Publications

My work spans protein language models and AI-guided peptide prediction, molecular simulations and membrane biophysics, food protein structure–function modeling, non-covalent interaction chemistry, and computational drug discovery platforms. Below is a curated list of manuscripts, peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, databases, and intellectual property contributions.

Citation metrics: Citations 400+ · h-index 11 · i10-index 11. A live list is available on Google Scholar .

25+
Peer-reviewed
articles
7+
Submitted /
in preparation
8+
Book
chapters
1
Patent

Selected highlights

Journal cover for pLM4CPPs Cover
AI / ML
pLM4CPPs: Protein Language Model-Based Predictor for Cell Penetrating Peptides
Kumar, N. Du, Z. Li, Y. J. Chem. Inf. Model., 2025, 65, 1128 View article
Introduced a protein language model-based deep learning framework for predicting cell-penetrating peptides.
Journal cover for Snakin-Z membrane study Cover
Membranes
Membrane Selectivity Mechanisms of the Antimicrobial Peptide Snakin-Z Against Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Membrane Models
Kumar, N. Du, Z. Amachawadi, R. G. Guo, X. Zhao, J. Li, Y. J. Phys. Chem. B, 2025, 129, 4409 View article
Provided atomistic insight into how antimicrobial peptides discriminate between bacterial and mammalian membrane models.
Journal cover for alpha-gliadin study Cover
Food proteins
Solvent-Dependent Structural and Dynamic Behavior of α-Gliadin in Aqueous Ethanol Systems: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Kumar, N. Li, Y. Food Chemistry, 2025, 497, 147044 View article
Used molecular simulations to connect ethanol-water environments with α-gliadin structural dynamics and aggregation-relevant behavior.
Journal cover for non-covalent bonds study Cover
Non-covalent
Towards Developing a Criterion to Characterize Non-Covalent Bonds
Kumar, N. Saha, S. Sastry, G. N. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2021, 23, 8478 View article
Developed quantum mechanical insight into the characterization and interpretation of non-covalent bonding.
Journal cover for A2ID 2.0 Cover
Databases
Analyzing the Aromatic–Aromatic Interactions in Proteins: A2ID 2.0
Kumar, Y. B. Kumar, N. Vaikundamani, S. et al. Int. J. Biol. Macromol., 2023, 127207 View article
Contributed to a protein interaction database supporting systematic analysis of aromatic–aromatic interactions.
Journal cover for chickpea review Cover
Review
Comprehensive Review of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum): Nutritional Significance, Health Benefits, Techno-functionalities, and Food Applications
Kumar, N. Hong, S. Zhu, Y. et al. Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf., 2025, 24, e70152 View article
Synthesized current knowledge on chickpea nutrition, functionality, health relevance, and food applications.

Journal covers

Selected journal covers and representative publication venues highlighting research contributions in protein language models, molecular simulations, membrane biophysics, food protein science, computational chemistry, and AI-driven molecular discovery. Clicking a cover redirects to the corresponding journal or publication page.

JCIM

J. Chem. Inf. Model.

pLM4CPPs for cell penetrating peptides
MMB

Methods in Molecular Biology

UniDL4BioPep for bioactive peptide predictions
JPCB

J. Phys. Chem. B

Selectivity of Snakin-Z against microbial membranes
PROT

Proteins

Database for mining cation-aromatic interactions in proteins
FC

Food Chemistry

Multiscale modeling of α-Gliadin, Ovalbumin proteins · NIR-ML
PCCP

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.

Development of parameters for non-covalent intteractions
IJBM

Int. J. Biol. Macromol.

Database for mining aromatic-aromatic interactions in proteins · modeling of myofibrillar protein
JCS

J Chem Sci

perspective on the nature of cation-π interactions, development of MPDS-TB
JMM

J Mol Model

Modeling and simulation for herbicide discovery
MD

Molecular Diversity

Development of MPDS modules such as compound and fragment library
JMGM

J. Mol. Graph. Model.

Lipid heterogeneity simulations
JBSD

J. Biomol. Struct. Dyn.

Drug repurposing
GS

Gigabyte

Molecular Property Diagnostic Suite for COVID-19
MDVD

Methods and Protocols in Food Science

MD simulations for veterinary drugs
CRFSFS

Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf.

