• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.223-231
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• 2014

In order to prevent the spread of non-indigenous aquatic species through the ballast water in commercial ships, International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted in 2004 the International Convention for Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments. The Convention mandates treatment of ballast water for most transoceanic voyages and its confirmation of treatment is made with plankton live/dead assay. Fluorescein diacetate assay (FDA), which produces bright green light for live phytoplankton, has been a de facto standard method to determine the survival of marine plankton, but its staining efficacy has been in dispute. In the present study, we examined the limitation of FDA, and compared its efficacy with Neutral red (NR) staining, another promising assay and widely used especially for zooplankton mortality. For all phytoplankton species studied in the present study, except Ditylum brightwellii, the staining efficiency was <50% with FDA. The green FDA fluorescence interfered with phytoplankton autofluorescence in most samples. In contrast, NR assay stained over 90% of both phytoplankton and zooplankton species tested in this study. FDA assay also showed that green FDA fluorescence rapidly faded when phytoplankton cells were exposed to microscope light. Both FDA and NR assay were negative on formalin-killed individuals of both phytoplankton and zooplankton species. Our results suggest that NR assay is more effective for determining the survival of marine plankton and can be applied to test the efficacy of ballast water treatment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.485-493
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• 2010

A modified graphite felt electrode with neutral red (NR-electrode) was shown to catalyze the chemical oxidation of nitrite to nitrate under aerobic conditions. The electrochemically oxidized NR-electrode (EO-NR-electrode) and reduced NR-electrode (ER-NR-electrode) catalyzed the oxidation of $1,094{\pm}39$ mg/l and $382{\pm}45$ mg/l of nitrite, respectively, for 24 h. The electrically uncharged NR-electrode (EU-NR-electrode) catalyzed the oxidation of $345{\pm}47$ mg/l of nitrite for 24 h. The aerobic bacterial community immobilized in the EO-NR-electrode did not oxidize ammonium to nitrite; however, the aerobic bacterial community immobilized in the ER-NR-electrode bioelectrochemically oxidized $1,412{\pm}39$ mg/l of ammonium for 48 h. Meanwhile, the aerobic bacterial community immobilized on the EU-NR-electrode biochemically oxidized $449{\pm}22$ mg/l of ammonium for 48 h. In the continuous culture system, the aerobic bacterial community immobilized on the ER-NR-electrode bioelectrochemically oxidized a minimal $1,337{\pm}38$ mg/l to a maximal $1,480{\pm}38$ mg/l of ammonium to nitrate, and the community immobilized on the EU-NR-electrode biochemically oxidized a minimal $327{\pm}23$ mg/l to a maximal $412{\pm}26$ mg/l of ammonium to nitrate every two days. The bacterial communities cultivated in the ER-NR-electrode and EU-NR-electrode in the continuous culture system were analyzed by TGGE on the $20^{th}$ and $50^{th}$ days of incubation. Some ammonium-oxidizing bacteria were enriched on the ER-NR-electrode, but not on the EU-NR-electrode.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.208-217
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• 2011

The effects of pH and temperature on the removal of two dyes (neutral red; NR and malachite green oxalates; MG) from aqueous effluents using Maghnia montmorillonite clay in a batch adsorption process were investigated. The results showed the stability of the optical properties of MG in aqueous solution and adsorbed onto clay under wide range of pH 3-9. However, the interaction of NR dye with clay is accompanied by a red shift of the main absorption bands of monomer cations under pH range of 3-5, whereas, those of neutral form remains nearly constant over the pH range of 8-12. The optimal pH for favorable adsorption of the dyes, i.e. ${\geq}$90% has been achieved in aqueous solutions at 6 and 7 for NR and VM respectively. The most suitable adsorption temperatures were 298 and 318 K with maximum adsorption capacities of 465.13mg/g for NR and 459.89 mg/g for MG. The adsorption equilibrium results for both dyes follow Langmuir, Freundlich isotherms. The numerical values of the mean free energy $E_a$ of 4.472-5.559 kj/mol and 2.000-2.886 kj/mol for NR and MG respectively indicated physical adsorption. Various thermodynamic parameters, such as ${\Delta}H^{\circ}$, ${\Delta}S^{\circ}$, ${\Delta}G^{\circ}$ and Ea have been calculated. The data showed that the adsorption process is spontaneous and endothermic. The sticking probability model was further used to assess the potential feasibility of the clay mineral as an alternative adsorbent for organic ion pollutants in aqueous solution.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.80-85
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• 2005

Electrochemical control of the metabolic flux of W. kimchii sk10 on glucose and pyruvate was studied. The growing cell of W. kimchii sk10 produced 87.4 mM lactate, 69.3 mM ethanol, and 4.9mM lactate from 83.1mM glucose under oxidation condition of the anode compartment, but 98.9 mM lactate, 84.3mM ethanol, and 0.2 mM acetate were produced from 90.8 mM glucose under reduction condition of the cathode compartment for 24 h, respectively. The resting cell of W. kimchii sk10 produced 15.9 mM lactate and 15.2 mM acetate from 32.1 mM pyruvate under oxidation condition of the anode compartment, and 71.3 mM lactate and 3.8 mM acetate from 79.8mM pyruvate under reduction condition of the cathode compartment. The redox balance (NADH/$NAD^+$) of metabolites electrochemically produced from pyruvate was 1.05 and 18.76 under oxidation and reduction conditions, respectively. On the basis of these results, we suggest that the neutral red (NR) immobilized in bacterial membrane can function as an electron channel for the electron transfer between electrode and cytoplasm without dissipation of membrane potential, and that the bacterial fermentation of W. kimchii sk10 can be shifted to oxidized or reduced pathways by the electrochemical oxidation or reduction, respectively.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.45-60
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• 1993

