• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.48 no.3
• /
• pp.187-191
• /
• 2012

Two-component system (TCS)-based bacterial zinc and copper biosensors, in which green fluorescent protein (GFP) is expressed under the control of zraP and cusC promoter in ZraS/R and CusS/R TCS, were evaluated in artificial wastewater. Bacterial biosensors developed in this study efficiently expressed GFP by the recognition of $Zn^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ in artificial wastewater. Secondly, TCS-based zinc and copper removing bacteria with the peptide displayed on cell surface were examined in artificial wastewater. Zinc and copper removing bacteria expressed the peptide as a fusion protein such as OmpC-ZBP (zinc binding peptide) and OmpC-CBP (copper binding peptide) on the cell surface when sensing exogenous $Zn^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ through ZraS/R and CusS/R TCS. The recombinant cell expressing metal-adsorbing peptide could efficiently remove copper and zinc (15 and 18 mg/g dry cell weight, respectively) in artificial wastewater. Therefore, it was demonstrated that the TCS-based recombinant cell for the recognition or removal of heavy metal functions well in artificial wastewater environment.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.29 no.12
• /
• pp.764-773
• /
• 2019

The gas response characteristic toward C₂H₅OH has been demonstrated in terms of copper-vacancy concentration, hole density, and microstructural factors for undoped/Li(I)-doped CuO thin films prepared by sol-gel method. For the films, both concentrations of intrinsic copper vacancies and electronic holes decrease with increasing calcination temperature from 400 to 500 to 600 ℃. Li(I) doping into CuO leads to the reduction of copper-vacancy concentration and the enhancement of hole density. The increase of calcination temperature or Li(I) doping concentration in the film increases both optical band gap energy and Cu2p binding energy, which are characterized by UV-vis-NIR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The overall hole density of the film is determined by the offset effect of intrinsic and extrinsic hole densities, which depend on the calcination temperature and the Li(I) doping amount, respectively. The apparent resistance of the film is determined by the concentration of the structural defects such as copper vacancies, Li(I) dopants, and grain boundaries, as well as by the hole density. As a result, it is found that the gas response value of the film sensor is directly proportional to the apparent sensor resistance.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.49-52
• /
• 2007

Prodigiosin (1) is the parent member of a class of polypyrrole natural products that exhibit promising anticancer activities. They can facilitate copper-promoted oxidative DNA damage by binding to copper ions, and this activity is thought to represent their mechanism of cytotoxicity in the dark. They also possess photoinduced cytotoxicity, although 1 is too toxic in the dark to be used effectively for the treatment of cancer by photodynamic therapies. To circumvent dark toxicity by prodigiosins, the semi-synthetic analogue 2, in which the N-pyrrolic atoms of 1 are methylated to block copper coordination, and the synthetic phenyl analogues 3 and 4, which lack the copper-coordinating A-pyrrole ring of 1, were tested for their ability to inhibit colony formation of HL-60 cancer cells in the absence and presence of visible light (λ > 495 nm). Our results show that 2-4 lack cytotoxicity in the dark, but are able to inhibit colony formation of HL-60 cells following irradiation for 30 min. The synthetic derivative 4 exhibits photo-induced cytotoxicity similar to that of the natural product 1, demonstrating the potential use of prodigiosin-based compounds for treatment of cancers following irradiation with visible light.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.60 no.2
• /
• pp.131-136
• /
• 2016

Copper ion induced photoluminescence (PL) quenching dynamics and recovery of the PL by zinc ions were investigated for CdSe based nanocrystals. When copper ions were added, CdSe quantum dots showed fast and dramatically PL quenching whereas PL of CdSe nanorod gradually decreased. In the presence of zinc ions, the PL of CdSe/CdS (core/shell) nanocrystals that have quenched by copper ions was efficiently recovered. It showed that the PL intensity of nanocrystals increased by 50% in a solution containing 1 μM zinc ions. The PL intensity was increasing with increasing zinc ions, and could be described by Langmuir binding isotherm model. We showcase that the CdSe based nanocrystals can be used as fluorescence turn-on sensor.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.193-199
• /
• 2006

The catalytic oxidation of toluene over $-Al_2O_3$ supported copper-manganese oxide catalysts in the temperature range of $160-280^{\circ}C$ was investigated by employing a fixed bed flow reactor. The catalysts were characterized by BET, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), temperature-programmed reduction(TPR), temperature-programmed oxidation(TPO), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction(XRD) techniques. Catalytic oxidation of toluene was achieved at the below $280^{\circ}C$, and the optimal content of copper and manganese in the catalyst was found to be 15.0 wt％Cu-10.0 wt％Mn. From the TPR/TPO and XPS results, the redox peak of 15 Cu-10 Mn catalyst shifted to the lower temperature, and the binding energy was shifted to the higher binding energy. Furthermore, It is considered that $Cu_{1.5}Mn_{1.5}O_4$ is superior to Mn oxides and CuO in the role as active factor of catalysts from the XRD results and also catalytic activities are dependent on the redox ability and high oxidation state of catalysts.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.69-75
• /
• 2008

