• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.113-118
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• 2022

In this study, the effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on Cu electrodeposition was analyzed using cyclic voltammetry. The adsorption of PEG was affected by the specific adsorption of sulfate ion (SO₄^2-) or chloride ion (Cl^-). In SO₄^2--based plating solution, the adsorption of PEG was limited by the adsorbed SO₄^2-. Accordingly, the adsorbed PEG could suppress the electron transfer for Cu electrodeposition, but its effect was not significant. Meanwhile, in the plating solution composed of perchlorate ion (ClO₄^-) which does not specifically adsorb on Cu surface, a strong suppression effect of PEG was observed and it was proportional to the molecular weight of PEG. On the other hand, when Cl^- was specifically adsorbed on Cu surface, the suppression effect of PEG was enhanced because PEG and Cl^- formed an interrelated adsorbate. The synergetic effect of PEG and Cl^- depended on the composition of the plating solution, which means that the synergy between PEG and Cl^- is based on the physical interaction. For example, the hydrophobicity of PEG plays an important role in the interaction, as the suppression effect of PEG derivative having a hydrocarbon tail was further enhanced with the addition of Cl^-.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.316-321
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• 2021

Ligninolytic enzymes were produced by Pleurotus ostreatus No.42, cultivated in a new kind of bioreactor that has a rotating draft tube with a helical ribbon. Maximum laccase (Lac) production (about 8,200 U/bioreactor) was reached after 3 days of incubation, then production decreased. Production of manganese peroxidase (MnP) in this fermenter reached a maximum level of about 8,400 U/bioreactor after 6 days of incubation. Lignin peroxidase (LiP) was not detected under these growth conditions. These results indicate that the rotary draft tube bioreactor (RTB) is compatible with large scale production of ligninolytic enzymes. MnP produced under these fermentation conditions was purified via a multistep process that included chromatography on Sepharose CL-6B, prep grade Superdex 75, and Mono-Q. This major isoenzyme was confirmed to have an apparent molecular weight of 36,400 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and its isoelectric point (IEF) was determined to be 3.95. N-terminal sequencing of the major isoenzyme from this fermentation was identical to that reported for an MnP3 isoenzyme isolated under different cultivation conditions, including stationary and shaking culture.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.211-221
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• 2022

Recently, the demand for the cultivation of upland soil has been increasing, and the rate of conversion of paddy soil into upland soil is also increasing. Theincrease in uneven precipitation due to climate change has resulted in dramatic effects of waterlogging stress on upland crops. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the changes in growth characteristics and the expression patterns of proteins at the two-leaf stage of adzuki beans. The domestic cultivar, Arari (Miryang No. 8), was used to test waterlogging stress. At the two-leaf stage of adzuki beans, plant height slightly decreased androot fresh weight showed significant changes after 3 days of waterlogging treatment. Chlorophyll content was also significantly different after 3 days of waterlogging treatment compared to its content in control plants. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, more than 400 protein spots were identified. Twenty-one differentially expressed proteins from the two-leaf stage were analyzed using linear trap quadrupole-Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Of these 21 proteins, 9 were up-regulated and 12 were down-regulated under waterlogging treatment. Protein information resource (https://pir.georgetown.edu/) categories were assigned to all 49 proteins according to their molecular function, cellular component localization, and biological processes. Most of the proteins were found to be involved in the biological process, carbohydrate metabolism and were localized in chloroplasts.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.6-16
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• 2023

To investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of submerged culture using Cordyceps militaris mycelium, culture-including mycelia was extracted and lyophilized into postbiotics (hot-water extract; CM-HW). HW was fractionated into crude polysaccharide (CM-CP) by ethanol precipitation, and CM-CP was further dialyzed into CM-DCP by dialysis with running water using 12~14 kDa dialysis tube. When the cytotoxicity of subfractions against cells was assessed, no subfraction had a cytotoxic impact that was substantially different from the control groups. In an inflammatory model using LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, CM-DCP significantly decreased IL-6 and MCP-1 production levels compared to the LPS-control group. CM-DCP also inhibited IL-6 and IL-8 secretion in HaCaT keratinocytes stimulated with TNF-α and IFN-γ. In the meanwhile, the neutral sugar content and mannose ratio of anti-inflammatory CM-DCP were higher than the other fractions, and CM-DCP contained β-1,3/1,6-glucan of 216.1 mg/g. High pressure size exclusion chromatography revealed that CM-DCP contained molecules with a molecular weight range of 5.6 to 144.0 kDa. In conclusion, postbiotics of C. militaris mycelium significantly promoted anti-inflammatory activity, suggesting that neutral polysaccharides including Glc and Man contribute to the anti-inflammation in RAW 264.7 or HaCaT cells.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2023

