• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.144-148
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• 2016

Recently, silk sericin has been studied extensively for biomedical and cosmetic applications because of its unique properties, including UV resistance and wound healing ability. For use in applications, sericin is fabricated in various forms including films and gels. However, the mechanical properties of sericin are too weak. In this basic study on improving the mechanical properties of sericin, a silk sericin aqueous solution was separated into two layers by centrifugation. The solution viscosity, molecular conformation, and mechanical properties of each separation layer of the sericin were examined. Sericin from the lower layer had a higher solution viscosity and film mechanical properties (strength and strain) than that from the upper layer, implying that sericin from the lower layer had a higher molecular weight than that from the upper layer. The molecular conformation of the sericin films varied depending on the casting solvent. In aqueous solution, the sericin film from the lower layer showed a ${\beta}$-sheet conformation, whereas that from the upper layer displayed a random coil conformation. All the sericin films showed a highly ${\beta}$-sheet-crystallized state when cast in formic acid, regardless of the separation layer.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.374-374
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• 2006

Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) shows a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) at $32^{\circ}C$. Consequently, its thermosensitivity has extensively been investigated in coating materials as well as biomedical and agricultural industry. However, mechanical properties of the swollen gels are generally poor and reinforcement is often desired. A series of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) and emulsion blends hydrogels of polyurethane (PU) and PNIPAAm were prepared in order to overcome the shortcomings of a normal PNIPAAm hydrogels. Regarding the mechanical reinforcement of swollen gel, a significant increase in compression and tensile properties has been obtained by incorporating PU.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Rheology Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.61-64
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• 2006

Soft materials, such as polymer solutions, gels and filamentous protein materials in cells, show complicated behavior due to their complex structures and dynamics with multiple characteristic time and length scales. Several complementary techniques have been developed to measure viscoelastic of soft materials. Especially, particle tracking microrheology, using the Brownian motion of particles in a medium to get rheological properties, has recently been improved both theoretically and experimentally. Compared to other conventional methods, video particle tracking microrheology has some advantages such as small sample volume, detecting spatial variation of local rheological properties, and less damage to sample materials. With these advantages, microrheology is more suitable to measure the properties of complex materials than other mechanical rheometries.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.93-97
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• 2023

A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, and has been considered as a substitute for continuous power supply due to its high performance, simple structure and eco-friendliness. Recently, it is important to develop a TENG using a non-toxic material in order to use it as a power source for wearable, attachable, and body-embeddable electronics. Here, we developed a human friendly TENG using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gel containing acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC), a non-toxic plasticizer. PVC gels were fabricated using various ratios of PVC and ATBC, and optimized by investigating dielectric properties, surface potential, output performance, and durability. The PVC gel based TENG generates output signals of 73 V and 4.3 μA, i.e., a 5-fold enhancement in the output power compared to pristine PVC-based TENG. In addition, the PVC gel can be stretched over 500% of strain. This study is expected to be helpful in the future development of non-toxic wearable TENG.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

Active polymer gels expand and contract in response to certain environmental stimuli, such as the application of an electric field or a change in the pH level of the surroundings. This ability to achieve large, reversible deformations with no external mechanical loading has generated much interest in the use of these gels as biomimetic actuators and artificial muscles. In this study, poly (vinyl alcohol)(PVA) grafted acrylic acid monomer (PVA-g-AAc) hydrogels were prepared by $^{60}Co$ ${\gamma}-ray$ irradiation and their properties such as degree of grafting and weight swelling in electrostimulation as an artificial muscle and actuator were investigated.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.419-425
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• 2018

In this study, cross-linked collagen gels were successfully prepared with varying of elastic modulus from 0.7 to 17.7 kPa using a chemical cross-linker. Then, human dermal fibroblasts were encapsulated into the porous pores introduced into the gels, and cell growth and behavior were examined by gel's mechanical properties. Specifically, increasing elastic modulus of the gel led to decreases in procollagen synthesis from 47 to 32 ng. In addition, there could be optimum elastic modulus for procollagen production, when the gels were treated with adenosine. However, interestingly, this study discovered that the procollagen production level was not influenced by the elastic modulus of the gel for functional peptide. In conclusion, these results would be highly useful for designing reconstructed skins with varying of elastic modulus to examine functional materials in cosmetics.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.412-417
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• 2015