Tautomerism of pyrimidine base cytosine has been comparatively examined on nanoparticle and roughened plate surfaces of silver, gold, and copper by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The SERS spectrum was found to be different depending on the metals and their substrate conditions suggesting the dissimilar population of various tautomers of cytosine on the surfaces. The ab initio calculations were performed at the levels of B3LYP, HF, and MP2 levels of theory with the LanL2DZ basis set to estimate the energetic stability of the tautomers with the metal complexes as well as the gas phase state. The amino group and N3-coordinated tautomer was predicted to be more favorable for bonding to Au, whereas the hydroxyl and N1-coordinated zwitter ionic form is most stable with Ag and Cu as a bidentate form from the DFT calculation. The binding energy with the Ag atom is calculated to be smaller than those with the Au and Cu atoms in line with the temperature-dependent SERS spectra of cytosine.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.29 no.10
• /
• pp.641-646
• /
• 2016

Coil specimen was prepared by coating a copper wire with two varnish thin layers: the first was polyamideimide (PAI)/nanosilica (5 wt%) varnish and the second was anti-corona PAI/nanosilica (15 wt%) varnish. Insulation breakdown voltage was investigated under inverter surge condition at $20^{\circ}C$, $70^{\circ}C$, $100^{\circ}C$, $150^{\circ}C$, $200^{\circ}C$, $250^{\circ}C$, respectively. The insulation lifetime of the two layered coil was tens of times longer than that of original PAI coil. And the insulation lifetime decreased with increasing ambient temperature because there was weak binding strength between copper and varnish layer.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.95-100
• /
• 1999

The heavy metal concentrations in seawater and winkles (Littorina brevicula) collected from the Onsan bay area in southeast of Korea were analyzed. The heavy metal concentrations in the seawater obtained from the most polluted site showed approximately 189. 205. and 110 fold higher cadmium, copper. and zinc concentrations, respectively. than the uncontaminated control site. The contamination levels of these metals in winkles were 11.08 - 2.35, 334.5 - 212.5, and 426.0 - 499.2$\mu\textrm{g}$ per gram dry body weight. respectively. The concentrations of all three metals in both the seawater and winkles decreased gradually with increasing distance from Daejeong stream, suggesting the stream being the major source of heavy metal input into the bay. Among the four body parts of digestive gland and gonad. gill. kidney, and remaining tissue in contaminated winkles, kidney showed the highest accumulation level of cadmium: copper and zinc, however. were more or less distributed among the four body parts. Upon gel filtration chromatography of the cytosol from the kidney of cadmium induced winkles, one cadmium peak corresponded to the elution peak of horse kidney metallothionein.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.16-28
• /
• 2017

In an aquatic environment, toxicity of metals to organisms depends on external factors (type of metal, exposure concentration and duration, environmental parameters, and water quality) and intracellular processes(metal-binding sites and detoxification). Toxicity of copper(Cu) on the marine microalga Tetraselmis suecica was investigated in this study. Dose-dependent (Cu concentration dependent) inhibition of growth and cell division, as well as, variation of intra- and extra-cellular Cu, Fe and Zn content was observed. T. suecica was sensitive to Cu; the 96 h $EC_{50}$ (concentration to inhibit growth-rate by 50%) of growth rate (${\mu}$) ($21.73{\mu}M\;L^{-1}$), cell division $day^{-1}$ ($18.39{\mu}M\;L^{-1}$), and cells $mL^{-1}$ ($13.25{\mu}M\;L^{-1}$) demonstrate the toxicity of Cu on this microalga. High intra-($19.86Pg\;cell^{-1}$) and extra-cellular($54.73Pg\;cell^{-1}$) Cu concentrations were recorded, on exposure to 24.3 and $72.9{\mu}M\;L^{-1}$ of Cu.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.100-107
• /
• 2007

The moss Physcomitrella patens has two life cycles, filamentous protonema and leafy gametophore. A modified from of suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH), mirror orientation selection (MOS), was applied to screen genes differentially expressed in the P. patens protonema. Using reverse Northern blot analysis, differentially expressed clones were identified. The identified genes were involved mainly in metal binding and detoxification. One of these genes was an AP2 (APETALA2) domain-containing protein (PpACP1), which was highly up-regulated in the protonema. Alignment with other AP2/EREBPs (Ethylene Responsive Element Binding Proteins) revealed significant sequence homology of the deduced amino acid sequence in the AP2/EREBP DNA binding domain. Northern analysis under various stress conditions showed that PpACP1 was induced by ethephon, cadmium, copper, ABA, IAA, and cold. In addition, it was highly expressed in suspension-cultured protonema. We suggest that PpACP1 is involved in responses to metals, and that suspension culture enhance the expression of genes responding to metals.