparaboina, R., Chavan, R.B., Kumar, D., Modugula, S., Shastri, N.R., 2015. Micellar carriers for the delivery of multiple therapeutic agents. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces 135, 291-308. (I.F. 3.97)
47. Gouthami, K.S., Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Chavan, R.B., Shastri, N.R., 2015. Can crystal engineering be as beneficial as micronisation and overcome its pitfalls? A case study with cilostazol. International Journal of Pharmaceutics 491, 26-34. (I.F. 4.21)
48. Chella, N.; Daravath, B.; Kumar, D.; Tadikonda, R. R., 2015. Formulation and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Polymeric Dispersions Containing Valsartan. European Journal of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, 1-10. (I.F. 1.49)
49. Thakur, A., Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N., 2014. Exploration of Crystal Simulation Potential by Fluconazole Isomorphism and its Application in Improvement of Pharmaceutical Properties. Journal of Crystal Growth 406, 18-25. (I.F. 1.57)
50. Kumar, D., Shastri, N., 2013. Designed isomorphism of Nifedipine: a joint experimental and molecular simulation study with screened solvents and anti-solvents. Crystal Growth & Design 14, 326-338. (I.F. 4.15)
51. Kumar, D., Chirravuri, S.V., Shastri, N.R., 2013. Impact of Surface Area of Silica Particles on Dissolution Rate and Oral Bioavailability of Poorly Water Soluble Drugs: A Case Study with Aceclofenac. International Journal of Pharmaceutics 461, 459-468. (I.F. 4.21)  
52. Jain, S., Kumar, D., Swarnakar, N. K., Thanki, K., 2012. Polyelectrolyte stabilized multilayered liposomes for oral delivery of paclitaxel. Biomaterials 33, 6758-6768. (I.F. 10.27)

1. “Step-wise freeze drying process for improving stability of nano-drug delivery systems”, Indian patent no. 306846. 
2. “Novel Polyelectrolyte coated multilayered Liposomal compositions (Layerosomes) for oral delivery of anti-cancer drugs”, Indian patent no. 307621.
3. Pharmaceutical Composition of Folic Acid Conjugated Docetaxel/Erlotinib-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles, Appl. No. 202411010322
4. Novel Coprocessing Methodology for Improving Properties of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient, Appl. No. 202411049785

Book chapters
1. Swami, R., Kumar, D., Khan, W., Shastri, N. Polymer drug conjugate in focal drug delivery, In Book series “Advances in Delivery Science and Technology- Focal Controlled Drug Delivery”, (2013), CRS- Springer Publications, ISBN 9781461494348.
2. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N. Nanotechnology in Food Production and Packaging, in book “Application of nanotechnology in animal health and production”, (2014), Astral International Pvt. Ltd., ISBN 9789351302872.
3. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N., 2015. “Nanocapsules as drug delivery agent”, in book “Nano-Carrier Systems Theories, methods and applications”, (2018), PharmaMed Press, ISBN 9789383635603
4. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N., 2015. “Nanosuspensions in drug delivery”, in book “Nano-Carrier Systems Theories, methods and applications”, (2018), PharmaMed Press, ISBN 9789383635603                                                                                                                                       5. Nambiar A. G., Biswa A., Agrawal A K., Mishra B., Kumar. D., 2024. Book chapter “Reshaping the Therapeutic Landscape: Drug Repurposing for Emerging Infectious Diseases and Rare Diseases” Publisher: Springer, Book title: Drug Repurposing - Innovative Approaches to Drug Discovery and Development. ISBN 978-981-97-5015-3 ISBN 978-981-97-5016-0 (eBook). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5016-0                                                 6. Singh, M., Mali, A., Dhondale, M.K., Agrawal, A.K., Paudel, A., Kumar, D., 2025. Book Chapter “Advancements in Computational Screening Methods for Pharmaceutical Cocrystals” Publisher: Wiley, Book Title: Cocrystals in Pharmaceutical Sciences: Design to applications. Print ISBN:9781394302475 |Online ISBN:9781394302505 |DOI:10.1002/9781394302505

Magazine article

1. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N. Application & opportunities for Nanotech in food packaging. Nanodigest Magazine, Vol. 4, Issue 8, May 10, 2013.

