• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.303-307
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• 2019

Sophorolipid is a biological surfactant of the glycolipid structure produced by Candida bombicola, which generally exists as a mixture of acidic and lactonic forms. In this study, we investigated physico-chemical properties, antibacterial activities, and cytotoxicity of the sophorolipid containing more than 96% of the lactonic form, produced by the gene regulation of production strains and application of a metabolic engineering technique. The lactonic sophorolipid showed a weak acidity in the range of pH 3.2~4.6 when diluted in water at the concentrations from 1 to 0.001 wt%. The $pK_a$ value of the lactonic sophorolipid was estimated to be around 4.3 from the acid-base titration curve. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the lactonic sophorolipid was $10^{-2}wt%$, at which the surface tension of aqueous solution was reduced to 36 mN/m. The lactonic sophorolipid showed the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of $1{\times}10^{-3}$ and $5{\times}10^{-3}g/mL$ against Propionibacterium acnes and Corynebacterium xerosis, respectively. The MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide] assay showed that cytotoxicity of the lactonic sophorolipid was ten times lower than that of triclosan.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.376-383
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• 2011

The CMCs of LA and LA3 nonionic surfactants obtained from the reaction between glycidol and lauryl alcohol were found to be $0.97{\times}10^{-3}mol/L$ and $1.02{\times}10^{-3}mol/L$ respectively and the surface tensions for 1 wt% surfactant were 26.99 and 27.48 mN/m respectively. Dynamic surface tension measurements using a maximum bubble pressure tensiometer showed that the adsorption rate of surfactant molecules at the interface between the air and the surfactant solution was found to be relatively fast in both surfactant systems, presumably due to the high mobility of surfactant molecules. The contact angles of LA and LA3 nonionic surfactants were 27.8 and $20.9^{\circ}$ respectively and the dynamic interfacial tension measurement by a spinning drop tensiometer showed that interfacial tensions at equilibrium condition in both systems were almost the same. Also both surfactant systems reached equilibrium in 2~3 min. Both surfactant solutions showed high stability when evaluated by conductometric method and the LA nonionic surfactant system provided the higher foam stability than the LA3 nonionic surfactant system. The phase behavior experiments showed a lower phase or oil in water (O/W) microemulsion in equilibrium with an excess oil phase at all temperatures studied. No three-phase region was observed including a middle-phase microemulsion or a lamellar liquid crystalline phase.

• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2021

Black polymer spacers are currently used for physically separating aligned camera lenses in camera modules of mobile phones. However, the mechanical properties of polymer spacers have their limits, especially in the current trend of using more lenses in thinner camera modules. Thus, copper (Cu) becomes a good candidate for those polymer spacers because of its superior mechanical properties and its inherent blackness due to its black surfaced oxides, such as copper (II) oxide (cupric oxide, CuO). The latter property is critical in quality control because the closer the color of a spacer is to black, the less light interference and flaring phenomena can occur. A standard Cu blackening process and its operational conditions were proposed in this study through a comprehensive analysis of previous research and patents. The Cu blackening process is composed of cleaning, deoxidizing, activating, blackening and sealing. The effects of operational parameters, such as the temperature of each unit process and the activator concentration, were then investigated by measuring the blackness of the Cu strips with a colorimeter. The proposed operational conditions were determined by whether the blackness of Cu strips was within the on-spec. value used in the field.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.594-602
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• 2021

