Prem S. Thapa-Chetri, Ph.D

Dr. Prem S.Thapa-Chetri
  • Senior Electron Microscopist

Contact Info

Work Number:
785-864-4380
Haworth Hall, Room 1043
Lawrence
1200 Sunnyside Ave.
Lawrence, KS 66045

Biography —

Dr. Prem S. Thapa Chetri graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Bangladesh Institute of Technology in 1995. He received a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 2002 and earned his Ph.D. in Photonics in 2008 from Oklahoma State University. Dr. Thapa joined the University of Kansas in 2011 as a Microscopist. Prior to joining KU, he worked as a Post-doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Physics at Kansas State University from 2008-2011. Dr. Thapa also worked as a Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering/ Institute of Engineering of Tribhuvan University, Nepal from 1996-1999.

Education —

B.S. in Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Bangladesh Institute of Technology, 1995
M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Oklahoma State University, 2002
Ph.D. in Phototnics, Oklahoma State University, 2008

Research —

Research Interests

  • Development and characterization of metallic, polymeric, and biomaterial nanostructures to apply as imaging probes for correlative optical and electron microscopy.

  • Application of Polymeric Nanoprobes as a measuring tool for subcellular forces and voltages.

  • Experimental techniques to investigate size effects at small scales, nanoscale fabrication methods, and sample preparation methods for electron microscopy, imaging and analysis, and study of interfaces.

  • High-resolution electron microscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, and its application to biological, material, and geological sciences.

  • Application of focused ion beam system to micro and nanoscale structures or devices for specific research projects in scanning and transmission electron microscope.

 

Selected Publications —

United States Patent

  • Rosa-Molinar, E., Das, S. R., Thapa-Chetri, P. S., Martinez-Rivera, N., and Xing, W., “Graphene Based Substrate for Imaging” (USPTO Prov. Patent App. Ser. No.62/ 778,140); filed: December 11, 2018.

  • Flanders, B. N., Talukdar, I., Ozturk, B., and Thapa, P. S. “Methods of Making an Electrochemical Nanowire assembly and Attaching Cells There to” (United States Patent: 8137526), 2012.

Book Chapter

  • Ramanathan, A., Maheswari, R., Thapa, P. S., and  Subramaniam, B. “Rapid Room Temperature Synthesis of Ce-MCM-48: An Active Catalyst for Trans-Stilbene Epoxidation with Tert-Butyl Hydroperoxide” in “Novel Materials for Catalysis and Fuels Processing”; J. Bravo-Suarez, J., Kidder, K. M., and Schwartz, V., ACS Symposium Series, Vol. 1132: American Physical Society; 2013: Chapter 8, pp213-228

Publications

2020

  • Stephens, K., Allgeier, A., Carlson, T., Douglas, J., Howe, L., Menning, C., Neuenswander, S., Sengupta, S., Thapa, P. and Ritter, J. “A Mechanistic Study of Polyol Hydrodeoxygenation over a Bifunctional Pt-WOx/TiO2 Catalyst” ACS Catalysis.

2019

  • Al-Auda, Z., Al-Atabi, H., Li, X., Thapa, P. and Hohn, K. “Conversion of 5-Methyl-3-Heptanone to C8 Alkenes and Alkanes over Bifunctional Catalysts” Catalysts.

2018

  • Yapa, A., S., Shrestha, T. B., Wendel, S. O., Kalubowilage, M., Jing, Y., Wang, H., Pyle, M., Basel, M., T., Malalasekera, A. P., Thapa, P., S., Troyer, D. L. and Bossmann, S. H. “Peptide Nanosponges Designed for the Delivery of Perilyl Alcohol to Glioma Cells” ACS Applied Biomaterials.
  • Honghong, S., Thapa, P.S., Subramaniam, B., and Chaudhari, R.V. “Oxidation of Glucose using Mono and Bimetallic Catalysts in Base Free Conditions” Organic Process Research & Development
  • Yapa, A., S., Wang, H., Wendel, S., O., Shrestha, T. B., Kariyawasam, N., L., L., Kalubowilage, M., Perera, A., S., Pyle, M., Basel, M., T., Malalasekera, A. P., Manawadu, H., C.,  Yu, J., Toledo, Y., Ortega, R., Thapa, P., S., Smith, P., E., Troyer, D. L. and Bossmann, S. H. “Peptide Nanosponges Designed for Rapid Uptake by Leukocytes and Neural Stem Cells” Royal Society of Chemistry Advances.
  • Haider, A., Xu, L., Thapa, P., Keith, H. and Placidus, A. “Carbon Nanotube-Supported Catalysts Prepared by a Modified Photo-Fenton Process for Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis” Journal of ACS Catalysis

