Mohammad Kalantari specialises in innovative nanobiocatalysts, the rational design of nano‐carriers for modern enzyme immobilization.
Supplemental enzymes have become common additives to animal feeds. Among these enzymes, lipase aids fat digestion and subsequent improvement of feed efficiency and animal growth. However, the effectiveness of free lipase is significantly reduced by its limited activity and low resistance to heating process during nutrition pellet fabrication and to strong stomach acid. Immobilization of lipase on silica nanomaterials is regarded as a promising approach to improve lipase activity and stability. Unfortunately, there is a lack of understanding on the relationship between structure/functionality of silica nanomaterials and their improvement on immobilized lipase activity and stability. Moreover, the application of silica nanomaterials immobilized with lipase in animal feed has not been reported. Here, we aim to develop an effective and stable enzyme additive in animal feed by immobilizing lipase on novel silica nanomaterials with optimized functionality and structure. Our study will pave the way towards the development of next-generation, highly effective enzyme additives in animal feed for improved animal health and growth.
Mohammad obtained his B.Sc. in chemical engineering at Isfahan University of Technology (IUT, Isfahan, Iran). Afterwards, he got his M.Sc. degree in chemical engineering at Sharif University of Technology (SUT, Tehran, Iran). In 2014, Mohammad joined the group of Professor Chengzhong (Michael) Yu at AIBN for his doctorate thesis, devoted to the immobilization of enzymes on mesoporous silica materials for biocatalytic applications.
Key Publications
Mohammad Kalantari, Meihua Yu, Yannan Yang, Ekaterina Strounina, Zhengying Gu, Xiaodan Huang, Jun Zhang, Hao Song and Chengzhong Yu, Tailoring Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Robust Immobilization of Lipase and Biocatalysis, Nano Research, 2017, (10) 605-617.
Mohammad Kalantari, Meihua Yu, Owen Noonan, Hao Song, Chun Xu, Xiaodan Huang, Feixiang Xiang, Xiaolin Wang, Chengzhong Yu, Rattle-type magnetic mesoporous hollow carbon as a high-performance and reusable adsorbent for water treatment, Chemosphere, 2017 (166) 109-117.
Mohammad Kalantari, Mohammad Kazemeini, Fatemeh Tabandeh, and Ayyoob Arpanaei, Lipase immobilisation on magnetic silica nanocomposite particles: effects of the silica structure on the properties of immobilized enzyme, Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2012 (22) 8385-8393.
Mohammad Kalantari, Mohammad Kazemeini, Ayyoob Arpanaei, Evaluation of Biodiesel Production Using Lipase Immobilized on the Magnetic Silica Nanocomposite Particles of Various Structures, Biochemical Engineering Journal, 2013 (79) 267-273.
Mohammad Kalantari, Mohammad Kazemeini, Ayyoob Arpanaei, Facile Fabrication and Characterization of Amino-functionalized Fe3O4 Cluster@SiO2 Core/Shell Nanocomposite Spheres, Journal of Materials Research Bulletin, 2013 (48) 2023-2028.
Full list of publications available at UQ eSpace
Funding
2014-Present- UQ Graduate School International Scholarship (Tuition+ Living)