• The Korean Journal of Urological Oncology
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.178-186
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• 2017

Purpose: Poloxamer 407 (P407) thermo-sensitive hydrogel formulations were developed to enhance the retention time in the urinary bladder after intravesical instillation. Materials and Methods: P407 hydrogels (P407Gels) containing 0.2 w/w% fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FD, MW 4 kDa) as a fluorescent probe were prepared by the cold method with different concentrations of the polymer (20, 25, and 30 w/w%). The gel-forming capacities were characterized in terms of gelation temperature (G-Temp), gelation time (G-Time), and gel duration (G-Dur). Homogenous dispersion of the probe throughout the hydrogel was observed by using fluorescence microscopy. The in vitro bladder simulation model was established to evaluate the retention and drug release properties. P407Gels in the solution state were administered to nude mice via urinary instillation, and the in vivo retention behavior of P407Gels was visualized by using an in vivo imaging system (IVIS). Results: P407Gels showed a thermo-reversible phase transition at $4^{\circ}C$ (refrigerated; sol) and $37^{\circ}C$ (body temperature; gel). The G-Temp, G-Time, and G-Dur of FD-free P407Gels were approximately $10^{\circ}C-20^{\circ}C$, 12-30 seconds, and 12-35 hours, respectively, and were not altered by the addition of FD. Fluorescence imaging showed that FD was spread homogenously in the gelled P407 solution. In a bladder simulation model, even after repeated periodic filling-emptying cycles, the hydrogel formulation displayed excellent retention with continuous release of the probe over 8 hours. The FD release from P407Gels and the erosion of the gel, both of which followed zero-order kinetics, had a linear relationship ($r^2=0.988$). IVIS demonstrated that the intravesical retention time of P407Gels was over 4 hours, which was longer than that of the FD solution (<1 hour), even though periodic urination occurred in the mice. Conclusions: FD release from P407Gels was erosion-controlled. P407Gels represent a promising system to enhance intravesical retention with extended drug delivery.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.99-104
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• 2024

In this study, a carbon coated hollow silicon (HSi/C) composite material was prepared for anode material of high-capacity lithiun-ion battery. Hollow silica (HSiO₂) was synthesized by the Stöber method with CTAB (N-Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide). The HSi/C anode composite was manufactured by carbon coating after magnesiothermic reduction of HSiO₂. The physical and electrochemical characteristics of the prepared anode materials were investigated based on CTAB amount. In the FE-SEM analysis, it was found that the HSiO₂ particle size increased as CTAB amount decreased, but shell thickness decreased. The HSi/C composites exhibited high initial discharge capacities of 1866.7, 2164.5 and 2188.6 mAh/g with various CTAB ratios (0.5, 1.0, 1.5), respectively. After 100 cycles of charge-discharge, 0.5-HSi/C demonstrated a high reversible capacity of 1171.3 mAh/g and a capacity retention of 70.9%. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed to analyze the impedance characteristics, and it revealed that 0.5-HSi/C showed more stable resistance characteristics than HSi/C composites with other CTAB amount over 20 cycles.