• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.541-549
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• 2020

The Drug Delivery System (DDS) is defined as a technology for designing existing or new drug formulations and optimizing drug treatment. DDS is designed to efficiently deliver drugs for the care of diseases, minimize the side effects of drug, and maximize drug efficacy. In this study, the optimization of tripolyphosphate (TPP) concentration on the size of Chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) produced by crosslinking with chitosan was measured. In addition, the characteristics of Fe₃O₄-CNPs according to the amount of iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) were measured, and it was confirmed that the higher the amount of Fe₃O₄, the better the characteristics as a magnetic drug carrier were displayed. Through the ninhydrin reaction, a calibration curve was obtained according to the concentration of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) of Y = 0.00373exp(179.729X)-0.0114 (R² = 0.989) in the low concentration (0.004 to 0.02 wt%) and Y = 21.680X-0.290 (R² = 0.999) in the high concentration (0.02 to 0.1 wt%). Absorption was constant at about 62.5% above 0.04 g of initial GABA. In addition, the amount of GABA released from GABA-Fe₃O₄-CNPs over time was measured to confirm that drug release was terminated after about 24 hr. Finally, GABA-Fe₃O₄-CNPs performed under the optimal conditions were spherical particles of about 150 nm, and it was confirmed that the properties of the particles appear well, indicating that GABA-Fe₃O₄-CNPs were suitable as drug carriers.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.766-773
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• 2013

A transparent film was fabricated based on bacterial cellulose (BC), BC has excellent physical strength and stability at high temperature and it is an environmental friendly flexible material. In order to improve the conductivity, silver nanowire (AgNW) and/or graphene were introduced to the BC membrane. The aspect ratio of the AgNW synthesized in this study was 214, with a length of $15{\mu}m$ and width of 70 nm. The higher aspect ratio improved the conductivity by reducing the contact resistance. The thermal and electrical properties of 7 types of films prepared were investigated. Each film was fabricated with rectangular shape ($2mm{\times}2mm{\times}50{\mu}m$). The films were scored with a net shape by a knife, and filled with AgNW and graphene to bestow conductivity. The film filled with AgNW showed favorable electrical characteristics with a thickness of $350{\mu}m$, electron concentration of $1.53{\times}10^{19}$, electron mobility of $6.63{\times}10^5$, and resistivity of 0.28. The film filled with graphene had a thickness of $360{\mu}m$, electron concentration of $7.74{\times}10^{17}$, electron mobility of 0.17, and resistivity of 4.78. The transmittances at 550 nm were 98.1% and 80.9%, respectively. All the films were able to light LEDs bulbs although their brightness differed. A thermal stability test of the BC and PET films at $150{\pm}5^{\circ}C$ showed that the BC film was more stable, whereas the PET film was quickly banded. From these results, it was confirmed that there it is possible to fabricate new transparent conductivity films based on BC.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.771-780
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• 2014

In this study, the various organic supports (i.e., silicone, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, epoxy, and, butadiene rubber) with great sorption capacity of organic contaminants were chosen to develop nano-ZnO/organic composites (NZOCs) and to prevent the detachment of nano-ZnO particles. The water resistance of the developed NZOCs were evaluated, and the feasibility of the developed NZOCs were investigated by evaluating the removal efficiency of 1,1,2-trichloroethylene (TCE) in the aqueous phase. Based on the results from water-resistance experiments, long-term water treatment usage of all NZOCs was found to be feasible. According to the FE-SEM, EDX, and imaging analysis, nano-ZnO/butadiene rubber composite (NZBC) with various sizes and types of porosity and crack was measured to be coated with relatively homogeneously-distributed nano-ZnO particles whereas nano-ZnO/silicone composite (NZSC), nano-ZnO/ABS composite (NZAC), and nano-ZnO/epoxy composite (NZEC) with poorly-developed porosity and crack were measured to be coated with relatively heterogeneously-distributed nano-ZnO particles. The sorption capacity of NZBC was close to 60% relative to the initial concentration, and this result was mainly attributed to the amorphous structure of NZBC, hence the hydrophobic partitioning of TCE to the amorphous structure of NZBC intensively occurred. The removal efficiency of TCE in aqueous phase using NZBC was close to 99% relative to the initial concentration, and the removal efficiency of TCE was improved as the amount of NZBC increased. These results stemmed from the synergistic mechanisms with great sorption capability of butadiene rubber and superior photocatalytic activities of nano-ZnO. Finally, the removal efficiency of TCE in aqueous phase using NZBC was well represented by linear model ($R^2{\geq}0.936$), and the $K_{app}$ values of NZBC were from 2.64 to 3.85 times greater than those of $K_{photolysis}$, indicating that butadiene rubber was found to be the suitable organic supporting materials with enhanced sorption capacity and without inhibition of photocatalytic activities of nano-ZnO.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.60-67
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• 2019