In this study, waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was recycled to produce a support and then polyetherimide (PEI) was used for environmentally friendly organic solvent nanofiltration. The prepared composite membrane was first prepared by electrospinning a PET support, then casted on the support using PEI having excellent solvent resistance, and organic solvent nanoparticles using a Non-solvent Induced Phase Separation (NIPS) method. A filtration membrane was prepared. First, the fiber diameter and tensile strength of the PET scaffold prepared prior to membrane fabrication were identified through morphology analysis, and the optimal scaffold for the organic solvent nanofiltration membrane was identified. Afterward, the PET/PEI composite membrane prepared was checked for the DEA removal rate of Congo red having a molecular weight of 697 g/mol in ethanol to understand the performance as an organic solvent nanofiltration membrane according to the concentration of PEI. Finally, the removal rate of Congo red was 90% or more.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.204-215
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• 2023

The thermolabile haemolysin (tlh) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vptlh) from V. parahaemolyticus is a multiple-function enzyme, initially describes as a haemolytic factor activated by lecithin and phospholipase A2 enzymatic activity (Shinoda, 1991; Vazquez-Morado, 2021; Yanagase et al., 1970). Until now, the tlh structure has hypothesized including N-terminal and C-terminal domain, but what domain of the Vptlh structure does the haemolytic activity has not been refined yet. In this study, a 450-bp VpTLH nucleotide sequence of the entire Vptlh gene encoded the C-terminal domain cloned firstly to examine its responsibility in the activity of the Vptlh. The C-terminal domain fused with a 6-His-tag named the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain was expressed successfully in soluble form in the BL21 (DE3) PlysS cell. Remarkably, both expression and purification results confirmed a high agreement in the molecular weight of the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain was 47 kDa. This work showed the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain lysed the erythrocyte membranes in the blood agar and the phosphate buffered saline (0.9%) media without adding the lecithin substrate of the phospholipase enzyme. Haemolysis occurred at all tested diluted concentrations of His-tag-VpC-terminal domain (p < 0.05), providing evidence for the independent haemolytic activity of the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain. The content of 100 ㎍ of the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain brought the highest haemolytic activity of 80% compared to that in the three remaining contents. Significantly, the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain demonstrated not to involve the phospholipase activity in Luria-Bertani agar supplemented with 1% (vol/vol) egg yolk emulsion. All results proved the vital responsibility of the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain in causing the haemolytic activity without the required activation by the phospholipase enzyme. Raw extracts of Phellinus igniarus and Phellinus pipi at 10^-1 mg/mL inhibited the haemolytic activity of the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain from 67.7% to 87.42%, respectively. Hence applying the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain as a simple biological material to evaluate quickly potential derivatives against the Vptlh in vivo conditions will accessible and more advantageous than using the whole of the Vptlh.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.89-98
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• 2023

Background: Organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) are a group of chemical substances used in building materials and plastic products to suppress or mitigate the combustion of materials. Although OPFRs are generally used in mixed form, information on their mixture toxicity is quite scarce. Objectives: This study aims to elucidate the toxicity and determine the types of interaction (e.g., synergistic, additive, and antagonistic effect) of OPFRs mixtures. Methods: Nine organophosphorus flame retardants, including TEHP (tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate) and TDCPP (tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate), were selected based on indoor dust measurement data in South Korea. Nine OPFRs were exposed to the luminescent bacteria Aliivibrio fischeri for 30 minutes and the human hepatocyte cell line HepG2 for 48 hours. Chemicals with significant toxicity were only used for mixture toxicity tests in HepG2. In addition, the observed EC_x values were compared with the predicted toxicity values in the CA (concentration addition) prediction model, and the MDR (model deviation ratio) was calculated to determine the type of interaction. Results: Only four chemicals showed significant toxicity in the luminescent bacteria assays. However, EC₅₀ values were derived for seven out of nine OPFRs in the HepG2 assays. In the HepG2 assays, the highest to lowest EC₅₀ were in the order of the molecular weight of the target chemicals. In the further mixture tests, most binary mixtures show additive interactions except for the two combinations that have TPhP (triphenyl phosphate), i.e., TPhP and TDCPP, and TPhP and TBOEP (tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate). Conclusions: Our data shows OPFR mixtures usually have additivity; however, more research is needed to find out the reason for the synergistic effect of TPhP. Also, the mixture experimental dataset can be used as a training and validation set for developing the mixture toxicity prediction model as a further step.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.291-300
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• 2022

