Office: Science Builing II, room 2003
Phone: 818 677 2942
e-mail: radha.ranganathan@csun.edu

Research interests: Combine Time Resolved Fluorescence Quenching (TRFQ) and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) to determine the physico-chemical and biophysical properties of molecular aggregates and molecules of biological interest with the goal of understanding their basic function. Through collaborations with scientists at other institutions both within and outside the U.S., other experimental techniques including Small Angle Neutron Scattering and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance are also employed.

Our laboratories are equipped with a nanosecond flashlamp pumped lifetime spectrometer (Edinburgh Instruments, FL900); two Bruker ESP 300 E ESR spectrometers, a Krüss K12 tensiometer for Surface Tension, a Wayne-Kerr Precision Component Analyzer, Model 6430 A for measuring desired electrical properties with high precision and facilities for sample preparation.

Currently working on mixed micelles, degradation of phospholipids by Phospholipases and enzyme kinetics at interfaces.  Research is presently funded by NIH.

Undergraduate and Graduate Research projects are available. Please enquire via email or call 818 677 2942.

List of Recent Publications

15) Radha Ranganathan, Celize Maia Tcacenco, Renato Rosseto, and  Joseph Hajdu; Characterization of the Kinetics of Phospholipase C Activity toward Mixed Micelles of Sodium Deoxycholate and Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine, Biophys. Chem.  122 79-89 (2006).

14) ESR and NMR Studies of Poly (amidoamine) Dendrimers with Ionic Surfactants in Different Media, M.S. Bakshi , R. Sood,  Radha Ranganathan, and Paul Shin, Colloid and Polymer Science 284 58-65  (2005).

13) Peter C. Griffiths, Alison Paul, Zeena Khayat, Richard K Heenan, Radha Ranganathan, Isobel Grillo; A small-angle neutron scattering study of biologically relevant mixed surfactant micelles comprising of 1,2-diheptanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and sodium dodecyl sulfate or dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide, Soft Matter 1(2), 152-159 (2005)

12) Radha Ranganathan, Carolina Vautier-Giongo, Mandeep Bakshi, Barney L. Bales, and Joseph Hajdu; Phospholipid containing mixed micelles. Characterization of Mixed Micelles of (i) diheptanoyl phosphatidylcholine (DHPC) and sodium dodecyl sulfate and (ii) DHPC and dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide as substrates ; Chem. Phys. Lipids, 135 93-104 (2005)

11) Carolina Vautier-Giongo, Mandeep Singh Bakshi, Jasmeet Singh, Radha Ranganathan, Joseph Hajdu and Barney L. Bales; Effects of interactions on the formation of mixed micelles of 1,2-diheptanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine with sodium dodecyl sulfate and dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide, J. Coll. Int. Sci., 282 149-155 (2005).

10) L.J.Milton Gaspar, Geetha Baskar, B.S. Reddy, Radha Ranganathan, and Miroslav Peric; Effect of N-Glycinyl Maleamic Acid On Microstructural Characteristics and Solubilization Properties Of SDS Micellar Assemblies, Langmuir 20 9029-9035 (2004).

9) P.C. Griffiths, A. Paul, R.K. Heenan, J. Penfold, Radha Ranganathan, and Barney L. Bales, Role of counterion concentration in determining micelle aggregation; evaluation of the combination of constraints from small-angle neutron scattering, electron paramagnetic resonance and time-resolved fluorescence quenching, J. Phys. Chem. B 108, 3810-3816 (2004)

8) P.C. Griffiths, A.Y.F. Cheung, C. Farley, A. Paul, R.K. Heenan, S.M. King, E. Petersson, P. Stilbs, Radha Ranganathan, Small-Angle Neutron Scattering, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, Electrophoretic NMR, and Time Resolved Fluorescence Quenching Studies of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate and Tetra (ethylene oxide) Dodecyl Ether Mixed Surfactant Micelles, J. Phys. Chem. B, 108, 1351-1356 (2004)

7) Radha Ranganathan, Carolina Vautier-Giongo, and Barney L. Bales, Toward a Hydrodynamic Description of Bimolecular Collisions in Micelles. An Experimental Test of the Effect of the Nature of the Quencher on the Fluorescence Quenching of Pyrene in SDS Micelles and in Bulk Liquids, J. Phys. Chem. B, 107, 10312-10318 (2003)

6) Radha Ranganathan, M. Peric, R. Medina, U. Garcia, and B. L. Bales, “Size, Hydration, and Shape of SDS/Heptane Micelles Investigated by Time Resolved Florescence Quenching and Electron Spin Resonance, Langmuir, 17, 6765-6770, (2001)

5) Barney L Bales, Radha Ranganathan, and P. C. Griffiths, Characterization of Mixed Micelles of SDS and a Sugar-Based Nonionic Surfactant as a Variable Reaction Medium; J. Phys. Chem.  B, 105(31), 7465-7473 (2001)

4)  Radha Ranganathan, Linh Tran, and Barney L Bales,  Salt Induced Growth of Normal Sodium Alkyl Sulphate Micelles Well above their Critical Micelle Concentrations; The Journal of Physical Chemistry B; 104 (10); 2260-2264, (2000)

3) Radha Ranganathan, Laura T. Okano, Chang Yihwa, and Frank H Quina, Growth of Cetyltrimethylammonium Chloride and Acetate Micelles with Counterion concentration, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 214, 238-242, (1999).

2) Radha Ranganathan, Chang Yihwa, Elena O. Alonso and Frank H Quina, Salt Effects on the Dynamics of Incorporation of Organic Coions into Micelles; Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 103, J. Phys. Chem. B (1999).

1) Radha Ranganathan, Miroslav Peric, and Barney L Bales, Time Resolved Fluorescence Quenching Measurements of the Aggregation Numbers of Normal Sodium Alkyl Sulfate Micelles Well above the Critical Micelle Concentrations; Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 102, 8436 (1998).