The Culha Laboratory
Mustafa Culha, PhD
Professor, Chemistry
Research Summary
Dr. Mustafa Culha obtained his MS degree from Wake Forest University, NC, and his Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Dr. Culha aims to utilize nanotechnology and photonics concepts in medicine and biotechnology. His current research interest includes elements from chemistry, medicine, material science, photonics, and nanoscience and nanotechnology. He and his colleagues have authored of more than 130 papers in refereed international journals, several book chapters and 5 patents in the areas of analytical and bioanalytical chemistry, and nanobiotechnology. He advised 13 PhD, and more than 25 MS students. He completed several research projects supported by European Commission and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). He is a Society for Applied Spectroscopy Fellow, and the president of The Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS) for the 2023-2025 term. He has several editorial duties including Associate Editor for Frontiers Nanobiotechnology, and on the editorial board of Applied Spectroscopy, Biology, Applied Sciences, and Journal of Molecular Structure. He also edited the NanoSpectroscopy special issue of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.
Research Interests
Prof. Culha’s research focuses on the implementation of the nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology concepts for the solution of today’s challenging problems such as cancer detection and treatment. One of his major research directions is the biomedical applications of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) addressing more accurate and early cancer detection and diagnosis from “liquid-biopsy”, clinical microbial and biofilm detection and identification, and single cell analysis. The synthesis of hexagonal boron nitrides (hBNs) and boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and their applications in drug delivery and cancer treatment, and DNA nanotechnology for drug delivery and gene regulation are other ongoing research efforts in his research group. In addition, he focuses on nanomaterial safety and self-assembly by implementing safe-by-design concept to construct more sustainable and environmentally friendly novel structures and devices for uses in various industrial applications.