• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.558-568
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• 2011

Hazardous volatile organic compounds (HVOCs) have been increasingly getting concern in urban air chemistry due to photochemical smog as well as its toxicity or potential hazards. In this study, we investigated their concentrations and the properties in tunnel, urban roadside and residential area. As a result, among 36HVOCs measured in this study, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene) and dichlorodifluoromethane, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, trichlorofluoromethane were detected above the concentration of $1{\mu}g/m^3$ in every sampling site and the most abundant compound was toluene. The other compounds were detected at trace level or below the detection limit. In addition, we found that three CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), such as CFC-12, CFC-11, CFC-113, were persistently detected because of the emission in the past. Toluene to benzene ratio (T/B) at tunnel and roadside were calculated to be 4.3~5.3 and at residential area 15.4, suggesting that the residential area had several emission sources other than car exhaust. The ratio of X/E (m,p-xylene to ethylbenzene) ratio was calculated to be 1.8~2.1 at tunnel, 1.7 at roadside and 1.2 at residential area, which means this ratio reflected well the relative photochemical reactivity between these compounds. Good correlation between m,p-xylene and ethylbenzene ($r^2$ > 0.85) were shown in every study sites. This indicated that correlation between $C_2$-alkylbenzenes were not severely affected by 3-way catalytic converter. In this study, it was demonstrated that the concentration of benzene was very low, compared with national air quality standard (annual average of $5{\mu}g/m^3$). Its concentration were $2.52{\mu}g/m^3$ in roadside and $1.34{\mu}g/m^3$ in residential area. We thought this was the result of persistent policy implementation including the reduction of benzene content in gasoline enforced on January 1, 2009.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.987-996
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• 2009

Aspergillus niger GH1 previously isolated and identified by our group as a wild tannase producer was grown under solid-state (SSC) and submerged culture (SmC) conditions to select the enzyme production system. For tannase purification, extracellular tannase was produced under SSC using polyurethane foam as the inert support. Tannase was purified to apparent homogeneity by ultrafiltration, anion-exchange chromatography, and gel filtration that led to a purified enzyme with a specific activity of 238.14 IU/mg protein with a final yield of 0.3% and a purification fold of 46. Three bands were found on the SDS-PAG with molecular masses of 50, 75, and 100 kDa. PI of 3.5 and 7.1% N-glycosylation were noted. Temperature and pH optima were 600e and 6.0 [methyl 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoate (MTB) as substrate], respectively. Tannase was found with a $K_M$ value of $0.41{\times}10^{-4}M$ and the value of $V_{max}$ was $11.03{\mu}$moL/min at $60^{\circ}C$ for MTB. Effects of several metal salts, solvents, surfactants, and typical enzyme inhibitors on tannase activity were evaluated to establish the novelty of the enzyme. Finally, the tannase from A. niger GH1 was significantly inhibited by PMSF (phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride), and therefore, it is possible to consider the presence of a serine or cysteine residue in the catalytic site.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.713-719
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• 2016

The NOx conversion properties of Mn-Cu-$TiO_2$ and $V_2O_5$/$TiO_2$ catalysts were studied for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with ammonia. The performance of the catalysts was investigated in terms of their $NOx$ conversion activity as a function of the reaction temperature and space velocity. The activity of the Mn-Cu-$TiO_2$ catalyst decreased with increasing reaction temperature and space velocity. However, the activity of the $V_2O_5$/$TiO_2$ catalyst increased with increasing reaction temperature. High activity of the Mn-Cu-$TiO_2$ catalyst was observed at temperatures below $200^{\circ}C$. H2-TPR and XPS analyses were conducted to explain these results. It was found that the activity of the Mn-Cu-$TiO_2$ catalyst was influenced by the thermal shock caused by the change of the initial reaction temperature, whereas the $V_2O_5$/$TiO_2$ catalyst was not affected by the initial reaction temperature. In the case of catalyst C, the $NO_x$ conversion efficiency decreased with increasing space velocity. The decrease in the $NO_x$ conversion efficiency with increasing space velocity was much less for catalyst D than for catalyst C.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.420-424
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• 2016

