• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.467-472
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• 2017

Alkaline electrolytes consisting of 6 M KOH and polymer (PEO, PVA, and PAAK) are coated on PAN nonwoven fabrics as a separator, and the electrochemical properties of the activated carbon supercapacitor adopting them are investigated in terms of redox behavior, specific capacitance, and interfacial impedance. Although the interaction between polymer and KOH are comparatively inactive in PEO and PVA, PAAK (3 wt.%)-KOH forms a hydrogel phase by active interactions between $COO^-K^+$ in side-chain of PAAK and $K^+OH^-$ from alkaline electrolyte solution, improving ionic conduction of electrolytes and the electrochemical properties of the supercapacitor. As a result, the activated supercapacitor adopting the PAAK-KOH shows the superior specific capacitance of $46.8Fg^{-1}$ at $100mVs^{-1}$.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.183-189
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• 2005

Films of poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA)/chitosan blends and its blend hydrogels were prepared by the solution casting method. The state of miscibility of the blends and blend hydrogels were examined over the entire composition range by differential scanning carorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TGA), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). DSC analysis shows the depression of melting point of PVA in the blends and the decrease of crystallization temperature of PVA in the blends were observed with increasing chitosan content in the blends. TGA analysis indicates that chitosan was thermally more stable than PVA and the thermal stability of PVA in the blends was higher than that of pure PVA, due to some interactions between two component polymers in the blend. The glass transition temperature $(T_g)$ of the chitosan and of PVA, measured by DMA, were at 160 and $90^{\circ}C$, respectively. The $T_g$ of the blends was changed with the content of chitosan in the blends. The results of thermal and viscoelastic analysis indicate some miscibility between component polymers in the blend exists. Moisture and cross linking in the blend and blend hydrogel, which strongly change thermal and physical properties of hydrophilic polymers, affected the miscibility of chitosan and PVA to a small extent.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.3191-3195
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• 2012

New silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-loaded amino acid based hydrogels were synthesized successfully from poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(acryl amide-co-acryloyl phenyl alanine) (PAA) by redox polymerization. The formation of AgNP in hydrogels was confirmed by using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer and XRD. The structure and morphology of silver nanocomposite hydrogels were studied by using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which demonstrated scattered nanoparticles, ca. 10-20 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed large differences of weight loss (i.e., 48%) between the prestine hydrogel and silver nanocomposite. The antibacterial studies of AgNP-loaded PAA (Ag-PAA) hydrogels was evaluated against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) bacteria. These Ag-PAA hydrogels showed significant activities against all the test bacteria. Newly developed hydrogels could be used for medical applications, such as artificial burn dressings.

• 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 Radiation Industry
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.87-91
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• 2013

Taraxacum platycarpum (TP) has been used for years without restriction on usual dose for its non-toxic nature and nonexistence of the side effects. To develop antimicrobial hydrogel, poly (vinylalcohol) (PVA) hydrogels containing the aqueous extracted TP as an antimicrobial agent were prepared by using gamma-rays irradiation. The antimicrobial activities of the TP hydrogels were tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis by disc diffusion method. The inhibition zones (IZ) of the TP extracts and TP hydrogels against S. aureus were 16 mm and 20 mm and against S. epidermidis was 10 mm and 13 mm, respectively. In conclusion, the TP hydrogel that has an excellent antimicrobial activity was proved to be a valuable material for functional skin care.

• Journal of the Korean Graphic Arts Communication Society
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.17-29
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• 1996

N-substituted acrylamide hydrogel is reported to have the feature of bing transparent and sensitive enough to response to a temperature stimulus below the temperature of phase transition. Especially at the near of 35 C it becomes shrunk and opaque very quickly. It has also the characteristic of reversing swelling and shrinking. The experiment showed that it is possible to produce a functional gel of super water absorption with the process of free radical polymerizing PVA(polyvinylalcohol) and PAA(polyacrylamide), and crosslinking. The ratio of shrinking and swelling caused by copolymerization rises 10% to 80% at the each temperature of 20 C, 30 C, 40 C, respectively. Phase transition temperature of this gel by copolymerization is50 C while that of ordinary N-substituted acrylamides is between 32~35 C. This temperature reaches the rearing limit of animals and plants so that volumetric transition polymer gel can be ulilized in varying fields such as agriculture/gardening which are water-using field, on-off switch sensing temperature and volumetric variation, processing of liquid wastes and civil engineering works, architecture and electronics. We have no doubt that this material will be the high-functional resin in the hi-tech age of the near future.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.552-560
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• 2017

Quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria entrapped in a polymeric composite hydrogel (QQ medium) have been successfully applied in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for effective biofouling control. However, in order to bring QQ technology closer to practice, the physical strength and lifetime of QQ media should be improved. In this study, enforcement of physical strength, as well as an extension of the lifetime of a previously reported QQ bacteria entrapping hollow cylinder (QQ-HC), was sought by adding a dehydration procedure following the cross-linking of the polymeric hydrogel by inorganic compounds like $Ca^{2+}$ and boric acid. Such prepared medium demonstrated enhanced physical strength possibly through an increased degree of physical cross-linking. As a result, a longer lifetime of QQ-HCs was confirmed, which led to improved biofouling mitigation performance of QQ-HC in an MBR. Furthermore, QQ-HCs stored under dehydrated condition showed higher QQ activity when the storage time lasted more than 90 days owing to enhanced cell viability. In addition, the dormant QQ activity after the dehydration step could be easily restored through reactivation with real wastewater, and the reduced weight of the dehydrated media is expected to make handling and transportation of QQ media highly convenient and economical in practice.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.604-612
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• 2023

Background/Aims: We developed a new endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) simulator and evaluated its efficacy and realism for use training endoscopists. Methods: An ESD simulator was constructed using polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel sheets and compared to a previous ESD simulator. Between March 1, 2020, and December 30, 2021, eight expert endoscopists from three different centers analyzed the procedure-related factors of the simulator. Five trainees performed gastric ESD exercises under the guidance of these experts. Results: Although the two ESD simulators provided overall favorable outcomes in terms of ESD-related factors, the new simulator had several benefits, including better marking of the target lesion's limits (p<0.001) and overall handling (p<0.001). Trainees tested the usefulness of the new ESD simulator. The complete resection rate improved after 3 ESD training sessions (9 procedures), and the perforation rate decreased after 4 sessions (12 procedures). Conclusions: We have developed a new ESD simulator that can help beginners achieve a high level of technical experience before performing real-time ESD procedures in patients.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.431-449
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• 2020

Structural property of most hydrogels is soft, resulting in low mechanical performance that limits their usage in the biomedical applications. For overcoming the drawback, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were adopted in this study. Effects of CNCs on characteristics and drug delivery performance of poly (vinyl alcohol) based hydrogels were explored. FT-IR results showed that the fabricated hydrogels had semi-IPN (semi-interpenetrating polymer network) by formation of acetal and aldehyde bridge. Water absorption and swelling ratio decreased with increasing CNCs content, and the hydrogels with CNCs showed better viscoelastic performance than the without CNCs. Also, CNCs mostly improved the ability of the hydrogel to absorb the drug and the sustainability of the drug release. These results demonstrated that incorporating CNCs into the hydrogel systems can be a good alternative to improve drug delivery performance and mechanical property of the hydrogels.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.89-94
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• 2012

Three-dimensional network hydrogels were prepared by ${\gamma}$-irradiation of aqueous solutions of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and glycerol (Gly). Oven-drying was used to measure the gel fraction (G), hydration (H) or swelling behavior (S) of the prepared hydrogels. This study made a hypothesis that hydrogen bonds due to addition of glycerol and change of dry states such as freeze-drying (FD), room-drying (RD) and oven-drying (OD) acts on the G, H, and S. Interesting results on the hydrogen bonding effect in the prepared hydrogels are monitored at different drying conditions. The FD samples have a higher G values with increase in glycerol content as compared with the OD and RD samples. The formation of strong hydrogen bonding network among Gly molecules and hydrogel matrix was considered as the main driving force, resulting in the changes in the G, H, and S of the hydrogels under different drying conditions.