Chickpea review
FRI

Food Research International

Ovalbumin allergenicity
MPFC

Methods and Protocols in Food Science

Free amino and sulfhydryl group content
Foods

Foods

Frozen dough cryoprotection
CTN

Sorghum and Millets

Protein chemistry, structure and functional properties
WMB

World J Microbiol Biotechnol

DFT for Characterizing arsenic tolerance
TCA

Theor Chem Acc

Solvation of metal ions
JCC

J Comput Chem

Binding propensity and selectivity of ions
Frontiers

Frontiers in Chemistry

Metal ion water interactions
RSC

RSC Advances

Charactrization of covalent and non-covalent interactions

Selected highly cited works

HC
Towards Developing a Criterion to Characterize Non-Covalent Bonds: A Quantum Mechanical Study
Kumar, N. Saha, S. Sastry, G. N. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2021, 23, 8478 View article
A major contribution to quantum mechanical interpretation of non-covalent bond characterization.
HC
A Perspective on the Nature of Cation-π Interactions
Kumar, N. Gaur, A. S. Sastry, G. N. J. Chem. Sci., 2021, 133, 97 View article
Summarized mechanistic and energetic features of cation–π interactions relevant to biomolecular recognition.
HC
Comprehensive Review of Chickpea: Nutritional Significance, Health Benefits, Functionalities, and Food Applications
Kumar, N. Hong, S. Zhu, Y. et al. Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf., 2025, 24, e70152 View article
A broad review covering nutritional, functional, and food application aspects of chickpea.
HC
Study of Lipid Heterogeneity on Bilayer Membranes Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Kumar, N. Sastry, G. N. J. Mol. Graph. Model., 2021, 108, 108000 View article
Demonstrated molecular simulation-based analysis of lipid heterogeneity and membrane organization.

