We are pleased to announce that the invention titled “A Filtration Membrane with a Thin Film Nanocomposite Interlayer Doped with Carbon-Titanium Dioxide Nanomaterial Capable of Generating Electrical Energy from Solar Energy and Its Production Method,” jointly developed by Cem Bayram and Boğaç Kılıçaslan, has been awarded the gold medal at the ISIF ’26 exhibition held within the scope of Teknofest. We congratulate Boğaç on this achievement and look forward to the continued progress of his research.

We would like to share the graduation of Zülal Nur Yerlikaya, our Chemical Engineering student, who contributed to our research group as a STAR Program Scholar and 2209 Program Researcher. We appreciate her diligent work and the responsibility during the time spent in our group. As she begins her new role at Nobel İlaç, we congratulate her on her degree and wish her success in her professional career.

Our project titled “Development and In Vitro Evaluation of Biodegradable Janus Membranes with Piezoelectric and Mucoadhesive Properties for Guided Bone Regeneration” will be supported by TÜBİTAK under the “1001 – Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program”. Traditional membranes function merely as physical shields, excluding soft tissue but failing to provide the active biophysical cues necessary to orchestrate cellular behavior. This project represents a decisive paradigm shift, transitioning from inert barriers to “bio-instructive” therapeutic devices. By integrating molecular crystal engineering with natural polymer chemistry, we are developing a smart, biodegradable Janus system designed to resolve the performance-biocompatibility dilemma.

We are more than happy to share our most recent publication. “TiO2 Nanorod Entrapped Coaxially Dry Jet Wet Spun PVDF Hollow Fiber Membranes for E. Coli Contaminated-Water Purification Applications” in Polymer Engineering & Science, Wiley. Our results show that the shape of the TiO2 nanomaterials in composite hollow fiber membranes is critical. Shifting from 0D nanoparticles to 1D nanowires and nanorods boosts the membrane’s ability to filter contaminated water and also prevents the nanomaterials themselves from leaking into the clean water. Last but not least, Boğaç has now completed all the necessary steps to submit his doctoral thesis and is now eligible to submit it. Well done.

Our review article, which provides an in-depth investigation of graphene-based neural electrodes from material design to application scenarios, has been published in the Journal of Material Chemsitry B. In this review, we comparatively summarize existing work on electrochemical neural electrodes based on graphene and graphene-related materials through groundwork for various approaches, aiming to provide an overview of the field, highlight the motivations behind the research, and identify potential improvement strategies for future research. Big Congrats to Muhammed Zahid Doğan, on the success he demonstrated in this meticulous study and wish him continued success.. (link)

Another collaboration with Medical Genetics and Medical Surgical Research of Hacettepe University has recently come to fruition and our paper on the role of hierarchical titanium dioxide nanotopographies in influencing stem cell behavior and their potential use in future therapeutic applications has been published in the Journal of The Royal Society Interface (Q1). The ability to control surface nanotopography and tailor cell responses offers a versatile approach to optimizing cell-based therapies. Congratulations to all researchers involved in this successful study. (link)

Eylül successfully completed her thesis, which was entitled “Synthesis of Black Titanium Dioxide Nanostructures by Electrochemical Methods and Evaluation of Their Antibacterial Properties”. The focus of the study was the applicability of titania nanotube arrays, whose band gap was narrowed by electrochemical reduction methods, under in vitro conditions. We wish her continued success in her academic career.

Ayşenur and Zahid have successfully passed their PhD qualifying exams and are now officially PhD candidates!

During the November 1st-3rd, we fully participated in the 28th BIOMED Symposium organized by Kocaeli University and under the auspices of the Turkish Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Society (BTES).

Ayşenur, Zahid, Osman and Eylül attracted the crowd with their posters while Boğaç presented a joint research with medical genetics department of our University

At the highly productive event, Eylül’s poster from her master’s thesis was awarded third place. Well deserved!

The project titled “Production and Characterization of TiO2 Doped PVDF Nanocomposite in Four Different Forms for Piezoelectric Nanogenerators” submitted to the Presidency of the Turkish Health Institutes (TÜSEB) by Osman Arslan, the newest member of our group, was found suitable for support! With this project, Osman will investigate how 0, 1, 2 and 3 dimensional nano TiO2 materials affect the piezoelectric properties of PVDF. We congratulate him for this great success he achieved at the beginning of his career.