• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.357-363
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• 2008

Penetration rate of large molecule through skin is very low due to the barrier effect of stratum corneum. Novel microneedle treatment device with roll was designed for transdermal delivery of large molecular drugs such as vaccine and protein drugs. The permeation rates of FITC labelled bovine serum albumin (FITC-BSA) as a model protein were determined using modified Franz diffusion cell and hairless mouse skin which were treated by hydrogel or solution containing FITC-BSA. Fluorescent spectrophotometer was used to analyze the concentration of FITC-BSA. Microscope using fluorescent filter was used to capture the image and location of FITC-BSA in the skin. We confirmed that permeation rate of BSA was increased with the treatment by microneedle and was increased by the increasing frequency of treatment. Furthermore, the permeation rate observed from hydrogel treated skin was significantly higher than that from solution treated skin.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.897-901
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• 2009

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic protein and has been applied to various gene therapy researches. However, constitutive expression of HO-1 may induce deleterious side effects. In this research, hypoxia inducible HO-1 expression plasmid, pEpo-SV-HO-1, was constructed with the erythropoietin (epo) enhancer and simian virus 40 (SV40) promoter to avoid these unwanted side effects. Dexamethasone conjugated polyethylenimine (PEI-Dexa) was used as a gene carrier. It was previously reported that dexamethasone protected cardiomyocytes from apoptosis under hypoxia. In this research, PEI-Dexa reduced the caspase-3 level in hypoxic H9C2 cardiomyocytes as a derivative of dexamethasone, suggesting that PEI-Dexa is an anti-apoptotic reagent as well as a gene carrier. pEpo-SV-HO-1 was transfected to H9C2 cardiomyocytes using PEI-Dexa and the cells were incubated under normoxia or hypoxia. HO-1 expression was induced in the pEpo-SV-HO-1 transfected cells under hypoxia. In addition, cell viability under hypoxia was higher in the pEpo-SV-HO-1 transfected cells than the pEpo-SV-Luc transfected cells. Also, caspase-3 level was reduced in the pEpo-SV-HO-1 transfected cells under hypoxia. In addition to the anti-apoptotic effect of PEI-Dexa, hypoxia inducible HO-1 expression by pEpo-SVHO- 1 may be helpful to protect cardiomyocytes under hypoxia. Therefore, pEpo-SV-HO-1/PEI-Dexa complex may be useful for ischemic heart disease gene therapy.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.119-127
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• 2011

Overhaul and repair service means the sequential processes of disassembly, repair and reassembly for a product which has been used for a long time. Overhaul is required for the companies producing airplanes, ships, trains, military weapons and heavy industrial equipments which are very expensive and have a long life cycle. The most important performance measure of the overhaul repair shop is usually the lead time. Thus, how to design the manufacturing system to meet the delivery date is a major concern in overhaul repair shop. This paper introduces the case study of an overhaul repair shop producing military weapon systems with the 3D simulation tool, $QUEST^{TM}$. At first, the characteristics of overhaul shop and what should be considered for simulation modeling are explained. Then, various simulation scenarios including two types of disassembly systems, one is flow line system and the other is cell system, are discussed with the results of simulation experiments.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.105-113
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• 2010

One-dimensional nanostructures have been researched widely because of its unique physical properties such as optical, electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties in comparison with bulk structures. Especially nanotubular structures are able to provide larger surface area, capability to load purposeful materials, and unique mechanical modulus. We reviewed the oxide nanotube technology with focusing on the method of template-directed fabrication. We can easily control of physical dimensions of nanotubes by control of nanotemplate and fabrication condition. and template-directed fabrication is ideal tool to fabricate the amount of monodisperse nanotubes. They have potentials for application in solar cell, drug-delivery, Li-ion batteries and photocatalyst. We discussed these potential applications and research trends.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2009

Magnetic nanoparticles are widely used for bio-medical applications such as MRI contrast agents, drug-delivery systems, cell separation and hyperthermia, thanks to their unique magnetic properties and physico-chemical characteristics. In the early stage, efforts were focused on synthesis of uniform nanoparticles of desired dimension to achieve targeted, stable functionalities. Recently, it has been of great interest in dispersion of such nanoparitcles in aqueous solution and to render the nanoparticles bio-compatible with biofunctionality on request for utilization in bio-medical fields. In this paper, we survey the research status and give prospective on future work of magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.98-102
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• 2014

Nowadays, silk fibroin receives a lot of attention as novel natural biomaterials due to its excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. Electrohydrodynamic spraying (EHDS) is one of the method for the preparation of micro or nanoparticles by applying high voltage to the polymer solution. In this research, we fabricated silk fibroin porous microparticles by electrohydrodynamic spraying. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was added to the fibroin solution to give pores to silk fibroin microparticles. By the addition of PEG, the microparticle size was decreased despite of the decrease in conductivity and the increase of viscosity of the spraying solution. It seems that the immiscibility of silk fibroin and PEG affected much more to the microparticle size than the conductivity and viscosity. Immersing the as-sprayed microparticles into the water removed the phase-separated PEG, and finally, porous silk fibroin microparticles were prepared. The porous silk fibroin microparticles are expected to be applied as drug carriers in drug delivery or cell carriers in tissue engineering.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.133-138
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• 2021

