Match tier Confirmed
Presence Current · Arkansas
Last published 2026
Sources OpenAlex · ORCID
Refreshed 2026-08-20

Karthik Nayani

Affiliation confirmed via AI analysis of OpenAlex, ORCID, and web sources.

Federal Grant PI

Researcher

Also affiliated: Georgia Institute of Technology (2015–2018); University of Wisconsin–Madison (2017); Cornell University (2019–2021); Smith Institute (2019); AID Atlanta (2016); Ithaca College (2019); Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (2011)

Faculty Researcher

12 h-index 47 pubs 659 cited

  • Liquid Crystals
  • Peptides
  • Water
  • Elasticity
  • Humans
  • Cell Shape
  • Unilamellar Liposomes
  • Chickens
  • Heat Stress Disorders
  • Schwann Cells
  • Cations
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Erythrocytes
  • Viscosity

Biography and Research Information

OverviewAI-generated summary

Karthik Nayani's research focuses on the development of novel biomaterials and sensing technologies, leveraging principles from materials science and machine learning. A significant portion of his work investigates liquid crystalline materials and their applications in biological contexts. This includes the use of liquid crystalline collagen assemblies for directing the alignment of human Schwann cells and the creation of liquid crystal-based platforms for rapid heat stress sensing in biological samples.

His research also extends to the study of peptide self-assembly, exploring how cationic side chain identity influences the behavior of amphiphilic β-peptides in aqueous solutions. Nayani has examined the effects of heat stress on gene expression and the mechanical properties of blood cells in different broiler lines and their wild ancestors. Furthermore, his work has involved sculpting the shapes of giant unilamellar vesicles using phase cycles and decorating surfaces with polymer nanohelices through hierarchical chirality transfer.

Nayani is a principal investigator on an NSF CAREER award totaling $500,000, which supports his work on harnessing liquid-liquid crystal phase separation for functional material design. His scholarly contributions include 47 publications, with a total of 650 citations and an h-index of 12. He actively collaborates with researchers at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, including Elizabeth Adeogun and Elizabeth S. Greene.

Metrics

  • h-index: 12
  • Publications: 47
  • Citations: 659

Selected Publications

  • Thermodynamics of Binding Between Adeno-Associated Viruses and Heparin in Bulk and at Interfaces via Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (2026)
    Bioengineering DOI OpenAlex
  • Introduction to optical microscope and image formation (2025)
  • Experiment 4: Liquid crystals, phase transitions, morphologies, and defects (2025)
  • Experiment 2: Comparison of a real space image and q-space (diffraction) image for size measurement (2025)
  • Experiment 7: Structural color and iridescence of Morpho butterfly (2025)
  • Experiment 1: Getting to know your optical microscope (DM 750P) and its basic software (2025)
  • Experiment 6: Polymer crystallization (2025)
  • Experiment 3: Microporous polymer films and 2D diffraction (2025)
  • Through a Modern Microscope (2025)
  • Experiment 5: Features in liquid crystal display (LCD) (2025)
  • Computationally Guided Liquid Crystal‐Based Competitive Binding Sensing Platform for Optical Detection of Spike Protein (2025)
    Advanced Materials Technologies DOI OpenAlex
  • Liquid crystalline collagen assemblies as substrates for directed alignment of human Schwann cells (2024)
    Soft Matter 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • A liquid crystal-based biomaterial platform for rapid sensing of heat stress using machine learning (2024)
    Sensors & Diagnostics 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Effects of heat stress on cyto(chemo)kine and inflammasome gene expression and mechanical properties in isolated red and white blood cells from 4 commercial broiler lines and their ancestor jungle fowl (2022)
    Poultry Science 6 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Surfaces Decorated with Enantiomorphically Pure Polymer Nanohelices via Hierarchical Chirality Transfer across Multiple Length Scales (2021)
    Advanced Materials 25 citations DOI OpenAlex

View all publications on OpenAlex →

Federal Grants 1 $500,000 total

Collaboration Network

29 Collaborators 9 Institutions 2 Countries

Top Collaborators

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