In this study, we developed photocatalytic technology to address the emerging serious problem of air pollution through indoor air cleaning. A single layer of $WO_3$ was prepared by using the dry process of general RF magnetron sputtering. At a base vacuum of $1.8{\times}10^{-6}$[Torr], the optical and electrical properties of the resulting thin films were examined for use as a transparent electrode as well as a photocatalyst. The single layer of $WO_3$ prepared at an RF power of 100 [W], a pressure of 7 [mTorr] and Ar and $O_2$ gas flow rates of 70 and 2 sccm, respectively, showed uniform and good optical transmittance of over 80% in the visible wavelength range from 380 [nm] to 780 [nm]. The optical catalyst characteristics of the $WO_3$ thin film were examined by investigating the optical absorbance and concentration variance in methylene blue, where the $WO_3$ thin film was immersed in the methylene blue. The catalytic characteristics improved with time. The concentration of methylene blue decreased to 80% after 5 hours, which confirms that the $WO_3$ thin film shows the characteristics of an optical catalyst. Using the reflector of a CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) and the lens of an LED (lighting emitting diode), it is possible to enhance the air cleaning effect of next-generation light sources.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1532-1539
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• 2012

The ${\alpha}$-galactosidase-coding gene agaAJB13 was cloned from Sphingomonas sp. JB13 showing 16S rDNA (1,343 bp) identities of ${\leq}97.2%$ with other identified Sphingomonas strains. agaAJB13 (2,217 bp; 64.9% GC content) encodes a 738-residue polypeptide (AgaAJB13) with a calculated mass of 82.3 kDa. AgaAJB13 showed the highest identity of 61.4% with the putative glycosyl hydrolase family 36 ${\alpha}$-galactosidase from Granulicella mallensis MP5ACTX8 (EFI56085). AgaAJB13 also showed <37% identities with reported protease-resistant or Sphingomonas ${\alpha}$-galactosidases. A sequence analysis revealed different catalytic motifs between reported Sphingomonas ${\alpha}$-galactosidases (KXD and RXXXD) and AgaAJB13 (KWD and SDXXDXXXR). Recombinant AgaAJB13 (rAgaAJB13) was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The purified rAgaAJB13 was characterized using p-nitrophenyl-${\alpha}$-D-galactopyranoside as the substrate and showed an apparent optimum at pH 5.0 and $60^{\circ}C$ and strong resistance to trypsin and proteinase K digestion. Compared with reported proteaseresistant ${\alpha}$-galactosidases showing thermolability at $50^{\circ}C$ or $60^{\circ}C$ and specific activities of <71 U/mg with or without protease treatments, rAgaAJB13 exhibited a better thermal stability (half-life of >60 min at $60^{\circ}C$) and higher specific activities (225.0-256.5 U/mg). These sequence and enzymatic properties suggest AgaAJB13 is the first identified and characterized Sphingomonas ${\alpha}$-galactosidase, and shows novel protease resistance with a potential value for basic research and industrial applications.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.185-199
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• 2017

Methane, which is emitted from natural and anthropogenic sources, is a representative greenhouse gas for global warming. Methanotrophs are widespread in the environment and play an important role in the biological oxidation of methane via methane monooxygenases (MMOs), key enzymes for methane oxidation with broad substrate specificity. Methanotrophs have attracted attention as multifunctional bacteria with promising applications in biological methane mitigation technology and environmental bioremediation. In this review, we have summarized current knowledge regarding the biodiversity of methanotrophs, catalytic properties of MMOs, and high-cell density cultivation technology. In addition, we have reviewed the recent advances in biological methane mitigation technologies using methanotrophs in field-scale systems as well as in lab-scale bioreactors. We have also surveyed information on the dynamics of the methanotrophic community in biological systems and discussed the various challenges pertaining to methanotroph-related biotechnological innovation, such as identification of suitable methanotrophic strains with better and/or novel metabolic activity, development of high-cell density mass cultivation technology, and the microbial consortium (methanotrophs and non-methanotrophs consortium) design and control technology.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 1992

