• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.12
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• pp.655-661
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• 2016

Polymer brush is a soft material unit tethered covalently on the surface of scaffolds. It can induce functional and structural modification of a substrate's properties. Such surface coating approach has attracted special attentions in the fields of stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine due to facile fabrication, usability of various polymers, extracellular matrix (ECM)-like structural features, and in vivo stability. Here, we summarized polymer brush-based grafting approaches comparing self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-based coating method, in addition to physico-chemical characterization techniques for surfaces such as wettability, stiffness/elasticity, roughness, and chemical composition that can affect cell adhesion, differentiation, and proliferation. We also reviewed recent advancements in cell biological applications of polymer brushes by focusing on stem cell differentiation and 3D supports/implants for tissue formation. Understanding cell behaviors on polymer brushes in the scale of nanometer length can contribute to systematic understandings of cellular responses at the interface of polymers and scaffolds and their simultaneous effects on cell behaviors for promising platform designs.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.358-358
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• 2006

The graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl acrylate (BA) and acrylamide (AAm) onto oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber were successfully carried out in aqueous solution using $H_{2}O_{2}/Fe^{2+}$ as initiator. For all monomers the percentage of grafting increases with the amount of monomer and can be controlled by setting the appropriate reaction conditions. The optimum reaction period were found to be 120 minutes for all monomers whereas the optimum temperature and the amount of initiator needed for grafting depend on the type of the monomer used. The mechanisms of grafting vinyl monomer onto OPEFB were proposed. The grafted products were characterized by gravimetric analysis, FTIR and SEM.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.1381-1384
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• 2005

Surface modification of tridimensional cubic mesoporous silica, SBA-16, was investigated with pendant arm functionalized cobalt diaminosarcophagine (diAMsar) cage complex which covalently grafted onto the silica surface through the silication with sylanol group. The spectroscopic results showed that the mesoporous structure was preserved under the $[Co(diAMsar)]^{3+}$ grafting reaction condition. Successful grafting prevented the cobalt diAMsar cage from leaching out from the SBA-16 support.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.110-112
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• 2004

Poyethylene films can be modified by radiation grafting of N-vinyl pyrollidone using y-radiation. FTIR spectra were used to confirm the modification of PE films. The modified films were activated by two-step and one step methods for electroless Cu plating. Morphology of metallized films has been investigated. Electroless Cu plating onto the modified films depends mainly on the grafting degree and activation type. The conductivity of the metallized films has been investigated.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.291-295
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• 2002

Atomic force microscopy(AFM) was used to study the polyethylene(PE) surfaces grafted and immobilized with acrylic acid by Ar plasma treatment. The topographical images and parameters including RMS roughness and Rp-v value provided an appropriate means to characterize the surfaces. The plasma grafting and immobilization method were a useful tool for the preparation of surfaces with carboxyl group. However, the plasma immobilization method turned out to have a limitation to use as a means of preparation of PE surface with specific functionalities, due to ablation effect during the Ar plasma treatment process.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.103-120
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• 2010

Surface modification of microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes has been widely used to improve the protein adsorption resistance and permeation properties of hydrophobic membranes. Several surface modification methods for converting conventional membranes into low-protein-binding membranes are reviewed. They are categorized as either physical modification or chemical modification of the membrane surface. Physical modification of the membrane surface can be achieved by coating it with hydrophilic polymers, hydrophilic-hydrophobic copolymers, surfactants or proteins. Another method of physical modification is plasma treatment with gases. A hydrophilic membrane surface can be also generated during phase-inverted micro-separation during membrane formation, by blending hydrophilic or hydrophilic-hydrophobic polymers with a hydrophobic base membrane polymer. The most widely used method of chemical modification is surface grafting of a hydrophilic polymer by UV polymerization because it is the easiest method; the membranes are dipped into monomers with and without photo-initiators, then irradiated with UV. Plasma-induced polymerization of hydrophilic monomers on the surface is another popular method, and surface chemical reactions have also been developed by several researchers. Several important examples of physical and chemical modifications of membrane surfaces for low-protein-binding are summarized in this article.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.53-57
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• 2014

The kenaf is quickly developing as a renewable resource. Kenaf can be grown under a wide range of weather conditions. Modification of kenaf fiber by graft polymerization provides a significant route to alter the chemical properties, including surface hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity. In this study, kenaf fiber surfaces were grafted with acrylic acid as a hydrophilic group using electron beam irradiation. The grafting rate increased with an increase in grafting time. The FT-IR results confirmed that acrylic acid was successfully grafted onto the kenaf fibers. The wettability of the kenaf fiber was increased, accompanied by acylic acid grafting on the fiber surface. According to the permeability test result, it was found that acrylic acid grafted kenaf fiber reinforced cement composite was more reduced than non-grafted kenaf fiber reinforced cement composite.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.954-959
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• 1999

Radiation-induced grafting of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate(HEMA), acrylic acid(AAc) and methacrylic acid(MAAc) onto polypropylene microfiltration membrane has been studied. The effect of grafting conditions such as solvent composition(MeOH and $H_2O$) and monomer concentration on the grafting yield in investigated. The highest degree of grafting is obtained at a solvent composition of 25% $H_2O$:75% MeOH for HEMA, pure water for AAc and 50% $H_2O$:50% MeOH for MAAc. Modification of the PP membranes with hydrophilic monomers is shown to cause an increase in the water permeation flux of the membranes. It is found that HEMA is the best monomer to increase the water permeation flux and the highest water permeation flux is obtained at 99% degree of grafting. The water permeation flux of AAc-grafted PP membrane and MAAc-grafted PP membrane is very sensitive to environmental pH and $Cu^{2+}$ ion, but the water permeation flux of HEMA-grafted PP membrane scarcely depends on pH and $Cu^{2+}$ ion.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.293-298
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• 2014

We prepared hydrophilic porous supporters for the reinforced composite fuel cell membrane by radiation grafting of acrylonitrile (AN) and hydrophilic sodium allylsulfonate (SAS) into a porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) supporter. The physicochemical properties of the supporters prepared under various reaction conditions such as molar ratio of SAS/AN, monomer concentration, and irradiation dose were evaluated. FTIR was utilized to confirm the successful introduction of SAS/AN copolymer chains into the porous PTFE. The pores of the porous PTFE film were found to be decreased with an increase in the degree of grafting by using FE-SEM and gurley number. Furthermore, by analyzing the degree of grafting, contact angle, and TBO (toluidine blue O) uptake, the hydrophilicity of the prepared supporters was found to increase with an increase in the degree of grafting.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.279-286
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• 2002

For surface modification of polymers with hydrophilic functional groups, acrylic acid was grafted and immobilized on the surface of polyethylene(PE) by cold-plasma treatment using Ar gas. The modifications were identified by analysis of ATR-IR spectrum and by the measurement of contact angles. Compared to virgin PE significant decreases in contact angle were observed for both the grafted PE and the immobilized PE. The decreases of contact angle were in the range of 47~$53^{\circ}$ for grafted PE and 23~$26^{\circ}$ for immobilized PE. The degree of hydrophilicity depended strongly on the plasma-treating time and discharge power. For the case of grafting it has show that the longer plasma-treating time, the higher hydrophilic character. For the case of immobilization, whereas, higher discharge power and longer exposure to plasma have shown the detrimental effect for the preparation of hydrophilic PE surface due to the decrease of carboxyl group by ablation effect. The decrease in adhesion strength of immobilized PE. compared to grafted PE, was also attributed to the ablation of carboxyl group.