I design, build, and patent ultra-sensitive biosensing platforms and the instruments that operate them. My research advances multiplexed, smart diagnostic tools — from molecular transduction layers and bench-top instrumentation to point-of-care prototypes intended for the bedside.
A researcher and builder working at the intersection of biosensing, materials science, and instrumentation — with an instinct for end-to-end development from molecular interaction to deployable device.
Hello. I'm a doctoral candidate at DWI – Leibniz-Institut für Interaktive Materialien and RWTH Aachen University in Germany. My doctoral work develops ultra-sensitive, multiplexed biosensing platforms for next-generation diagnostic devices — moving complex biomolecular detection out of the central laboratory and toward the patient.
Outside the wet-lab, I'm equally at home in the instrumentation and software stack that runs the experiments: precision optics and photonics, FPGA synchronization, image processing pipelines, and the desktop GUI tools researchers actually use at the bench. I also design and prototype hardware — from 3D-printed cell-culture cassettes to portable potentiostats — and I currently hold ten patent filings reflecting that translational orientation.
Before Aachen, I worked at IIT Roorkee on cancer-biomarker electrochemical biosensing, and at IIT Hyderabad on chemiresistive heavy-metal detection in water — both end-to-end projects spanning device fabrication, embedded firmware, IoT data pipelines, and Android applications. I trained as a Converging Technology engineer at Amity University Rajasthan, and I hold a Black Belt (Dan 1) in Okinawa Shōrin-Ryū karate from a parallel life that taught me discipline rather more memorably than coursework did.
Six interlocking domains. Different tools, the same underlying ambition — make detection more sensitive, more portable, more accessible.
Designing molecular interfaces — aptamers, antibodies, nucleic-acid probes — coupled to electrochemical, optical, and magnetic transduction layers for selective biomolecule detection.
Translating bench-top assays into hand-held formats — readers, cartridges, sample-prep modules — that work outside the central laboratory, with quantitative outputs and minimal training.
Combining magnetic-particle reporters with widefield optical readout to enable multiplexed, quantitative bioassays at attomolar sensitivity using commodity reagents.
Working with MXene/graphene nanohybrids, conductive polymers, and patterned thin films — including spray-coating, screen-printing, and rapid prototyping pipelines for scalable production.
Building the optical and electronic stacks: laser excitation, microwave synthesis, CMOS & SPCM detection, FPGA timing — and the calibration routines that make them reproducible.
Python GUI apps in PyQt5/tkinter, image-stack analysis with pixel-level fitting, ML/CNN pipelines for sensor data, and publication-quality figure generation tools.
Ten patent filings — devices, methods, and designs ranging from nanomaterial biosensors to 3D-printed laboratory hardware and portable point-of-care instruments. Many were prototyped, tested, and published alongside peer-reviewed work.
A compact, low-power potentiostat designed for field deployment — capable of running multiple electrochemical assay protocols (CV, DPV, SWV, CA) with smartphone-tethered control and data export.
A patented nanohybrid sensing layer combining Ti₃C₂ MXenes with graphene — fabricated via airbrush spray-coating and demonstrated for cancer-biomarker detection. Spans the full pipeline from material synthesis to sensor preparation method.
A compact, wirelessly-controlled cyclic stretching apparatus for live-cell mechanobiology experiments on nanofiber substrates — tied to a peer-reviewed ACS Applied Bio Materials article.
A reusable, autoclavable cassette for parallelized cell-seeding workflows on flexible substrates — designed to standardize sample preparation and reduce inter-experiment variability.
A bench-top, motor-driven airbrush platform designed for reproducible thin-film deposition of nanomaterial inks on screen-printed electrodes and other planar substrates.
A multi-sensor breath-analysis device combining gas-sensor arrays with onboard signal processing for non-invasive screening of volatile biomarkers associated with lung pathology.
A field-ready, single-button instrument for rapid soil-pH assessment — designed for low-cost agricultural decision support in resource-limited settings.
Peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and pre-prints — covering biosensor materials, mechanobiology, computational biology, and methodology tools. Filter by type below.
ACS Applied Bio Materials, 2024.
DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.3c01285
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 253, Part 6, 2023, 127260. ISSN 0141-8130.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127260
Sharma D., Rajput A., Ulaganathan S.P. African Journal of Biological Sciences, 4(1), 122–126, 2022.
DOI: 10.33472/AFJBS.4.1.2022.122-126
Sharma, D. et al. (2021). In Advances in Applied Microbiology for Sustainable Development, Chapter 25, pp. 361–371. ISBN 978-81-950423-8-8.
In Advances in Applied Microbiology for Sustainable Development, ESN Publications India, pp. 71–80. ISBN 978-81-947019-4-1.
Sharma, D. et al. (2021). Pre-print.
DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-828102/v1
Sharma, D. et al. (2020). Pre-print.
DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/9afp3
A timeline spanning bioinformatics, electrochemistry, materials, and biosensor instrumentation — across three institutions on two continents.
An interdisciplinary academic background in converging technology — biology, nanotech, ICT, and cognitive science — followed by ongoing doctoral training in Germany.
Open to research collaboration, industry R&D partnerships, advisory roles, and conversations around biosensing, point-of-care diagnostics, scientific instrumentation, and translational medical technology.
sharma@dwi.rwth-aachen.de