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Solvent-Dependent Structural and Dynamic Behavior of α-Gliadin in Aqueous Ethanol Systems: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Kumar, N. Li, Y. Food Chemistry, 2025, 497, 147044 View article
Ferrichrysin Siderophore from Gangetic Aspergillus japonicus: Isolation, Characterization, and Role in Sustained Arsenic Tolerance
Singh, A. Kumar, R. Kumar, N. Barvkar, V. T. Kumari, S. Kumar, Y. B. Pable, A. A. Shukla, E. Srivastava, A. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2025, 41, 477 View article
Modification of Structural Properties and Potential Allergenicity of Ovalbumin Induced by Ultrasound Treatment During in vitro Digestion
Yang, J. Kumar, N. Kuang, H. Li, Y. Song, J. Food Chemistry, 2025, 493, 146015 View article
Membrane Selectivity Mechanisms of Antimicrobial Peptide Snakin-Z against Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Membrane Models
Kumar, N. Du, Z. Amachawadi, R. G. Guo, X. Zhao, J. Li, Y. J. Phys. Chem. B, 2025, 129, 4409 View article
pLM4CPPs: Protein Language Model-Based Predictor for Cell Penetrating Peptides
Kumar, N. Du, Z. Li, Y. J. Chem. Inf. Model., 2025, 65, 1128 View article
Comprehensive Review of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum): Nutritional Significance, Health Benefits, Functionalities, and Food Applications
Kumar, N. Hong, S. Zhu, Y. Garay, A. Yang, J. Henderson, D. Zhang, X. Xu, Y. Li, Y. Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf., 2025, 24, e70152 View article
Changes of Digestive Stability and Potential Allergenicity of High Hydrostatic Pressure-Treated Ovalbumin During in vitro Digestion
Yang, J. Kumar, N. Kuang, H. Song, J. Li, Y. Food Chemistry, 2025, 473, 142962 View article
Changes of Structure Properties and Potential Allergenicity of Ovalbumin under High Hydrostatic Pressures
Yang, J. Kuang, H. Kumar, N. Song, J. Li, Y. Food Research International, 2024, 190, 114658 View article
Pea Protein-Stabilized Emulsion as a High-Performance Cryoprotectant in Frozen Dough: Effects on the Storage Stability and Baking Performance
Chen, Y. Kumar, N. Zhu, X. Foods, 2024, 13, 3840 View article
Co-Stabilization Effects of Gluten/Carrageenan to the Over-Heated Myofibrillar Protein: Inhibit the Undesirable Gel Weakening and Protein Over-Aggregations
Zhu, X. Kumar, N. Li, Y. Dong, Z. Int. J. Biol. Macromol., 2024, 282, 136722 View article
Molecular Property Diagnostic Suite for COVID-19 (MPDS COVID-19): An Open Access Disease-Specific Drug Discovery Portal
Priyadarshinee, L. Kumar, N. Sastry, G. N. GigaByte, 2024, 117 View article
Analyzing the Aromatic–Aromatic Interactions in Proteins: A2ID 2.0
Kumar, Y. B. Kumar, N. Vaikundamani, S. Nagamani, S. Mahanta, H. J. Sastry, G. M. Sastry, G. N. Int. J. Biol. Macromol., 2023, 127207 View article
Analyzing the Cation–Aromatic Interactions in Proteins: Cation-Aromatic Database V2.0
Kumar, Y. B. Kumar, N. John, L. Mahanta, H. J. Vaikundamani, S. Nagamani, S. Sastry, G. M. Sastry, G. N. Proteins, 2023, 92, 179–191 View article
Molecular Property Diagnostic Suite Compound Library (MPDS-CL): A Structure-Based Classification of the Chemical Space
Jhon, L. Kumar, N. Sastry, G. N. Molecular Diversity, 2023 View preprint
Tracing the Transition from Covalent to Non-Covalent Functionalization of Pyrene through C-, N-, and O-Based Ionic and Radical Substrates Using Quantum Mechanical Calculations
Pandey, A. Kumar, N. RSC Advances, 2023, 13, 14119 View article
First Principle Calculations on the Micro-Solvation of 3d-Transition Metal Ions: Solvation vs Splitting Water
Kumar, Y. B. Kumar, N. Sharma, H. Sastry, G. N. Theor. Chem. Acc., 2023, 142, 35 View article
Binding Propensity and Selectivity of Cationic, Anionic and Neutral Guests with Model Hydrophobic Hosts: A First Principles Study
Kumar, Y. B. Pandey, A. Kumar, N. Sastry, G. N. J. Comput. Chem., 2022, 44, 432–441 View article
Towards Systematic Exploration of Chemical Space: Building the Fragment Library Module in Molecular Property Diagnostic Suite
Gaur, A. S. John, L. Kumar, N. Vivek, R. M. Nagamani, S. Mahanta, H. J. Sastry, G. N. Molecular Diversity, 2022 View article
6-Ethoxy-4-N-(2-Morpholin-4-Ylethyl)-2-N-Propan-2-yl-1,3,5-Triazine-2,4-Diamine Endows Herbicidal Activity Against Phalaris Minor a Weed of Wheat Crop Field: An in-Silico and Experimental Approaches of Herbicide Discovery
Kumar, N. Rani, P. Agarwal, S. Singh, D. V. J. Mol. Model., 2022, 28, 77 View article
Repurposing of Approved Drugs to Predict New Inhibitors for Viral Infectious Diseases: A Molecular Modelling Approach
Kumar, N. Sharma, H. Sastry, G. N. J. Biomol. Struct. Dyn., 2022, 40, 8056–8073 View article
Towards Developing a Criterion to Characterize Non-Covalent Bonds: A Quantum Mechanical Study
Kumar, N. Saha, S. Sastry, G. N. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2021, 23, 8478 View article
Fate of Sc-Ion Interaction with Water: A Computational Study to Address Splitting Water Versus Solvating Sc Ion
Kumar, N. Kumar, Y. B. Sharma, H. Sastry, G. N. Frontiers in Chemistry, 2021, 9, 738852 View article
Study of Lipid Heterogeneity on Bilayer Membranes Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Kumar, N. Sastry, G. N. J. Mol. Graph. Model., 2021, 108, 108000 View article
A Perspective on the Nature of Cation-π Interactions
Kumar, N. Gaur, A. S. Sastry, G. N. J. Chem. Sci., 2021, 133, 97 View article
Assessing Therapeutic Potential of Molecules: Molecular Property Diagnostic Suite for Tuberculosis
Gaur, A. S. Kumar, N. Sastry, G. N. J. Chem. Sci., 2017, 129, 515 View article

