Mohammad Zain Khan

Biography

Dr Khan did his Masters in Industrial Chemistry and PhD in Chemistry ( Biodegradation of organic compounds) from AMU Aligarh in the year 2007 and 2011 respectively. Later, he was awarded with the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Fellowship by the European Union to work at the prestigious University College of London (UCL) as post-doctoral fellow (PDF). He remained there till late 2012 and later joined the department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, IIT Delhi as Project Scientist under the DST Fast Track Young Scientist Scheme. He has also been awarded the Dr DS Kothari post-doctoral fellowship by the UGC. He joined the department of Chemistry, AMU Aligarh in early 2014. He has qualified NET examination and was awarded JRF and SRF by UGC during his doctoral studies. His main area of interest is the bioremediation of organic compounds along with energy recovery in the form of electricity or methane using Microbial Fuel Cell Technology (MFCT). MFCT offers excellent removal efficiency along with electrical energy generation. The power density can be improved by using specialized cultures or engineered strains or by using simple substrates as source of carbon and energy. Investigation of the pathway and kinetics of biodegradation using HPLC, FTIR and GC/MS is also an integral part of his work. His work further includes characterization of the microbial communities using molecular biology techniques such as 16S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and quantitative real time PCR. Moreover, he is also interested in the synthesis of nanomaterials and their applications as adsorbent materials, photocatalysts, antibacterial agents and in photoelectrochemical fuel application. Currently, he is running a research projects funded by the Science & Engineering Research Board, DST and UPCST. He is also doing a consultancy project in association with MNC based in Germany. He is the Lifetime member of the Chemical Research Society of India and member of the American Chemical Society.

Research Interest

Bioremediation and Bioenergy; Aerobic-Anaerobic Treatment; Microbial Fuel Cell and Microbial Electrolytic Cell, Microbial Isolation and Characterization; Nano materials Synthesis and Applications