About Me

I work in the field of computational physics where I use density functional theory, molecular dynamics, monte carlo methods to understand the physical and chemical properties and interactions of systems such as molecules, nanomaterials, biological systems.

Professional Background

    • Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, University of Mumbai, 2014.
    • Scientist D, S N Bose Centre, Kolkata, 2013-2014.
    • Scientist D, IUAC, New Delhi, 2011-2012.
    • Research Associate at SC&IS, JNU, New Delhi, India, 2009-2011.
    • Scientist at IndoGlobal Knowledge Ltd., Pune, India, 2007-2008.
    • Postdoctoral Fellow at CEA-Grenoble, France, 2005-2007.

Research Interests

    • Electronic, Optical, Magnetic and Thermodynamic properties of Atomic Clusters and Nanoparticles

        Melting in finite size systems is a complex phenomenon which is effected by several factors. It also gives rise to interaction interaction in the system with respect to bonding, magnetic, optical properties etc. We study the structural motif of the ground state as well as higher energy structure of small nanoclusters in order to understand their influences on the melting transition as well as magnetic and optical properties.

        We also study the interaction of simple molecules such as CO, CO2, H2O, NO2, SO2, etc on the structural, bonding, thermodynamics, magnetic and optical properties of small nanoclusters.

    • Bio-Nano Interaction

        Interaction of Nanoparticles with Biological Macromolecules Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) have distinctive physico-chemical properties, including a high electrical and thermal conductivity, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, chemical stability, catalytic activity and non linear optical behavior. It is a well-known fact that silver ions and silver-based compounds are highly toxic to microorganisms which include 16 major species of bacteria. They also have the ability to anchor to the bacterial cell wall and subsequently penetrate it, thereby causing structural changes in the cell membrane like the permeability of the cell membrane and death of the cell. It has been proposed that free radicals released by the silver nanoparticles when in contact with the bacteria, and these free radicals have the ability to damage the cell membrane and make it porous as well as interact with the thiol groups of many vital enzymes and inactivate them, ultimately lead to cell death. Though AgNP is used in many antibacterial applications, the mechanism of action of this AgNP on microbes as well as the proper target is not fully understood. We study the interaction of silver nanoparticles with various Biological molecules such as lipids, amino acids and proteins.
    • Protein-Ligand and Protein-Protein interaction

Teaching

    • Elementary Quantum Mechanics
    • Classical Electrodynamics
    • Experimental Physics - Data Analysis for Physical Sciences

Publications

    Google Citation
    1. Targeting the intersubunit cavity of Plasmodium falciparumglutathione reductase by a novel natural inhibitor: Computational andexperimental evidence Chetna Tyagi, Jochen Bathke, Sukriti Goyal, Marina Fischer, Hans-Martin Dahse, Sajeev Chacko, Katja Becker and Abhinav Grover, Int. J. Biochem. CellBio, 61, 72-80 (2015). (Google Citation: 1).

    2. Exact diagonalization study in nanographene: Modulation of charge and spin, magnetic phase diagram, and thermodynamics, Sajeev Chacko, Dhani Nafday, D. G. Kanhere and T. Saha-Dasgupta Phys. Rev. B, 90, 155433 (2014) (Google Citation: 1).

    3. Mechanistic insights into mode of actions of novel oligopeptidase B inhibitors for combating leishmaniasis Sukriti Goyal, Sonam Grover, Jaspreet Kaur Dhanjal, Manisha Goyal, Chetna Tyagi, Sajeev Chacko and Abhinav Grover, J Mol Model (2014) 20:2099 (DOI 10.1007/s00894-014-2099-6) (Google Citation: 3).

    4. Novel natural structure corrector of ApoE4 for checking Alzheimer's disease: Benefits from high throughput screening and molecular dynamics simulations, M. Goyal, S. Grover, J. K. Dhanjal, S. Goyal, C. Tyagi, Sajeev Chacko and Abhinav Grover. BioMed Res. Int., 2013, Article ID 620793, (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/620793 (Google Citation: 2).

    5. A Plausible mechanism for the antimalarial activity of artemisinin, Ashutosh Shandilya, Sajeev Chacko, Indira Ghosh and B. Jayaram, Sci. Rep., 3, Article number 2513 (2013); doi:10.1038/srep02513 (Google Citation: 7).