A valuable metal recovery from waste resources such as spent rechargeable secondary batteries is of critical issues because of a sharp increase in the amount of waste resources. In this context, it is necessary to research not only recycling waste lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but also reusing valuable metals (e.g., Li, Co, Ni, Mn etc.) recovered from waste LIBs. In particular, the lithium hydroxide ($LiOH{\cdot}xH_2O$), which is of precursors that can be prepared by the recovery of Li in waste LIBs, can be reused as a catalyst, a carbon dioxide absorbent, and again as a precursor for cathode materials of LIB. However, most studies of recycling the waste LIBs have been focused on the preparation of lithium carbonate with a recovery of Li. Herein, we show the preparation of high purity lithium hydroxide powder along with the precipitation process, and the systematic study to find an optimum condition is also carried out. The lithium carbonate, which is recovered from waste LIBs, was used as starting materials for synthesis of lithium hydroxide. The optimum precipitation conditions for the preparation of LiOH were found as follows: based on stirring, reaction temperature $90^{\circ}C$, reaction time 3 hr, precursor ratio 1:1. To synthesize uniform and high purity lithium hydroxide, 2-step precipitation process was additionally performed, and consequently, high purity $LiOH{\cdot}xH_2O$ powder was obtained.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2019

As tumors develop, they encounter microenvironmental stress, such as hypoxia and glucose depletion, due to poor vascular function, thereby leading to necrosis, which is observed in solid tumors. Necrotic cells are known to release cellular cytoplasmic contents, such as high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), into the extracellular space. The release of HMGB1, a proinflammatory and tumor-promoting cytokine, plays an important role in promoting inflammation and metabolism during tumor development. Recently, HMGB1 was shown to induce the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis. However, the underlying mechanism of the HMGB1-induced EMT, invasion, and metastasis is unclear. In this study, we showed that noninvasive breast cancer cells MCF-7 formed tightly packed, rounded spheroids and that the cells in the inner regions of a multicellular tumor spheroid (MTS), an in vitro model of a solid tumor, led to necrosis due to an insufficient supply of O2 and glucose. In addition, after 7 d of MTS culture, the EMT was induced via the transcription factor Snail. We also showed that HMGB1 receptors, including RAGE, TLR2, and TLR4, were induced by MTS culture. RAGE, TLR2, and TLR4 shRNA inhibited MTS growth, supporting the idea that RAGE/TLR2/TLR4 play critical roles in MTS growth. They also prevented MTS culture-induced Snail expression, pointing to RAGE/TLR2/TLR4-dependent Snail expression. RAGE, TLR2, and TLR4 shRNA suppressed the MTS-induced EMT. In human cancer tissues, high levels of RAGE, TLR2, and TLR4 were detected. These findings demonstrated that the HMGB-RAGE/TLR2/TLR4-Snail axis played a crucial role in the growth of the MTS and MTS culture-induced EMT.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.588-593
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• 2022

Terephthalaldehyde (TPA) is introduced as a cross liker to enhance electron transfer of hemin-based cathodic catalyst consisting of polyethyleneimine (PEI), carbon nanotube (CNT) for hydrogen peroxide reduction reaction (HPRR). In the cyclic voltammetry (CV) test with 10 mM H₂O₂ in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4), the current density for HPRR of the suggested catalyst (CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/TPA) shows 0.2813 mA cm^-2 (at 0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl), which is 2.43 and 1.87 times of non-cross-linked (CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI) and conventional cross liker (glutaraldehyde, GA) used catalyst (CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/GA), respectively. In the case of onset potential for HPRR, that of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/TPA is observed at 0.544 V, while those of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI and CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/GA are 0.511 and 0.471 V, respectively. These results indicate that TPA plays a role in facilitating electron transfer between the electrodes and substrates due to the π-conjugated cross-linking bonds, whereas conventional GA cross-linker increases the overpotential by interrupting electron and mass transfer. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results also display the same tendency. The charge transfer resistance (R_ct) of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/TPA decreases about 6.2% from that of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI, while CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/GA shows the highest R_ct. The polarization curve using each catalyst also supports the superiority of TPA cross liker. The maximum power density of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/TPA (36.34±1.41 μWcm^-2) is significantly higher than those of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI (27.87±0.95 μWcm^-2) and CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/GA (25.57±1.32 μWcm^-2), demonstrating again that the cathode using TPA has the best performance in HPRR.