2017

  • Thapa, P. S., Santiago-Robles, C. M., Martinez-Rivera, N., Torres-Vazquez, I., Joshi, V. N., Powell, R. D. and Rosa-Molinar, E. “Development and Characterization of Nanoparticles as Imaging Probes for Correlative Optical and Electron Microscopy” Proceedings of 17th IEEE International Conference on Nanotechnology.
  • Liu, Q., Gong, M., Cook, B., Thapa, P., Ewing, D., Casper, M., Stramel, A., and Wu, J. “Oxygen Plasma Surface Activation of in situ Synthesized ZnO Nanoparticle Mesoporous Films for performance-enhanced Ultraviolet Photodetectors” Journal of Physica Status Solidi A- Applications and Materials Science.
  • Jin, X., Yan, H., Zeng, C., Thapa, P. S., Subramaniam, B. and Chaudhari, R. V. “Phase Transformed PtFe Nanocomposites Show Enhanced Catalytic Performances in Oxidation of Glycerol to Tartronic Acid” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
  • Abayaweera, G. S., Wang, H., Shrestha, T. B., Yu, J., Angle, K., Thapa, P., Malalasekera, A. P., Maurmann, L., Troyer, D. L. and Bossmann, S. H. “Synergy of Iron Chelators and Therapeutic Peptide Sequences Delivered Via a Magnetic Nanocarrier” Journal of Functional Biomaterials.
  • Wang, H., Yapa, A., Kariyawasam, N., Shrestha, T. B., Wendel, S. O., Yu, J., Pyle, M., Basel, M. T., Malalasekera, A. P., Toledo, Y., Ortega, R., Thapa, P. S., Huang. H., Sun, S. X., Smith, P. E., Troyer, D. L. and Bossmann, S. H. “Rationally Designed Peptide Nanosponges for Cell-Based Cancer Therapy” Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine.
  • Jin, X., Bobba, P., Reding, N., Song, Z., Thapa, P. S., Prasad, G., Subramaniam, B. and Chaudhari, R.V. “Kinetic modeling of carboxylation of propylene oxide to propylene carbonate using ion-exchange resin catalyst in a semi-batch slurry reactor” Chemical Engineering Science.
  • Du, F., Jin, X., Yan. W., Zhao, M., Thapa, P. S. and Chaudhari, R. V. “Catalytic H2 auto-transfer amination of polyols to alkyl amines in one pot using supported Ru catalysts” Catalysis Today.
  • Jin, X., Zeng, C., Yan, W., Zhao, M., Bobba, P., Shi, H., Thapa, P., Subramaniam, B. and Chaudhari, R. V. “Effects of Lattice Distortion Induced Electron Coupling in Exceptional Enhancement in the Activity of Bimetallic PtMn Nanocatalysts.” Applied Catalysis A.
  • Basnet, G., Panta, K. R., Thapa, P. S., and Flanders, B. N. “Controlled Electrochemical Growth of Ultra-Long Gold Nanoribbons” Appl. Phys. Lett. 110.