Purpose: The zinc transporter ZIP7 is known to regulate glucose metabolism in skeletal muscles, and skeletal muscles are known to play a critical role in glycemic control. The present study examines the effects of dietary zinc supplementation on the blood glucose concentration and expression of ZIP7 in skeletal muscle obtained from obese mice fed a high-fat diet (HF). Methods: C57BL/6J male mice were divided into three groups and were administered either a HF (60% of total calories from fat), HF supplemented with zinc (HF+Zn, 60% calories from fat + 300 mg zinc/kg diet), or low-fat diet (CON, 10% calories from fat), for 15 weeks. Results: Compared to CON group mice, the final body weights and adipose tissue weights were significantly increased, while the skeletal muscle weights were significantly decreased in mice belonging to the HF and HF+Zn groups. The HF+Zn group had significantly lower levels of fasting blood glucose concentrations than the HF group. Similarly, zinc supplementation significantly decreased the HF-elevated area under the curve values obtained from the oral glucose tolerance test. Skeletal muscle protein levels of ZIP7 in samples obtained from the HF group were significantly decreased as compared to the CON group. Conversely, the skeletal ZIP7 protein levels in the HF+Zn group were significantly increased as compared to the HF group. Moreover, the protein levels of phosphorylated-AKT and glucose transporter 4 in the skeletal muscle were significantly increased subsequent to zinc supplementation. Conclusion: Our data demonstrates that zinc supplementation up-regulates the skeletal muscle ZIP7 expression, which is associated with improved glucose tolerance in the obesity.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.495-507
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• 2021

With the recent industrial development, accidental pollution in riverine environments has frequently occurred. It is thus necessary to simulate pollutant transport and dispersion using water quality models for predicting pollutant residence times. In this study, we conducted a field experiment in a meandering reach of the Sum River, South Korea, to validate the field applicability and prediction accuracy of RAMS+ (River Analysis and Modeling System+), which is a two-dimensional (2D) stream flow/water quality analysis program. As a result of the simulation, the flow analysis model HDM-2Di and the water quality analysis model CTM-2D-TX accurately simulated the 2D flow characteristics, and transport and mixing behaviors of the pollutant tracer, respectively. In particular, CTM-2D-TX adequately reproduced the elongation of the pollutant cloud, caused by the storage effect associated with local low-velocity zones. Furthermore, the transport model effectively simulated the secondary flow-driven lateral mixing at the meander bend via 2D dispersion coefficients. We calculated the residence time for the critical concentration, and it was elucidated that the calculated residence times are spatially heterogeneous, even in the channel-width direction. The findings of this study suggest that the 2D water quality model could be the accidental pollution analysis tool more efficient and accurate than one-dimensional models, which cannot produce the 2D information such as the 2D residence time distribution.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.253-263
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• 2022

This study suggests a guideline for designing unit process of wastewater reuse in terms of a maintenance of the process based on critical parameters to draw a high quality performance of RO unit. Defining the parameters was done by applying membrane integrity test (MIT) in pretreatment process utilizing lab-scale MF. SDI is utilized for judging whether permeate is suitable to RO unit. However, result said TOC concentration matching with particle count analysis is better for judging the permeate condition. When membrane test pressure (P_test) was measured to derive log removal value in PDT, virgin state of membrane fiber was used to measure dynamic contact angle utilizing surface tension of the membrane fiber. Actually, foulant affects to the state of membrane surface, and it decreases the P_test value along with time elapsed. Consequently, LRV_DIT is also affected by P_test value. Thus, sensitivity of direct integrity test descends with result of P_test value change, so P_test value should be considered not the virgin state of the membrane but its current state. Overall, this study focuses on defining design parameters suitable to MF pretreatment for RO process in wastewater reuse by assessing its impact. Therefore, utilities can acknowledge that the membrane surface condition must be considered when users conduct the direct integrity test so that P_test and other relative parameter used to calculate LRV_DIT are adequately measured.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.264-271
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• 2023

In this study, ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-430 surfactant was synthesized by adducting 3 moles of ethylene oxide and 1 mole of propylene oxide to lauryl alcohol followed by a sulfation process, and the structure of the synthesized ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-430 was elucidated by performing FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR analyses. Interfacial properties such as critical micelle concentration, static surface tension, emulsification index, and contact angle were measured, and environmental compatibility indices such as oral toxicity and skin irritation were also estimated for ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-430. Both results were compared with ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-226 and ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-328 SLES surfactants possessing 2 moles and 3 moles of ethylene oxide, respectively. In particular, both foaming ability and foam stability were evaluated for ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-430 and compared with ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-226 and ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-328, which have been widely used in detergent products, in order to test the potential applicability of ASCO^Ⓡ SLES-430 in detergent product formulation for a small capacity built-in washing machine.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2009