International
1. Kumar, D., Worku, Z., Healy, AM. Oral presentation in 7^th Annual ICPE (International conference on pharmaceutical engineering) (2016) at Technical University of Graz, Austria with title “Comparison of Wet Milling and Dry Milling Technologies for Pharmaceutical Crystals”.
2. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N. Poster presented in 45^th Annual BACG conference (2014) at University of Leeds, UK with title “Molecular Simulation Study of Impact of HPMC Concentration on Crystal Habit Modification of Nifedipine”.
3. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N. Research work presented In 2^nd Virtual Conference on Computational Chemistry (VCCC) organized by University of Mauritius with title “Structural Insight into Impact of Polymorphism on Vacuum Morphologies and Solubility Prediction of Felodipine Form IV”.
National
1. Kumar, D., Jain, S., Swarnakar, N. K., Oral presentation of project work delivered at 4th winter school on Nanotechnology in Advanced drug delivery (2011), organized by Department of Pharmaceutics, NIPER, Mohali with title “Polyelectrolyte Coated Multilayered Liposomes: For Improving Oral Bioavailability of Paclitaxel”.
2. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N. Poster presented in Recent Advances in Computer Added Drug Designing (RACADD)”, at IISC, Bangalore (2013) organized by Schrodinger with title “Designed Isomorphism: A Combined Experimental and Molecular Simulation Study”.
3. Kumar, D., Thipparaboina, R., Shastri, N. Poster presented in RSC Road Show at Central University, Hyderabad (2014) with title “Impact of Tween 80 concentration on crystal habit modification of Nifedipine”.
4. Thipparaboina, R., Kumar, D., Shastri, N. Poster presented in RSC Road Show at Central University, Hyderabad (2014) with title “Exploration of crystal engineering strategies for the development of novel solid forms with improved pharmaceutical attributes”.
5. Attended Indian Pharma Summit organized by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) on 20^th march 2014 at World Trade Centre, Mumbai.
6. Participated in Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) Symposium-2010 at NIPER, Mohali.
7. Attended workshop on “X-ray diffraction in pharmaceuticals” organized by PAnalytical & Sipra Labs at Hyderabad.
8. Participated in workshop on Common Technical Documents (CTD), Pharmaceuticals at NIPER, Mohali
9. Cleared the basic course on Intellectual Property Rights conducted by WIPO, Geneva
10. Actively participated in the debate organized by Promed Research Centre 

• SUPEX award at SK Biotek, Ireland for increasing efficiency and bold breakthrough in R&D
• Awarded with 3^rd best poster prize at 45^th Annual British Association of Crystal Growth (BACG) conference at University of Leeds, UK. This conference was organized to celebrate the year 2014 as International year of Crystallography declared by United Nations.
• Awarded with best e-presentation at 2^nd Virtual Conference on Computational Chemistry (VCCC) organized by University of Mauritius. This conference was also organized to celebrate the year 2014 as International year of Crystallography declared by United Nations.
• Awarded with the best poster at Drug Discovery & Development Global-Indian Perspective 2015 organized by Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemical & Fertilizers, Government of India.
• Awarded with International Travel grant from Department of Science & Technology, Indian Government to attend 45^th BACG conference at University of Leeds, UK, 2014
• NIPER fellowship for Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics (2011-15)
• NIPER fellowship for M. S. Pharm in Pharmaceutics (2009-11)
• GATE scholarship by IIT Roorkee (2009)
• Winner of 81 mg Pharma quiz competition at NIPER, Mohali, 2009
• Winner of state/province level Pharmacy quiz competition organized at MDU, Rohtak,2009
• NIPER Entrance for “Ph.D.” 2011: Qualified (All India rank- 7^th, Pharmaceutics Stream)
• NIPER Entrance for “M.S. 2009 (Pharm)”: Qualified (All India rank- 7^th)
• Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE-2009) by IIT Roorkee: Qualified with 99.2 percentile
• Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU) B Pharmacy CET 2005 (State rank 5^th)

Current PSSR lab members;

• Maan Singh (Ph.D. student)
• Madhu Kiran (Ph.D. student)
• Sachin (Ph.D. student)
• Suraj Kumar (Ph.D. student)
• Debjyoti (M. Pharm)
• Hurshab (M. Pharm)
• Shalini (M. Pharm) 
• Chiya (IDD)

PSSR Alumni

M Pharm

IDD

Interested candidates with secured fellowships are encouraged to contact PI and apply for positions.