• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.1433-1438
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• 2007

Characteristics of a phase change type micro actuator have been studied. The micro actuator has been designed for a micro-pump in an active direct methanol fuel cell(DMFC), consisting of an actuating chamber, a membrane, an electric heater, and a sensor of resistance temperature detector (RTD). In the present study, researches have been focused on the response of the actuator to control algorithm of the heater. The experiments demonstrated that the displacement of the membrane increase with temperature variation which is a function of applied voltage, duty ratio, and operating frequency of heating. The results also showed that operation of the actuator with high voltage at small duty of heating is more efficient than the same power consumption of heating with low voltage at large duty.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.668-674
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• 2006

In order to develop a cell based robot, we present a micro-mechanical force measurement system for the biological muscle actuators, which utilize glucose as a power source. The proposed measurement system is composed of a micro-manipulator, a force transducer with a glass probe, a signal processor, an inverted microscope and video recording system. Using this measurement system, the contractile force and frequency of the cardiac myocytes were measured in real time and the magnitudes of the contractile force of each cardiac myocyte under different conditions were compared. From the quantitative experimental results, we could estimate that the force of cardiac myocytes is about $20\sim40{\mu}N$, and show that there are differences between the control cells and the micro-patterned cells.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2009.04b
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• pp.212-214
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• 2009

The polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) with the advantages of low-operating temperature, high current density, low cost and volume, fast start-up ability, and suitability for discontinuous operation becomes the most reasonable and attractive power system for transportation vehicle and micro-grid power plant in a household. 200W PEMFC(Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell) system applied to middle and small-scaled micro-grid power system was constructed by this study, then the electrical characteristics and diagnosis of the fuel cell were analyzed with thermal variation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.221-222
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• 2009

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.247-251
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• 2008

This paper presents a micro air pump actuated by PZT actuator (synthetic jet actuator) for air supply for micro fuel cells. The synthetic jet actuators are usually created by a traditional PZT-driven actuator, which consists of a small cylindrical cavity, in/outlet channel and PZT diaphragms. To design the micro air pump, a numerical analysis has been conducted for flow characteristics with respect to various geometries. A prototype of the micro air pump, with a size of $mm{\times}mm{\times}mm$, was fabricated by PDMS replication process and was conducted performance test. To control the PZT actuator, we used the SP4423 micro chips that can be amplified input voltage to reduce the controller size and the power consumption. With a voltage of 3V at 100Hz, the air pump's pumping pressure is 600pa and its power consumption is only 0.1mW.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.291-296
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• 2010

Recently, recycling method of waste wafer has been an area of solar cell to cut costs. Micro_blasting is one of the promising candidates for recycling of waste wafer due to their extremely simple and cost-effective process. In this paper, we attempt to explore the effect of micro_blasting and DRE(damage removal etching) process for solar cell. The optimal process conditions of micro_blasting are as follows: $10{\mu}m$ sized $Al_2O_3$ powder, jetting pressure of 400 kPa, and scan_speed of 30 cm/s. And the particles formed on micro_blasted wafer were removed by DRE precess which was performed by using HNA(HF/$HNO_3$/$CH_3COOH$) and TMAH(tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide). Structural analysis was done using a-step and the XRD patterns.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.501-502
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• 2006

In-plane type micro piezoelectric micro grippers with pneumatic lines for manipulation biological cells and micro parts were designed, fabricated, and characterized. Micro grippers were fabricated through the final micro-sanding process after wafer level bonding between the etched 4' Si wafer with pneumatic channels and 4' glass wafer. Displacements between two jaws of fabricated micro grippers were linearly increased with applying voltages to piezoelectric actuator. In the case of applying 80 V, the displacement between two jaws was $160{\mu}m$. Using fabricated micro grippers, manipulation tests for biological cell and micro parts with the sizes less than $100{\mu}m$ are in process.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.319-323
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• 2015

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells capable of differentiating into adipocytes, osteoblasts, or chondrocytes. A mutually inhibitory relationship exists between osteogenic and adipogenic lineage commitment and differentiation. Such cell fate decision is regulated by several signaling pathways, including Wnt and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP). Accumulating evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRNAs) act as switches for MSCs to differentiate into either osteogenic or adipogenic lineage. Different miRNAs have been reported to regulate a master transcription factor for osteogenesis, such as Runx2, as well as molecules in the Wnt or BMP signaling pathway, and control the balance between osteoblast and adipocyte differentiation. Here, we discuss recent advancement of the cell fate decision of MSCs by miRNAs and their targets. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(6): 319-323]

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.05d
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• pp.1-5
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• 2003

연료전지는 화학에너지를 전기에너지로 직접 변환시키는 전력 변환 장치로써, 수명이 길고 에너지 밀도가 높아 기존의 축전지 대체 에너지원으로 많은 연구가 이루어지고 있다. 최근 소형 휴대용 전자기기용 전원으로 개발되고 있는 마이크로 직접메탄올 연료전지는 연료의 취급이 용이하고, 운전온도가 낮기 때문에 초소형화가 가능하다. 이러한 여러 가지 장점을 가진 직접메탄올 연료전지를 기반으로 하는 마이크로 연료 전지(Micro fuel cell)의 구성과 개발 현황 및 응용에 대하여 기술하였다.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.217-222
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• 2015

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the fourth most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Distant metastasis is a major cause of mortality in CRC. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules involved in the post-transcriptional and translational regulation of gene expression. Many miRNAs are aberrantly expressed in cancer and influence tumor progression. Accumulating studies suggest that multiple miRNAs are actively involved in the CRC metastasis process. Thus, we aim to introduce the role of miRNAs in multi-steps of CRC metastasis, including cancer cell invasion, intravasation, circulation, extravasation, colonization, angiogenesis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Moreover, we suggest the potential application of miRNAs as biomarkers for CRC patients with metastasis. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(4): 217-222]