• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

The effects of $TiO_2$ contents and UV irradiation treatment on the surface properties of PLA films embedded with $TiO_2$ nanoparticle were investigated. Whereas UV irradiation decreased reflectance of the treated PLA films proportionally with increasing UV energy, the reflectance of PLA/$TiO_2$ films increased with increasing UV energy. The UV irradiation treatment caused PLA/$TiO_2$ blend films more polar as indicated in the generation of new carbonyl group and decrease in zeta potentials, which was more pronounced with the introduction of $TiO_2$. Upon UV irradiation, $TiO_2$ particles appeared on the film surface as observed in SEM images. The PLA/$TiO_2$ blend films showed photocatalytic properties such as photobleaching of methylene blue, deodorization of ammonia and antimicrobial activity in comparison with pure PLA films.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.405-412
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• 2003

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and N-(2-hydroxy)propyl-3-trimethylammonium chitosan chloride (HTCC), a water soluble chitosan derivative synthesized by the reaction of quaternary ammonium compound with chitosan, were blended using water as a solvent and the PVA/HTCC blend films with various compositions were prepared by solution casting method. The miscibility between the two polymers and the thermal properties of the blend films were investigated using FT-IR, DSC, DMA, and TGA. Single glass transition temperatures and single melting temperatures of the blend films along with the strong and clear film state for the whole composition of blending ratios suggest the miscibility between PVA and HTCC. The PVA/HTCC blend films with HTCC content of 1% and greater showed excellent antimicrobial activity.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.139-144
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• 2024

Recently, due to the rapid spread and continuation of COVID-19, customer demand for health and hygiene has increased, requiring the development of new products that express antiviral and antibacterial properties. In particular, viruses are much smaller in size than bacteria and have a fast propagation speed, making it difficult to kill. POSCO has developed eco-friendly PCM color coated steel sheets with excellent antiviral properties by introducing inorganic composite materials to the color coating layer on the surface of Zn-Al-Mg alloy plated steels. The virus is not only destroyed by adsorption of metal ions released from the surface of the coating film, but is also further promoted by the generation of reactive oxygen species by the reaction of metal ions and moisture. As a result of evaluating the developed products under the International Standard Evaluation Act, the microbicidal activity was 99.9% for viruses, and 99.99% for bacteria and 0% fungi. In particular, excellent results were also shown in the durability evaluation for life cycle of the product. The developed product was applied as a wall of school classrooms and toilets and ducts for building air conditioning, resulting in excellent results. Developed products are being applied for construction and home appliances to practice POSCO's corporate citizenship.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.37-40
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• 2003

Coptis chinensis extract and grapefruit seed extract, natural antimicrobial substances, were applied to the dipping treatment of strawberry and incorporated in the packaging films. Strawberry was steeped in the extract solutions of 50 ppm concentration and packed with the low density polyethylene(LDPE) films incorporated with 1% extracts. During the storage at 5$^{\circ}C$, the qualities of microbial counts, awぶy ratio, texture and chemical attributes were measured for the pretreated strawberry. The LDPE films incorporated with the extracts retarded the growth of aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria and yeast that had been contaminated before the pretreatment, significantly lowed the decay ratio, and gave better retention of textural firmness. The chemical and physical qualities of strawberry were not affected by the packaging films. When strawberry was steeped in the extract solutions, the effects of the packaging film incorporated with the extracts on the qualities of strawberry were accelerated.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.286-291
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• 2013

Soybean pastes with 8% (w/w) salinity were prepared instead of soybean paste with 14% (w/w) salinity to meet the growing demands of Korean's low sodium diet. After aging, white films had appeared on the surface of all low-salted soybean pastes [8% (w/w) salinity] unlike high-salted soybean pastes [14% (w/w) salinity]. All of eight microbes isolated from the surface film were identified as Pichia kudriavzevii. Eleven Bacillus strains with good characteristics of fermentation were isolated from traditionally fermented soybean pastes in order to preserve their unique flavors and aromas after aging, and as a result of analyzing the biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA sequences, those were identified as B. subtilis, B. licheniformis, and B. methylotrophicus. All of the Bacillus isolates had antagonistic activities against 8 isolates of the film-forming yeasts and harbored the genes for synthesis of antimicrobial surfactants including lichenysin and/or surfactin.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.69-77
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• 2019