M/BM -series catalysts, $MoO_3$ supported on ${\alpha}-Bi_2Mo_3O_{12}$ were also prepared by impregnation method. BM/M-series catalysts, ${\alpha}-Bi_2Mo_3O_{12}$ supported on $MoO_3$ were also prepared by coprecipitation. Structure and catalytic properties of the two phase catalysts were studied by means of using nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The reaction test for the selective oxidation of propylene to acrolein over Bi-molybdate catalysts was studied using a fixed-bed reactor system. In M/BM-series catalysts, $MoO_3$ was dispersed on ${\alpha}-Bi_2Mo_3O_{12}$, and the crystal structure of ${\alpha}-Bi_2Mo_3O_{12}$ remains unchanged by the presence of excess $MoO_3$. However the surface morphology and bulk structure of BM/M-series catalysts were altered probably because the precipitated $Bi(OH)_3$ reacted with $MoO_3$ during the calcination to form ${\alpha}-Bi_2Mo_3O_{12}$ phase. The results of propylene oxidation on both series catalysts showed that the reaction took place over the surface of ${\alpha}-Bi_2Mo_3O_{12}$ particle and the role of excess $MoO_3$ was to supply oxygen to ${\alpha}-Bi_2Mo_3O_{12}$. These increasing effects on activity were also observed in the mechanical mixtures of ${\alpha}-Bi_2Mo_3O_{12}$ and $MoO_3$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.185-190
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• 2018

The dimer of bicyclo [2.2.1] hepta-2,5-diene (norbornadiene) can be used as a high-energy-density fuel. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Co loading on the acid properties of HY zeolite catalyst and the catalytic activity in norbornadiene dimerization. When the cobalt was loaded on the HY zeolite catalyst, the amount of acid sites did not change, but the acid strength weakened. This can be attributed to the decrease in $Br{\ddot{o}}nsted$ acid site and the increase in Lewis acid site. The norbornadiene conversion and yield of norbornadiene dimer over the Co/HY catalyst showed higher than those over the HY zeolite catalyst. The higher activity of the Co/HY catalyst can be ascribed to the higher amount of Lewis acid sites over the Co/HY catalyst. Density and calorific values of the norbornadiene dimer prepared by using the Co/HY catalyst agreed well with the known values in the literature. It was confirmed that the norbornadiene dimer prepared in this study can be used as a high-energy-density fuel.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.545-551
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• 2003

A cDNA of bovine brain glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) was isolated from a cDNA library by recombinant PCR. The isolated cDNA has an open-reading frame of 1677 nucleotides, which codes for 559 amino acids. The expression of the recombinant bovine brain GDH enzyme was achieved in E. coli. BL21 (DE3) by using the pET-15b expression vector containing a T7 promoter. The recombinant GDH protein was also purified and characterized. The amino acid sequence was found 90% homologous to the human GDH. The molecular mass of the expressed GDH enzyme was estimated as 50 kDa by SDS-PAGE and Western blot using monoclonal antibodies against bovine brain GDH. The kinetic parameters of the expressed recombinant GDH enzymes were quite similar to those of the purified bovine brain GDH. The $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values for $NAD^+$ were 0.1 mM and $1.08\;{\mu}mol/min/mg$, respectively. The catalytic activities of the recombinant GDH enzymes were inhibited by ATP in a concentration-dependent manner over the range of 10 - $100\;{\mu}M$, whereas, ADP increased the enzyme activity up to 2.3-fold. These results indicate that the recombinant-expressed bovine brain GDH that is produced has biochemical properties that are very similar to those of the purified GDH enzyme.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.313-318
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• 2010

Deinococcus radiodurans RecA protein, when bound to DNA, exhibits a DNA-dependent ATPase. In the absence of DNA, the rate of RecA protein-promoted ATP hydrolysis drops 1,000-fold under the physiological concentrations of salt. This DNA-independent activity can be stimulated to levels approximating those observed with DNA by adding high concentrations (approximately 1.6 M) of a wide variety of salts. This effect was characterized by varying salt concentration and comparing the effects of different ion types. The higher concentrations of salt stimulated the ATP hydrolysis by RecA protein in the absence of DNA. At 1.6 M chloride, the observed stimulation showed the following cation trend $K^+{\geq}Na^+$ > $NH_4^+$ and the following anion sequence was observed: $glutamate^- \; > \; C1^- \;> \; acetate^-\; > \;PO_4^-$ at 1.6 M $K^+$. The catalytic properties of the salt-stimulated ATP hydrolysis reaction was optimal between pH 7.0 and 8.0, which was similar to the double stran nded DNA-dependent ATPase activities of Deinococcus radiodurans RecA protein. In the absence of DNA the active species for ATP hydrolysis by RecA protein was shown to be an aggregate of three RecA protein molecules.