• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.395-401
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• 2016

Nano-saftey has become an emerging issue recently, because of the broad use of nanomaterials in nano-industries and commercial areas. For a sustainable development in the nano-industry, active studies on nano-safety should be executed, especially on the potential risks in engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). Although acute and chronic assessments of nanomaterials have been extensively studied in many studies, multigenerational studies are very scarce. Overall, multigenerational studies have progressed as two different trends, studying post-generational effects or trans-generation effects. This study intended to suggest further nano-safety studies based on the trends and limitations of current ones. Through a comparative analysis, we investigated peer-reviewed multigenerational studies that used nanomaterials. Thirteen studies on post-generation effects confirmed generational nano-toxicity via several bioassays, such as mortality, fertility, and behavioral assays. Seven studies on trans-generation effects demonstrated nanomaterial pathways to next generations, using imaging techniques. Until now, mechanisms for post-generational nano-toxicity has been rarely proposed. Thus, we propose that complementary studies on such mechanisms are imperative for future studies.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.588-595
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• 2014

Carbon nanomaterials such as fullerene, carbon nanotube and graphene are representative nanomaterials and widely used in various fields. Carbon nanomaterials can be exposed to environments during their production, usage and disposal, spreading to different systems and posing a great threat to various ecological receptors. Researches are conducted in order to determine the possibility of groundwater exposure to carbon nanomaterials due to their release and passage through soils. If soils can play a significant role in limiting the transport of carbon nanomaterials, the possibility of groundwater exposure to carbon nanomaterials can be reduced greatly. This review paper presented the research works performed for the mobility of carbon nanomaterials in soil media. Also, the paper provided the factors affecting the transport of carbon nanomaterials in soil media along with the DLVO theory/colloid filtration theory/transport model, which are used to describe the transport of carbon nanomaterials in soil media. Recently, production of carbon nanomaterials and their commercial and environmental applications increase rapidly in Korea. Therefore, researches regarding the fate and transport of domestic carbon nanomaterials in soil environments should be performed in various environmental conditions.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.183-192
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• 2016

Silver nanomaterials have been intensively applied in consumer products of diverse industrial sectors because of their strong biocidal properties and reported to be hazardous to aquatic organisms once released in the environment. Nanomaterials including sliver, are known to be different in toxicity according to their physicochemical characteristics such as size, shape, length etc. However studies comparing toxicity among silver nanomaterials with different physicochemical characteristics are very limited. Here, toxicities of silver nanomaterials with different size (50, 100, 150 nm), length (10, $20{\mu}m$), shape (wire, sphere), and coating material (polyvinylpyrrolidone, citrate) using OECD test guidelines were evaluated in aquatic species (zebrafish, daphnia, algae) and compared. On a size property, the smaller of silver nanomaterials, the more toxic to tested organisms. Sphered type of silver nanomaterials was less toxic to organisms than wired type, and shorter nanowires were less toxic than longer ones. Meanwhile the toxic effects of materials coated on silver nanomaterials were slightly different in each tested species, but not statistically significant. To the best of our knowledge, it is first investigation to evaluate and compare ecotoxicity of silver nanomaterials having different physicochemical characteristics using same test species and test guidelines. This study can provide valuable information for human and environmental risk assessment of silver nanomaterials and guide material manufacturers to synthesize silver nanomaterials more safely to human and environment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2012

As nanotechnology is a key industry, there is growing concern relating to the potential risk of nanoparticles. They are known to be released into the environment via various exposure routes. When nanoparticles are present in water environments, they are supposed to be illuminated by ultraviolet light, and the ecotoxicity of photoactive nanoparticles may be changed. In this study, a review of the ecotoxicity of photoactive nanoparticles, including the mechanisms of phototoxicity, are presented. In order to address this issue, studies on the ecotoxicity to soil and water organisms exposed to photoactive nanoparticles were investigated. The photoactive nanoparticles chosen for this study were zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and fullerene. Microorganisms, nematode, earthworm, algae and fish, etc., were chosen to assess the toxicity of nanoparticles using diverse methods. However, studies on the phototoxicity potentially induced by nanoparticles on UV illumination have been reviewed in only 8 studies. From a few studies, photoactive nanoparticles have shown high dissolution rates under UV conditions, with the released ions observed to profoundly influence test organisms. In addition, NPs exposed to UV produced reactive oxygen species (ROS). These ROS can induce oxidative stress in exposed organisms. Evidence of phototoxicity by nanoparticles were found based on previous studies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.92.1-92.1
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• 2018