2016

  • Dou, J., Nguyen, L, Tong, X., Thapa, P. S., and Tao, F. “ Oxidation of Cyclohexene Catalyzed by Nanoporous Au(Ag) in Liquid Phase.” Journal of Catalysis Letters.
  • Wahome, N., Cooper, A., Thapa, P., Chaudhari, S., Gao, F.P., Volkin, D.B., Middaugh, C.R, “Production of Well-Characterized Virus-like Particles in an Escherichia coli-Based Expression Platform for Preclinical Vaccine Assessments.” Methods Mol Biol.
  • Jin, X., Thapa, P., Subramaniam, B. and Chaudhari, R. V. “Kinetic Modeling of Sorbitol Hydrogenolysis over Bimetallic RuRe/C Catalyst.” ACS Sustain. Chem.
  • Jin, X., Zhao, M., Zeng, C., Yan, W., Song, Z., Thapa, P. S., Subramaniam, B. and Chaudhari, R. V. “Oxidation of Glycerol to Dicarboxylic Acids Using Cobalt Catalysts.” ACS Catalysis.
  • Jin, X., Zhao, M., Vora, M., Shen, J., Zeng, C., Yan, W., Thapa, P. S., Subramaniam, B. and Chaudhari, R. V. “Synergistic Effects of Bimetallic PtPd/TiO2 Nanocatalysts in Oxidation of Glucose to Glucaric Acid: Structure Dependent Activity and Selectivity.” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
  • Jin, X., Zhao, M., Yan, W., Zeng, C., Bobba, P., Thapa, P. S., Subramaniam, B. and Chaudhari, R. V. “ Anisotropic Growth of PtFe Nanoclusters Induced by Lattice-Mismatch: Efficient Catalysts for Oxidation of Biopolyols to Carboxylic Acid Derivatives.” Journal of Catalysis.

2015

  • Jin, X., Subramaniam, B., Chaudhari, R. V. and Thapa, P. S. “Kinetic modeling of Pt/C catalyzed aqueous phase glycerol conversion with in situ formed hydrogen.” AIChE Journal.
  • Jin, X., Shen, J., Yan, W., Zhao, M., Thapa, P. S., Subramaniam, B. and Chaudhari, R. V. “Sorbitol Hydrogenolysis over Hybrid Cu/CaO-Al2O3 Catalysts: Tunable Activity and Selectivity with Solid Base Incorporation.” ACS Catalysis.
  • Telikepalli, S., Shinogle, H. E., Thapa, P. S., Kim, J. H., Deshpande, M., Jawa, V., Middaugh, R. C., Narhi, L. O., Joubert, M. K., and Volkin, D. B. “Physical Characterization and in Vitro Biological Impact of Highly Aggregated Antibodies Separated into Size Enriched Populations by FACS” Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
  • jin, X., Zhao, M., Shen, J., Yan, W., He, L., Thapa, P. S., Ren, S., Subramaniam, B. and Chaudhari, R. V. “Exceptional Performance of Bimetallic Pt1Cu3/TiO2 Nanocatalysts for Oxidation of Gluconic Acid and Glucose with O2 to Glucaric Acid.” Journal of Catalysis.
  • Wang, H., Hodgson, J., Shrestha, T. B., Basel, G. M., Pyle, M., Toledo, Y., Thapa, P.S., Ikenberry, M., Hohn, K., Chikan, V., Troyer, D.L. and Bossmann, S. H.,“Hexagonal Magnetite Nanoprisms: Preparation, Characterization and Cellular Uptake” Journal of Material Chemistry B.

2014

  • Ramanathan, A., Hongda, Z., Maheswari, R., Thapa, P., and Subramaniam, B. “A Comparative Study of Nb-Incorporated Cubic Mesoporous Silicates as Epoxidation Catalysts.” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
  • Podaru, G., Ogden, S., Baxter, A., Shrestha, T., Ren, S., Thapa, P., Dani, R. K., Wang, H., Basel, M. T., Prakash, P., Bossmann, S. H., and Chikan, V. “Pulsed Magnetic Field Induced Fast Drug Release from Magneto Liposomes via Ultrasound Generation.” The Journal of Physical Chemistry.
  • Ozan, K. S., Joshi, S. B., Thapa, P., Pheasey, N., Bullock, P. S., Bashiri, H., Siska, C. S., Kerwin, B. A., He, F., Volkin, D. B., and Middaugh, R. C. “Characterization of an Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus Drug Candidate” Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
  • Pandey, B., Cox, C., Thapa, P. S., and Ito Takashi, “Potentiometric Response Characteristics of Oxide-Coated Gallium Electrodes in Aqueous Solutions” Electrochim. Acta.
  • Wang, H., Hodgson, J., Shrestha, T. B., Thapa, P.S., Moore, D., Wu, X., Ikenberry, M., Troyer, D.L., Wand, D., Hohn, K., Bossmann, S. H., “Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation to Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Using an Iron/Iron Oxide Nanocatalyst ” Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology.