Agar-based nanocomposite films were prepared by incorporation of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONP) and grapefruit seed extract (GSE). The composite films were characterized using FT-IR, UV-visible spectroscopy and thermalgravimetric analysis (TGA). The composite films showed light absorption peaks at 220 and 380 nm, characteristic for GSE and ZnONP, respectively. The UV-light transmittance of the agar film was markedly reduced from 54.4 ± 1.3% to 5.8 ± 2.5% with little sacrifice of transparency when 3 wt% ZnONP and 5 wt% GSE were added. The mechanical and water vapor barrier properties increased slightly though they were not significant statistically by the addition of ZnONP and GSE. The nanocomposite films showed stronger antibacterial activity against L. monocytogenes than E. coli O157: H7 and the antibacterial activity was affected by bacterial types as well as concentrations of ZnONP and GSE. The nano-composite film incorporated with 3 wt% of ZnONP and 5 wt% of GSE exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli O157: H7. The results indicate that 3 wt% of ZnONP and 5 wt% of GSE are the optimal concentrations for producing functional agar/ZnONP/GSE composite films.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2021

Objectives: Cefotaxime is an antibiotic used to treat several bacterial infections. Specifically, it is used to treat pelvic inflammatory disease, meningitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and sepsis. It is given by injection into either a vein or muscle. Antibacterial polymers prepared by chemical bonding and simple blending of antibacterials into polymers has attracted much interest because of their long-lasting antibacterial activity. This study attempted to review the possibility of hydrogel films as functional antibacterial materials by antimicrobial activity. Methods: In this study, CTX-PAA was synthesized by the chemical reaction of polyacrylic acid with cefotaxime by N,N'-Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) method. Synthetic antibacterial hydrogel films were then prepared with PVA and CTX-PAA for functional application. Results: The increase in the cefotaxime content of the hydrogel films showed a similar decrease in tensile strength and elongation. The values of films impregnated with chemically bonded cefotaxime showed no significant difference. Antibacterial susceptibility was determined against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Escherichia coli using a standardized disc test. Conclusion: The synthetic antibacterial hydrogel films exhibited broad susceptibility against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. Notably, the antibacterial effect of antibacterial hydrogel films against Grampositive (Streptococcus pneumoniae) was superior to that against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli).

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.546-553
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• 2012

Urushiol extracted from lacquer tree exhibits good thermal stabilities as well as antimicrobial andantioxidant properties. However, it has been known that the urushiol derivates bring out allergy. In this study, polyurushiol (PUOH) powders were successfully synthesized for the safe and convenient handling of allergic urushiol. First, the as-synthesized PUOH was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA), antioxidant test and antimicrobial test. And then, six different LDPE/PUOH composite films were prepared via a twin screw extruder system and investigated their feasibility to use as active packaging materials. Their chemical structures, morphology, thermal optical and antimicrobial properties of the LDPE/PUOH composite films were investigated as a function of PUOH contents. FTIR and SEM results showed that LDPE/PUOH composite films have a weak interfacial interaction and poor dispersion with a high PUOH loading. The thermal properties increased up to 3 wt% as the content of PUOH increases. Compared to the pure LDPE films, LDPE/PUOH composite films are more effective in the UV absorbance and antibacterial activity against E. coli. To maximize the performance of LDPE/PUOH compositefilms as the packaging materials, further researches are required to enhance the dispersion of PUOH powders in the LDPE matrix.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.691-709
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• 2007

Concerns on environmental waste problems caused by non-biodegradable petrochemical-based plastic packaging materials as well as consumer's demand for high quality food products has caused an increasing interest in developing biodegradable packaging materials using annually renewable natural biopolymers such as polysaccharides and proteins. However, inherent shortcomings of natural polymer-based packaging materials such as low mechanical properties and low water resistance are causing a major limitation for their industrial use. By the way, recent advent of nanocomposite technology rekindled interests on the use of natural biopolymers in the food packaging application. Polymer nanocomposites, especially natural biopolymer-layered silicate nanocomposites, exhibit markedly improved packaging properties due to their nanometer size dispersion. These improvements include increased mechanical strength, decreased gas permeability, and increased water resistance. Additionally, biologically active ingredients can be added to impart the desired functional properties to the resulting packaging materials. Consequently, natural biopolymer-based nanocomposite packaging materials with bio-functional properties have huge potential for application in the active food packaging industry. In this review, recent advances in the preparation and characterization of natural biopolymer-based nanocomposite films, and their potential use in food packaging applications are addressed.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 2006

In response to the continuous changes in current consumer demands and market trends for postharvest produces, the functional application for agricultural packaging is becoming increasely significant. This paper focuses on the overview of important changes in physical and chemical status related to postharvest physiology and applications of the functional packaging materials for maintaining the freshness of fruits after harvest. During postharvest treatment and storage periods, fresh fruits undergoes the ripening process in quality attributes of the fruit such as major changes of texture, color, and flavor. Major fruit packaging technologies are concerned with correct gas permeable film and functions of ethylene removal, antimicrobial, and antifogging substances to keep the effective freshness. Application guidelines for the functional packaging in fresh produces were studied.