Purpose: Oxidative stress was thought to play a critical role in neurodegenerative disease. Many in vivo and in vitro reports explained the possible pathway of human aging. But in therapeutic aspects, there was no clear answers to prevent aging associated with neural diseases. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant and neuroprotective effects of the Insamyangyung-tang (IYT). Methods: To estimate the antioxidant effects, we carried out 1.1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay, 2,2'-azinobis-(3- ethylbenzothiazoline-6- sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical cation decolorization assay, and measurement of total polyphenolic content. To evaluate neuroprotective effect of IYT in vitro. We performed thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) creation in SH-SY5Y. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunocytochemistry, nitric oxide (NO) assay, and TNF-${\alpha}$ assay in primary rat mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons. Results: The $IC_{50}$ values were $571.6{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ and $202.3{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ in DPPH and ABTS assay respectively. Total polyphenolic content was 1.05%. In SH-SY5Y culture, IYT significantly increased the decreased cell viability by 6-OHDA at the concentrations of $10{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ in pre-treatment group, $10-100{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ in post-treatment group, and $100{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ in co-treatment group. The production of ROS induced by 6-OHDA was significantly inhibited in IYT treated group. In mesencephalic dopaminergic cell culture, the IYT group reduced the dopaminergic cell loss against 6-OHDA toxicity and the production of No and TNF-${\alpha}$ at the concentration of $0.2{\mu}g/m{\ell}$. Conclusion: These results showed that IYT has antioxidant and neuroprotectctive effects in the dopaminergic cells through decreasing the production of ROS, NO and TNF-${\alpha}$ which can cause many neurodegenerative changes in brain cell.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1023-1029
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• 2023

Biosurfactants reduce surface and interfacial tension due to their amphiphilic properties and are an eco-friendly alternative for chemical surfactants. In this study, a new yeast strain JAF-11 that produces a biosurfactant was selected using drop collapse method, and the properties of the extracts were investigated. The nucleotide sequences of the strain were compared with closely related strains and identified based on the D1/D2 domain of the large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. Neodothiora populina CPC 39399^T, the closest species with strain JAF-11, showed a sequence similarity of 97.75% for LSU and 94.27% for ITS, respectively. The result suggests that the strain JAF-11 represents a distinct species that cannot be assigned to any existing genus or species in the family Dothideaceae. Strain JAF-11 produced a biosurfactant reducing the surface tension of water from 72 mN/m to 34.5 mN/m on the sixth day of culture and the result of measuring the critical micelle concentration (CMC) by extracting the crude biosurfactant was found to be 24 mg/l. The molecular weight 502 of the purified biosurfactant was confirmed by measuring the fast atom bombardment mass spectrum. The chemical structure was analyzed by measuring ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C NMR, and two-dimensional NMRs of the compound. The molecular formula was C₂₆H₄₆O₉, and it was composed of one octanoyl group and two hexanoyl groups to myo-inositol moiety. The new biosurfactant is the first report of a compound produced by a new yeast strain, JAF-11.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.77-85
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• 2023

In this research, polymeric anionic surfactants having various molecular weights and acid values were synthesized using a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). The CSTR has an advantage of higher production rate and more constant product properties compared to batch and semi-batch reactors. The polymeric surfactants were made using butyl acrylate as a hydrophobic group and acrylic acid as a hydrophilic group. The synthesized polymeric surfactants were ionized with alkali solution and were used as an anionic surfactant. To investigate the properties as a surfactant, the properties of the synthesized surfactant, such as acid value, critical micelle concentration (CMC) and molecular weight, were measured. The results showed that the acid values of the polymeric surfactants were 60 to 380 and a number average molecular weight were 8,000 to 13,000 g/mol. Also, it was found that the CMC was around 0.01 g/ml, which showed similar level values with ordinary surfactant. To prove the performance of the polymeric surfactant, acrylic emulsion PSAs were synthesized using the acquired polymeric surfactant. The results showed that the maximum peel strength of 21.24 N/25mm when acid value was 150 and molecular weight was 8,500 g/mol. The values of peel strength and initial tack of acrylic emulsion PSAs using polymeric surfactant synthesized in this study showed much higher than those of reference PSAs synthesized using ordinary anionic surfactant, SDS (Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate) and SDS/TRX (Triton X-100).