In this study, the physical properties of the medium and changes in the wood chemical composition of the sawdust were investigated during the cultivation of oak mushroom sawdust bags, and the following results were obtained. After inoculation, the weight of the medium decreased during the incubation period. It is determined that this is not due to evaporation of moisture containing the medium or decomposition of sawdust, but to decomposition of rice bran, a low molecular substance added to the medium. It was confirmed that the moisture content of the medium was steadily increased during incubation, and it was estimated that the organic substrates such as rice brane in the medium was decomposed by mycelium, and water, one of the decomposition products of organic substrates, caused an increase in the moisture content of the medium. Along with the increase in the harvest of oak mushrooms, the proportion of organic substances such as holocellulose and lignin, the main components of the wood cell wall of sawdust, steadily decreased. In particular, the degradation characteristics of the wood cell wall component of shiitake, which is a white rot fungi, were confirmed by higher lignin reduction rate than that of holocellulose. On the other hand, ash, which is an inorganic material, increased with an increase in the number of mushroom harvests. The increase in the amount of ash in the medium may have been due to the decrease in the organic matter content such as holocellulose and lignin.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.94-102
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• 2022

Defatted soybean, larvae of brown mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), and powdered pupae of silkworm (Bombyx mori) were fermented in solid and liquid forms using Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus subtilis. The protein degradation rate (NDR) through solid fermentation was the highest in the fermented soybean control sample (54.69±6.54%), followed by silkworm pupae (34.82±5.99%) and brown mealworm larvae (30.54±3.80%). When these edible insects were fermented in liquid form, solid extraction yield was 37.73-46.88%, and protein yield was 47.47-63.02%. NDR of fermented liquid form products increased to 58.90, 52.62, and 50.13% for soybean, brown mealworm larvae, and silkworm pupae, respectively. SDS-PAGE of the liquid fermented products confirmed that microbial fermentation decomposed higher-molecular-weight proteins into small polypeptides. In vitro digestibility of liquid forms of edible insects increased by 1.26 to 1.53 times after fermentation. The protein solubility, foaming ability, and foam stability of liquid-fermented edible insects all tended to increase through fermentation.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to develop a method for separating antioxidants and sugars from grape skin extract. The extract was first mixed with a variety of organic solvents to investigate whether the separation was feasible. When employing acetone, ethanol, dimethylsulfoxide, or dimethylformamide, the organic solvent-extract combination formed a single phase. However, when benzene, ethyl acetate, or n-hexane was added to the extract, the mixture separated into an organic and an aqueous phase and the pigments remained in the aqueous phase. On the other hand, when polyethylene glycol-2,000 (PEG-2000) and sodium citrate were added to the extract, the mixture was separated into three layers, with the majority of the flavonoids migrating to the top layer and 53% of the extract's glucose migrating to the bottom layer. The top layer had significant antioxidant activity, whereas the bottom layer showed no antioxidant activity. The glucose recovery in the bottom layer increased as the molecular weight of PEG increased and the highest recovery (67%) was observed when PEG-8,000 was added. The highest flavonoid separation was observed with PEG-2,000, followed by PEG-8,000 and PEG-400. The flavonoid separation when PEG-2,000 was added resulted in a flavonoid recovery of 48% and 0.2% from the top and bottom layers, respectively. Examining the effect of the separated solution using the agar disc diffusion method on yeast cell growth confirmed that the addition of the extract, the top, and the bottom layer did not inhibit cell growth.