The present study was carried out to evaluate the cytotoxicity of cadmium on cultured rat fibroblasts. The colorimetric assays of neutral red and tetrazolium MTT, the lactatedehydrogenase activity, the amounts of total protein, the rate of DNA synthesis, the amounts of unscheduled DNA synthesis, the frequency of sister chromatid exchange, the releasing rate of intracellular calcium, and light and electron microscopic studies were performed on cultured rat fibroblasts maintained in the media containing various concentrations of cadmium. The results were as follows: The neutral red(NR) and MTT values were decreased dose-dependently by cadmium, and the NR90, NR50, MTT90 and MTT50 values of cadmium were 0.2mM, 21.5mM, 1.0Mm and 60.0Mm, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.603-610
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• 2010

The potential feasibility of Maghnia clay as adsorbent to remove three cationic dyes (methylene blue (MB), neutral red (NR) and malachite green oxalates (MG)) from aqueous solution was investigated at various operating parameters such as contact time, pH, initial dye concentration and adsorbent dose. Optimum pH values for dyes adsorption were 6 for NR and 7 for MB and MG, respectively. Maximum adsorption of dyes, i.e. $\geq$ 90% has been achieved in aqueous solutions in 60 minutes. The adsorption of dyes followed the pseudo-second-order rate equation.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 1991

To investigate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of the DNA alkylating agnet, mitomycin C and the antimetabolite, 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) in cultured rat fibroblasts, the colorimetric assay of netural red (NR) for cytotoxicity and for genotoxicity, sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assay and the measurement of the rate of DNA synthesis were performed in cells cultured in media containing various concentrations of mitomycin C and 5-FU. The uptake ability of neutral red decreased does-dependently. NR90 and NR50 values of mitomycin C were 1.49 nM and 6.87mM and 5-FU were 38.4mM AND 284.4Mm respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.154-161
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• 2011

L. lactis sk071115 has been shown to grow more actively and generate lower levels of lactate in glucose-defined medium with nitrate than in medium with Mn(IV). By adding Mn(IV) to a L. lactis culture, lactate production was relatively reduced in combination with Mn(II) production, but cell mass production levels did not increase. Both cell-free extract and intact L. lactis cells reacted electrochemically with Mn(IV) but did not react with Mn(II) upon cyclic voltammetry using neutral red (NR) as an electron mediator. A modified graphite felt cathode with NR (NR-cathode) was employed to induce electrochemical reducing equivalence for bacterial metabolism. Cell-free L. lactis extract catalyzed the reduction of Mn(IV) to Mn(II) under both control and electrochemical reduction conditions; however, the levels of Mn(II) generated under electrochemical reduction conditions were approximately 4 times those generated under control conditions. The levels of Mn(II) generated by the catalysis of L. lactis immobilized in the NR-cathode (L-NR-cathode) under electrochemical reduction conditions were more than 4 times that generated under control conditions. Mn(II) production levels were increased by approximately 2.5 and 4.5 times by the addition of citrate to the reactant under control and electrochemical reduction conditions, respectively. The cumulative Mn(II) produced from manganese ore by catalysis of the L-NR-cathode for 30 days reached levels of approximately 3,800 and 16,000 mg/l under control and electrochemical reduction conditions, respectively. In conclusion, the electrochemical reduction reaction generated by the NR-cathode activated the biochemical reduction of Mn(IV) to Mn(II) by L. lactis.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.29-40
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• 1990

Cytotoxic effects of cytosine arabinoside and vinblastine on cultured fibroblasts were determined by colorimetric assays of neutral red (NR) and tetrazolium MTT, and by mutagenicity tests . Cytosine arabinoside and vinblastine were highly toxic by showing that concentrations of NR-50 and MTT-50 of two drugs were lower than 100 ${\mu}$M. At mid-point cytotoxicityvalue of two drugs, frequencies of micronuclei and SCEs were very high and chromosome showed structural abnormalities. The sizes of micronuclei formed by vinblastine were larger than those induced by cytosine arabinoside. These results suggest that cytosine arabinoside and vinblastine have highy mutagenic and severe cytotoxic effects on the cultured mouse fibroblasts.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.704-708
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• 2002

A fast and sensitive protein staining method in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) using both an acidic dye, Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 (CBBR) and a basic dye, Neutral Red (NR) is described. It is based on a counter ion-dye staining technique that employs oppositely charged two dyes to form an ion-pair complex. The selective binding of the free dye molecules to proteins in an acidic solution enhances the staining effect of CBBR on protein bands, and also reduces gel background. It is a rapid staining procedure, involving fixing and staining steps with short destaining that are completed in about 1 h. As the result, it showed two to fourfold increase in sensitivity comparing with CBBR staining. The stained protein bands can be visualized at the same time of staining.