A critical element in tissue engineering approaches is a control of the mechanical properties of polymer scaffolds to regulate cell phenotype, which may lead to clinically successful tissue regeneration. In this study, we hypothesized that gel stiffness could be a key factor to manipulate adhesion and proliferation of different types of cells. RGD-modified alginate gels with various mechanical properties were prepared and used as a substrate for MC3T3-E1 and H9C2 cells. Adhesion and growth rate of MC3T3-E1 cells in vitro were increased in parallel with an increase of gel stiffness. In contrast, those of H9C2 cells were decreased. This approach to control the mechanical properties of polymer scaffolds depending on the cell types may find useful applications in the tissue engineering.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.149-159
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• 2023

Water glass (WG) and sodium sulfate (SS) were used to prepare polymeric aluminum chloride residue cement mortar (PACRM) by single and compound blending with polymeric aluminum chloride waste residue, respectively. The structural strength and textural characteristics examinations showed that PACRM consistency increased by incorporating WG, but decreased by incorporating SS. When WG and SS were compounded, the mortar consistency initially rose before falling. The compressive strength of PACRM increased and then decreased as WG was increased. The mechanical properties of PACRM were better enhanced by SS than WG, showing no strength deterioration. The main reason for the improved mechanical properties of polymeric aluminum chloride waste residue in the presence of activators is the increased precipitation of reactive substances, such as C-S-H gels, calcium silica, and Ca(OH)₂. The density of the specimens with PACRM and the degree of aggregation of hydration products were significantly enhanced by generating more hydration products in the mortar. Further, the cracks and pores were significantly reduced, and the matrix structure was continuous and dense at 5% SS doping and 3% compound doping.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.79-85
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• 2005

Aqueous mixtures of hyaluronic acid and poly(vinyl alcohol) system and hydrogels thereof were introduced to obtain new bioartificial materials that have excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility and enhanced rheological properties. The interactions between hyaluronic acid and poly(vinyl alcohol) and/or borax were investigated by rheological measurements. Preparation parameters of the aqueous mixtures were mixture composition, the degree of hydrolysis of poly(vinyl alcohol) and borax concentration. From the rheological behavior, it could be deduced that the key factor of the interaction between hyaluronic acid and poly(vinyl alcohol) was the hydrogen bonding between them and the effect was pronounced with borax. Enhanced viscosity was observed at the composition of $20wt\%$ of hyaluronic acid solution and $80wt\%$ of poly(vinyl alcohol) and borax solution. Rheological properties were influenced by the degree of hydrolysis of poly(vinyl alcohol) and borax concentration. As the degree of hydrolysis and borax concentration increased, rheological properties increased due to the increased hydrogen bonding and networking of hyaluronate aggregates. Physical hydrogels from hyaluronic acid and poly(vinyl alcohol) were prepared and the composition dependence of the gels was rheologically investigated as well.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.265-270
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• 2003

In spite of high ionic conductivity, the polymer gels have poor mechanical properties and high reactivity with lithium metal anode. To solve these problems, the dry solid systems and polymer composites have been intensively studied, due to their good mechanical, thermal, chemical, and electrochemical stability. The objectives of this experiment were to improve ionic conductivity and mechanical properties of the solid polymer electrolytes based on PEO-LiClO$_4$. To obtain higher ionic conductivity and better mechanical properties, ceramic or rubber phase was added in the PEO-LiClO$_4$(8:1) matrix. The results showed that ionic conductivity and mechanical properties were improved. The ionic conductivity of the samples was as high as 10$\^$-5/ S cm$\^$-1/. This value is similar to the best ionic conductivity ever reported in the solid drying system. To obtain better results, we used PEO with various molecular weights (600∼8000) and changed the salt contents. By using DSC, we found that the addition of salt reduced the crystallinity of PEO. The mobility of polymer dependence on salt contents was examined by FT-IR.