Osteopetrosis refers to a group of genetic skeletal disorders characterized by osteosclerosis and fragile bones. Osteopetrosis can be classified into autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked forms, which might differ in clinical characteristics and disease severity. Autosomal recessive osteopetrosis, also known as malignant osteopetrosis, has an earlier onset, more serious clinical symptoms, and is usually fatal. We encountered a 1-day-old girl who was born full-term via vaginal delivery, which was complicated by meconium-stained amniotic fluid, cephalo-pelvic disproportion, and nuchal cord. Routine neonatal care was provided, in addition to blood tests and chest radiography to screen for sepsis, as well as skull radiography to rule out head injuries. Initial blood tests revealed hypocalcemia, which persisted on follow-up tests the next day. Radiographic examinations revealed diffusely increased bone density and a "space alien" appearance of the skull. Based on radiographic and laboratory findings, the infantile form of osteopetrosis was suspected and genetic testing for identification of the responsible gene. Eventually, a heterozygous mutation of the T cell immune regulator 1, ATPase H+ transporting V0 subunit a3 (TCIRG1) gene (c.292C>T) was identified, making this the first reported case of neonatal-onset malignant osteopetrosis with TCIRG1 mutation in South Korea. Early-onset hypocalcemia is common and usually results from prematurity, fetal growth restriction, maternal diabetes, perinatal asphyxia, and physiologic hypoparathyroidism. However, if hypocalcemia persists, we recommend considering 'infantile of osteopetrosis' as a rare cause of neonatal hypocalcemia and performing radiographic examinations to establish the diagnosis.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2019

The microencapsulation of nifedipine (NF) with 4 wt% of poly(${\varepsilon}-caprolactone$) (PCL)/polyvinylpyrollidone (PVP) or PCL/polyethylene glycol (PEG) was carried out by solvent evaporation method in oil in water emulsion system to investigate the effect of PVP and PEG addition on drug release behavior of the microcapsules. The PVA (emulsifier) concentration of 1.0 wt% was chosen for the formation of PCL capsule having an average size of $154{\pm}25{\mu}m$ due to nearly spherical shape with a narrow size distribution. As PCL/PVP and PCL/PEG ratios were raised from 10/0 to 6/4, the capsule size increased gradually from $154{\pm}25{\mu}m$ to $236{\pm}32{\mu}m$ and $248{\pm}56{\mu}m$, respectively. The drug release rate of PCL/PVP and PCL/PEG capsules increased dramatically from 0 to 4 h at the beginning and then reached the plateau region from 20 h. As the concentration of PVP or PEG increased, the amount of drug release increased, suggesting that the larger capsule size was attributed to the higher drug content. However, the drug release behavior remained almost constant. The PCL capsules exhibited no evidence of causing cell lysis or toxicity regardless of NF loading, implying that the microcapsules are clinically suitable for use as drug delivery systems.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.171-177
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• 2019

Parasitic infections have remained a significant burden on human and animal health. In part, this is due to lack of clinically-approved, novel antimicrobials and a lack of interest by the pharmaceutical industry. An alternative approach is to modify existing clinically-approved drugs for efficient delivery formulations to ensure minimum inhibitory concentration is achieved at the target site. Nanotechnology offers the potential to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of drugs through modification of nanoparticles with ligands. Amphotericin B, nystatin, and fluconazole are clinically available drugs in the treatment of amoebal and fungal infections. These drugs were conjugated with gold nanoparticles. To characterize these gold-conjugated drug, atomic force microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were performed. These drugs and their gold nanoconjugates were examined for antimicrobial activity against the protist pathogen, Acanthamoeba castellanii of the T4 genotype. Moreover, host cell cytotoxicity assays were accomplished. Cytotoxicity of these drugs and drug-conjugated gold nanoparticles was also determined by lactate dehydrogenase assay. Gold nanoparticles conjugation resulted in enhanced bioactivity of all three drugs with amphotericin B producing the most significant effects against Acanthamoeba castellanii (p < 0.05). In contrast, bare gold nanoparticles did not exhibit antimicrobial potency. Furthermore, amoebae treated with drugs-conjugated gold nanoparticles showed reduced cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. In this report, we demonstrated the use of nanotechnology to modify existing clinically-approved drugs and enhance their efficacy against pathogenic amoebae. Given the lack of development of novel drugs, this is a viable approach in the treatment of neglected diseases.

• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.711-719
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Collagen organization within tissues has a critical role in wound regeneration. Collagen fibril diameter, arrangements and maturity between connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) small interfering RNA (siRNA) and mismatch scrambled siRNA-treated wound were compared to evaluate the efficacy of CTGF siRNA as a future implement for scar preventive medicine. METHODS: Nanocomplexes of CTGF small interfering RNA (CTGF siRNA) with cell penetrating peptides (KALA and $MPG^{{\Delta}NLS}$) were formulated and their effects on CTGF downregulation, collagen fibril diameter and arrangement were investigated. Various ratios of CTGF siRNA and peptide complexes were prepared and down-regulation were evaluated by immunoblot analysis. Control and CTGF siRNA modified cells-populated collagen lattices were prepared and rates of contraction measured. Collagen organization in rabbit ear 8 mm biopsy punch wound at 1 day to 8 wks post injury time were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and histology was investigated with Olympus System and TS-Auto software. CONCLUSION: CTGF expression was down-regulated to 40% of control by CTGF siRNA/KALA (1:24) complexes (p<0.01) and collagen lattice contraction was inhibited. However, down-regulated of CTGF by CTGF $siRNA/MPG^{{\Delta}NLS}$ complexes was not statistically significant. CTGF KALA-treated wound appeared with well formed-basket weave pattern of collagen fibrils with mean diameter of $128{\pm}22nm$ (n = 821). Mismatch siRNA/KALA-treated wound showed a high frequency of parallel small diameter fibrils (mean $90{\pm}20nm$, n = 563). CONCLUSION: Controlling over-expression of CTGF by peptide-mediated siRNA delivery could improve the collagen orientation and tissue remodeling in full thickness rabbit ear wound.