2013

  • Sukthankar, P., Gudlur, S., Avila, A. L., Whitaker, S. K., Katz, B. B., Hiromasa, Y., Gao, J., Thapa, P., Moore, D., Iwamoto, T., Chen, J. and Tomich, J. M. “Branched-Oligopeptide Forms Capsules with Lipid Vesicle-Like Characteristics ” Langmuir.
  • Jin, X., Roy, D., Thapa, P. S., Subramaniam, B. and Chaudhari, R. V. “Atom Economical Aqueous-Phase Conversion (APC) of Biopolyols to Lactic Acid, Glycols, and Linear Alcohols Using Supported Metal Catalysts.” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.
  • Liu, J. W., Lu, R., Xu, G., Wu, J., Thapa, P., and Moore, D., “Development of Seedless Floating Growth Process in Solution for Synthesis of Crystalline ZnO Micro/Nanowire Arrays on Graphene: Towards High-Performance Nanohybrid Ultraviolet  Photodetectors.” Adv. Func. Mater.

2012

  • Wang, H. W., Shrestha, T. B., Seo, G. M., Basel, M. T., Dani, R. K., Seo, G. M.,  Balivada, S., Pyle, M., Prock, H., Koper, O. B., Thapa, P. S., Moore, D., Li, P., Chikan, V., Troyer, D. L. and  Bossmann S. H.,“Magnetic –Fe/Fe3O4-Nanoparticle-Bound SN38 as Carboxylesterase-Cleavable Prodrug for the Delivery to Tumors Within Monocytes/Macrophages.” Beilstein J. Nanotechnology, 9.
  • Shrestha, T. B., Seo, G. M., Basel, M. T., Kalita, M., Wang, H. W., Villanueva, D., Pyle, M., Balivada, S., Rachakatla, R. S., Shinogle, H., Thapa, P. S., Moore, D., Troyer, D. L. and Bossmann S. H.,“Stem Cell-Based Photodynamic Therapy.” Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences.
  • Pandey, B., Thapa, P. S., Higgins, D. A., and Ito Takashi, “Formation of Self-Organized Nanoporous Anodic Oxide from Metallic Gallium.” Langmuir.
  • Paneru, G., Thapa, P. S., McBride, S. P., Rann, A., Law, B. M. and Flanders, B. N, “Long Reach Cantileveres for Sub-Cellular Force Measurements.” Nanotechnology, 23.

2011

  • Paneru, G., Thapa, P. S., McBride, S. P., Moore, D. S., Law, B. M. and Flanders, B. N. “Forces at Individual Pseudopod-Filament Adhesive Contacts.” Appl. Phys. Lett., 99.

2009

  • Thapa, P. S., Ackerson, B.J., Grischkowsky, D. R. and Flanders, B. N. “Directional Growth of Metallic and Polymeric Nanowires.” Nanotechnology, 20.
  • Thapa, P. S., Yu, D. J., Wicksted, J. P., Hadwiger, J. A., Barisci, J. N., Baughman, R. H. and Flanders, B. N. “Directional Growth of Conducting Polypyrrole and Polythiophene nanowires.” Appl. Phys. Lett., 94.
  • Dale, E., Ganta, D., Stoian, R. I., Thapa, P., Yu, D.J., Flanders, B.N. and Rosenberger, A. T. “Spatially Localized Enhancement of Evanescent Coupling to Whispering-Gallery Modes at 1550 nm due to Surface Plasmon Resonances of Au Nanowire Fragments.” International Quantum Electronics Conference.

2007

  • Su, A.; Tan, S., Thapa, P. S., Flanders, B.N. and Ford, W.T. “Highly Ordered Langmuir-Blodgett Films of Amphiphilic Poly (Propylene imine) Dendrimers.” J. Phys. Chem. C, 111(12) 4695-4701.