    6. Resisting resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis naturally: Mechanistic insights into the inhibition of the parasite's sole signal peptidase Leader peptidase B, Heena Dhiman, Jaspreet K Dhanjal, Sudhanshu Sharma, Sajeev Chacko and Abhinav Grover, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm., 433, 552-557 (2013) (Google Citation: 1).

    7. Hydrogen Adsorption on Na/SWCNT Systems, Balasaheb J. Nagare, Darshan Habale, Sajeev Chacko, and Swapan Ghosh, J. Mater. Chem., 22, 22013 (2012) (Google Citation: 3).

    8. Excited states of incipient Wigner molecules, S. A. Blundell and S. Chacko, Phys. Rev. B 83, 195444 (2011) (Google Citation: 1).

    9. Isomeric and hybrid-vibrational states of Wigner molecules, S. A. Blundell and S. Chacko, Phys. Rev. B 81, 21104(R) (2010) (Google Citation: 1).

      Selected for the April 5, 2010 issue (volume 21, issue 14) of Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science and Technology.

    10. Ferromagnetism in carbon doped Zinc Oxide Systems, B. J. Nagare, Sajeev Chacko, and D. G. Kanhere, J. Phys. Chem. A 114, 2689 (2010) (Google Citation: 28).

    11. Size-sensitive melting characteristics of gallium clusters: Comparison of experiment and theory for Ga$_{17}{}^+$ and Ga$_{20}{}^+$, Sailaja Krishnamurty, S. Chacko, D. G. Kanhere, G. A. Breaux, C. M. Neal, and M. F. Jarrold, Phys. Rev. B 73, 045406 (2006) (Google Citation: 33).

    12. First principles investigation of finite-temperature behavior in small sodium clusters, Mal-Soon Lee, S. Chacko and D. G. Kanhere, J. Chem. Phys. 123, 164310 (2005) (Google Citation: 41).

    13. First principles calculation of melting temperatures for free Na clusters, S. Chacko, D. G. Kanhere, and S. A. Blundell, Phys. Rev. B 71, 155407 (2005) (Google Citation: 55).

    14. Evolution of the structural and bonding properties of aluminum-lithium clusters, S. Chacko, D. G. Kanhere, and V. V. Paranjape, Phys. Rev. A 70, 023204 (2004) (Google Citation: 21).

    15. Why do gallium clusters have a higher than bulk melting point? S. Chacko, Kavita Joshi, D. G. Kanhere, and S. A. Blundell, Phys. Rev. Lett., 92, 135506 (2004) (Google Citation: 97).

      Selected as an outstanding work in condensed matter physics for the month of June by Journal Club for Condensed Matter Physics, and for the April 19, 2004 issue of Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science and Technology.

    16. Ab initio density functional investigation of B$_{\it 24}$ clusters: Rings, tubes, planes and cages, S. Chacko, I. Boustani, and D. G. Kanhere, Phys. Rev. B 68, 035414 (2003) (Google Citation: 74).

    17. Structural and electronic properties of aluminum based binary clusters, S. Chacko, M. Deshpande and D. G. Kanhere, Phys. Rev. B 64, 155409 (2001) (Google Citation: 21).

    18. Ground state geometries and stability of impurity doped clusters Li$_n$Be ,Li$_n$Mg ($n$=1-12), M. Deshpande, A. Dhavale, R. Zope, S. Chacko and D. G. Kanhere, Phys. Rev. A 62, 063202 (2000) (Google Citation: 34).

Proceedings/Book Chapters

    1. Melting of Finite-Sized Systems, Sajeev Chacko, and D. G. Kanhere, Handbook of Nanophysics: Principles and Methods, Ed. K. D. Sattler, CRC Press, Honolulu, USA (2010).

Codes and Sripts

I have developed several tools calculate various parameters/quantities, and some scripts to extract and analyze data. These codes and scripts can be requested through an email to sc.scripts.codes@gmail.com giving a brief description of its use. For further details on the tools please visit this site.

Opportunities

Students interested in exploring the field of computational physics to understand microscopic phenomena at atomistic level are welcome.