표면증강 라만 산란(Surface Enhancement Raman Scattering, SERS) 기판의 경우, 규칙적인 배열을 갖는 나노구조 및 나노패턴 기판과 금속 나노구조의 고밀도 패킹이 고감도 화학물질 검출에 중요하다. 또한 폭넓은 응용 가능성에도 불구하고 기판 제작의 비용이 높고 재현성이 떨어져 상용화에 어려움을 겪고 있다. 본 연구에서는 다공성 알루미나(Anodic Aluminum Oxide, AAO)를 사용하여 Ag 나노입자가 코팅된 나노기둥 배열(Nanopillar array)을 갖는 고분자 필름의 SERS-active 기판을 제작하여 공정비용을 낮추고, 대면적화로 생산성을 높이고자 한다. 다단계 양극산화 공정과 복제 기술을 통해 다양한 지름과 높이를 갖는 맥주병 형상의 나노기둥 배열을 제조하였고, aspect ratio가 2.3인 나노기둥 배열에서 최대의 SERS 신호 강도와 높은 재현성을 확인하였다. SERS 신호의 세기는 Ag 나노입자가 코팅된 나노기둥 배열의 열처리 온도와 분석 물질의 농도에 따라 비례하며 이를 바탕으로 정량적인 고감도 진단, 바이오 화학 물질 센서에 매우 적합함을 알 수 있다.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.49-71
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• 2013

Nanomaterials, which have the issues related to toxicity, environmental exposures, and human health, have been focused on significance of their safety management. Regarding their higher applicability for multiple sectors from chemicals to consumer products, the most important thing is to consider international policy cases categorized by regulatory intensities, applicable sectors, and substance types for establishing of convincing safety management system on nanomaterials. For minimizing the nanomaterials' risk potential, developing the system that underlines a precautionary principle is also needed. Regulatory system on nanomaterials should be applicable to the status quo and be a proactive approach to rapidly changing international trends.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.736-767
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• 2016

Recently, the social issue about harmful effects of nano-materials including nano-products to human body and environment have been raised, which were not expected in times past. To prevent the risks of nano-materials on the environment and human body, the regulatory policies are reinforced to ensure public health in world trends. In Korea, governmental department has prepared the policy for 'National nano-safety Management Master Plan' since 2011. However, it is very hard to manage all kinds of nano-materials, due to lack of nano-safety law and a wide range of nano-technology application. This study aims to analyze the current situation of the national policy related to nano-safety management and legislation, and also review the limitation of current system to propose improvement plan for nano-safety.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.415-422
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• 2010

Recently as the reports on toxicity of some nanomaterials and the nanoproducts containing these nanomaterials are rapidly increasing, the safety management issues about nanomaterials and nanoproducts are emerging hot. Especially safety in the workplace and that of consumers and the protection of environment, in other words safeties throughout the life-cycle of nanomaterials and products become core issues. Despite the importance of such a safety management, however, it is very difficult to construct the hard regulatory framework for safety, owing to uncertainties and potentialities of nano-risk. In this paper I will look around the ethical principles and guidelines for safety management which are preferentially required before going into the discussion on the construction of hard-regulation such as law and something like that. Under the circumstance that hard-regulations for safety management are not implementable, these principles and guidelines are expected to play a leading part in building the responsible risk-governance framework for nanomaterials and nanoproducts, and finally to become a cornerstone of the hard risk-governance framework.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.1056-1063
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• 2012

Recent rapidly growth in nanotechnolgies is promised novel benefits through the exploitation of their unique industrial and biomedical applications. With increasing utilization of nanomaterials in consumer products, the potential release of nanomaterials into the environment and their impacts on the ecosystem and human health have been the issues of concern. Nanomaterials that was exposed unintentionally in environment might be accumulated in various environmental media, and finally it will be influenced to human and ecosystems. Therefore, it is important to understand the fate and behavior of nanoparticles for understanding effects on environmental media (air, water, and soil phase). Therefore, in this work, we investigated the several cases for environmental exposure of nanomaterials and suggested the direction of further research. In workplace, exposure to air media is dominant, but finally waste and wastewater was moved to the water and soil phase. In addition, we found the existing sewage treatment plant was not suitable to remove completely nanomaterials in wastewater flow. To deeper study, environmental monitoring tool must be developed additionally and we suggested the several analyzing method for aged and pristine physicochemical properties of nanomaterials exposed into environmental media. This review for nanomaterials' exposure to environmental media will be helpful to investigate the environmental fate of nanomaterials and define the suitable treatment method for nano-waste.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.33.2-33.2
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• 2010

산화물 반도체 나노선 가스센서는 기존의 벌크 및 박막재료에 비해 체적-표면적비가 매우 커서 극미량의 화학물질에 대한 감응특성이 유리하여 많은 각광을 받고 있다. 현재, 다양한 물질들의 나노선 합성 및 센서 소자 구현에 대한 연구가 국내외적으로 활발하게 진행되고 있다. 이와 같은 나노선 센서의 실용화를 위해 특정 물질에 대한 선택성과 감응특성의 증진이 여전히 요구되고 있으며, 이에 대한 여러 방향에서의 연구가 진행되고 있다. 특히, 촉매특성이 뛰어난 귀금속 나노입자를 나노선 표면에 부착시킨, 기능화된 나노선 센서소자에 관련된 연구가 활발하다. 본 연구에서는 기상법을 이용하여 합성한 산화물 나노선에 감마선을 조사하여 Au, Pt 및 Pd 금속나노입자를 형성시켰다. 이와 같이 금속나노입자가 고착된 산화물 나노선의 미세구조와 가스 감응특성을 조사하였으며, 기능화된 금속 나노입자가 가스 감응에 미치는 영향과 가스 감응 메커니즘을 제시하고자 한다.