Manuscripts submitted / under preparation

Molecular Mechanisms of Ice Recognition in Wild-Type and Disulfide-Stabilized FfIBP Variants: An All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Study
Kumar, N. Li, Y. 2026. Under preparation
Focuses on atomistic mechanisms of ice recognition and structural stabilization in ice-binding protein variants.
Atomistic Insights into α-Gliadin Dimerization and Early Aggregation in Mixed Ethanol–Water Environments
Kumar, N. Li, Y. 2026. Under preparation
Investigates early protein–protein association and aggregation behavior of α-gliadin in mixed solvent environments.
pLM4G-CPPs: Protein Language Model-Guided Graph Learning for Cell-Penetrating Peptides Prediction
Kumar, N. Li, Y. 2026. Under preparation
Extends protein language model-based peptide prediction toward graph-based sequence and structure representation learning.
Concentration-Dependent Mechanisms of Melittin-Induced Pore Formation in Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic Membranes
Kumar, N. Li, Y. 2026. Under preparation
Examines how peptide concentration regulates pore formation and membrane disruption across different membrane models.
Machine Learning-Driven NIR Spectroscopy for Rapid Prediction and Classification of Wheat Baking Quality
Zhou, J. Kumar, N. Wu, X. Tilley, M. Zhang, G. Fritz, A. Li, Y. Food Chemistry, 2026. Submitted
Applies machine learning to NIR spectroscopy for rapid wheat quality prediction and classification.
All-Atom to Coarse-Grained Simulations of Food Proteins: Principles, Force Fields, and Applications
Kwon, H. Kumar, N. Comer, J. Li, Y. Food Chemistry, 2026. Submitted
Reviews simulation strategies connecting all-atom and coarse-grained models for food protein applications.
Charge-Mediated Cryoprotective Behaviors of Oligosaccharides to Myosin Denaturation: Molecular Insights from Protein-Saccharide Interactions
Teng, Y. Tao, T. Shao, Y. Kumar, N. Li, Y. Li, B. Zhu, X. 2026. Submitted
Explores molecular mechanisms of protein–saccharide interactions underlying cryoprotection.

Book chapters

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Driven Optimization of Enzymatic Release of Bioactive Peptides
Kumar, N. Li, Y. 2026. In C. C. Undeigwe & S. Selby-Pham Eds., Enzymes in Production of Bioactive Peptides and Their Functions. Elsevier. Under preparation
Advances in Bioactive Peptide Discovery: From Machine Learning to Protein Language Models
Kumar, N. Li, Y. 2025. In G. Narahari Sastry, H. J. Mahanta, N. Selvaraman, & T. C. Dinadayalane Eds., Metamorphosis in Computational Chemistry Driven by Artificial Intelligence and Industry 5.0. Elsevier. Submitted
Chemical Processing – Wet Extraction and Improvement Strategies
Kumar, N. Rajpurohit, B. Li, Y. 2025. In F. Boukid, M. C. Tulbek, S. Ganeshan, & Y. Wang Eds., Pulse Breeding, Processing, Functionality, and Products. Elsevier. Accepted
Predicting Peptide Bioactivity Using the Unified Model Architecture UniDL4BioPep
Du, Z. Kumar, N. Li, Y. 2025. In KC, D. B. Ed., Large Language Models (LLMs) in Protein Bioinformatics. Springer US, New York, NY, pp. 279–292 View chapter
Applications of Molecular Dynamics Simulation and MM-PBSA Methods in Discovery of Veterinary Drugs
Kumar, N. Mandal, P. Kumar, B. Rani, P. Singh, D. V. 2025. In Kim, J.-M. Pathak, R. K. Eds., Bioinformatics in Veterinary Science (Vetinformatics). Springer Nature, Singapore, pp. 325–366 View chapter
Chapter 9 – Protein Chemistry, Structure, Synthesis, and Functional Properties
Bean, S. R. Ioerger, B. P. Tilley, M. Kumar, N. Li, Y. 2025. In Taylor, J. R. N. Bean, S. R. Duodu, K. G. Eds., Sorghum and Millets, 3rd ed., Elsevier, pp. 233–269 View chapter
Overview of Plant-Based Proteins
Du, Z. Rajpurohit, B. Kumar, N. Li, Y. 2025. In Li, Y. Ed., Plant-Based Proteins: Production, Physicochemical, Functional, and Sensory Properties. Springer US, New York, NY, pp. 3–19 View chapter
Free Amino and Sulfhydryl Group Content
Xiao, R. Hu, R. Kumar, N. Li, Y. 2025. In Li, Y. Ed., Plant-Based Proteins: Production, Physicochemical, Functional, and Sensory Properties. Springer US, New York, NY, pp. 123–132 View chapter

Patent

6-Ethoxy-4-N-(2-Morpholin-4-Ylethyl)-2-N-Propan-2-yl-1,3,5-Triazine-2,4-Diamine Endowed with Herbicidal Activity Against Susceptible and Resistant Biotypes of Phalaris minor
Patent Application Publication No. 202031045338 A. Application Filing Date 18/10/2020. Publication Date 04/12/2020. Inventors Durg Vijay Singh, Priyanka Rani, Nandan Kumar, Shikha Agarwal. Assignee Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, India.