• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.457-463
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• 2012

The basilar membrane (BM), one of organs of cochlea, has the specific positions of the maximum amplitude at each of related frequencies. This phenomenon is due to the geometry of BM. In this study, as the part of the research for the development of fully implantable artificial cochlea which is based on polymer membrane, parametric studies are performed to suggest the desirable artificial basilar membrane model which can detect wider range of frequency separation. The vibro-acoustic characteristics of the artificial basilar membrane are predicted through finite element analysis using commercial software Abaqus. Simulation results are verified by comparing with experimental results. Various geometric shapes of the BM and residual stress effects on the BM are investigated through the parametric study to enable a wider detectable frequency separation range.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.522-528
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• 2011

Artificial basilar membranes made of PVDF(polyvinylidene fluoride) are manufactured using microfabrication processes. The mechanical behavior of PVDF artificial basilar membrane was measured to evaluate its performance as a mechanical frequency analyzer using scanning LDV(laser Doppler vibrometer). The experimental setup consists of the microfabricated artificial basilar membrane, a loud speaker connected to an amplifier for generating acoustic pressure of specific spectral pattern, and a scanning LDV with controlling unit for measuring the displacement of the membrane on the incoming acoustic stimulation. The microfabricated artificial basilar membrane was attached tightly upon a package containing a chamber which can be filled with silicone oil before placed on the experimental setup stage. The experiment results showed that the microfabricated artificial basilar membrane has a property as a mechanical frequency analyzer.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.98-105
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• 2009

The cochlea of the inner ear has two core components, basilar membrane and hair cells. The basilar membrane disperses incoming sound waves by their frequencies. The hair cells are on the basilar membrane, and they are the sensory receptors generating bioelectric signals. In this paper, a biomimetic technology using ZnO piezoelectric nano-pillar was studied as the part of developing process for artificial cochlea and novel artificial mechanosensory system mimicking human auditory senses. In particular, ZnO piezoelectric nano-pillar was fabricated by both low and high temperature growth methods. ZnO piezoelectric nano-pillars were grown on solid (high temperature growth) and flexible (low temperature growth) substrates. The substrates were patterned prior to ZnO nano-pillar growth so that we can selectively grow ZnO nano-pillar on the substrates. A multi-physical simulation was also conducted to understand the behavior of ZnO nano-pillar. The simulation results show electric potential, von Mises stress, and deformation in the ZnO nano-pillar. Both the experimental and computational works help characterize and optimize ZnO nano-pillar.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.219-224
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• 2012

European Union prohibited the marketing of cosmetic products containing constituents that have been examined through animal experiments. Thus, non-animal test models are needed to replace animal experiments. The reconstructed skin models are important as a test system for cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and medical device safety testing. In the present study, we tried to develop an optimal skin equivalent model containing basement membrane and epidermis. For this purpose, we used mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and/or preadipocytes as well as fibroblasts as the dermal matrix cells. The formation of basement membrane and epidermis was verified by immunohistochemical stains. Among various models, the epidermis was thickest when MSCs were used in the dermal matrix. Furthermore, PCNA and involucrin distribution showed that dermal matrix with MSCs resembled human skin. Therefore, skin equivalents with MSCs could be developed as a non-animal test model to replace animal experiments.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1996 no.05
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• pp.335-338
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• 1996

We attempted to reconstruct basement membrane (BM) in between the epidermal compartment and dermal compartment in the artificial skin preparation and examine its effect on the skin architecture as well as on the epidermal differentiation. Laminin, one of the component of BM, stimulate the migration of the basal cells but type IV collagen which is a major component of the mechanical network of BM did not stimulate epidermal migration. However laminin in the presence of type IV collagen at a 1:1 molar ratio did not stimulate epidermal migration but provide nice demarcation between epidermis and dermis. This mixture of laminin and type IV collagen enhanced epidermal differentiation in the artificial skin based on the morphological observation as well as biochemical criteria. The epidermal acquirement of migratory ability on the laminin-rich substrate suggest that this type of unbalance in the expression of the components of BM may prevail in the area of healing tissue and the invasive transition of the tumor. The result in this study provide the technical improvement in the artificial skin preparation and further application of this technique for the reconstruction of other bio-artificial organ.