• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.312-319
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• 2021

Photothermal therapy is a treatment that necrotizes selectively the abnormal cells, in particular cancer cells, which are more vulnerable to heat than normal cells, using the heat generated when irradiating light. In this study, we synthesized a reduced graphene oxide with carboxyl groups (CRGO)-gold nanorod (AuNR) nanocomposite for photothermal treatment. Graphene oxide (GO) was selectively reduced and exfoliated at high temperature to synthesize CRGO, and the length of AuNR was adjusted according to the amount of AgNO₃, to synthesize AuNR with a strong absorption peak at 880 nm, as an ideal photothermal agent. It was determined through FT-IR, thermogravimetric and fluorescence analyses that more carboxyl groups were conjugated with CRGO over RGO. In addition, CRGO exhibited excellent stability in aqueous solutions compared to RGO due to the presence of carboxylic acid. The CRGO-AuNR nanocomposites fabricated by electrostatic interaction have an average size of ~317 nm with a narrow size distribution. It was confirmed that under radiation with a near-infrared 880 nm laser which has an excellent tissue transmittance, the photothermal effect of CRGO-AuNR nanocomposites was greater than that of AuNR due to the synergistic effect of the two photothermal agents, CRGO and AuNR. Furthermore, the results of cancer cell toxicity by photothermal effect revealed that CRGO-AuNR nanocomposites showed superb cytotoxic properties. Therefore, the CRGO-AuNR nanocomposites are expected to be applied to the field of anticancer photothermal therapy based on their stable dispersibility and improved photothermal effect.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.801-812
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• 2021

In order to delivery biotin to skin, ethosomes containing both biotin and ceramide were researched by using high pressure homogenizer. Biotin was utilized as a drug and ceramide NP was utilized as a supporter of bilayer. The biotin was entrapped in aqueous core, while ceramide NP was packed in the bilayer of the ethosomes. Looking at the physical properties of vesicles containing ceramide NP, the sized was 80~130 nm, the polydispersity index was 0.09~0.16, and the zeta potential was -40~-49 mV. In vesicles without ceramide NP, the size was 124.80±1.46 nm, and the zeta potential and polydispersity index were -45.48±1.27 mV and 0.088±0.018, respectively. Therefore, the ethosome with ceramide NP has improved physical properties of vesicles compared to the ethosome without ceramide NP. Skin absorption rates of ethosomes with ceramide NP were 6.13~14.98%, while skin absorption rate of ethosome without ceramide NP was 7.08% at 12 h. In conclusion, ethosomes containing ceramide NP not only improved the skin absorption efficiency, but had also a positive effect on the stability of vesicles.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.477-481
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• 2022

As a part of improving the quality of crude methylnaphthalene (CMNO), this study was experimentally examined the reduction of nitrogen-containing compounds (NC) present in the CMNO by solvent extraction. The CMNO was composed of three kinds of NC [quinolone (QU), iso-quinoline (IQU), indole (IN)], three kinds of bicyclic aromatic compound [BAC; naphthalene (NA), 1-methylnaphthalene (1MNA), 2-methylnaphthalene (2MNA)] and biphenyl (BP) etc., in addition to an aqueous formamide solution, which were used as raw materials and a solvent, respectively. The increase in the volume fraction of water to the solvent in the initial state (y_w,0) caused a sharp decrease in the distribution coefficient and the yield of NC, but conversely raised the increased selectivity of NC based on 2MNA. The compositions of QU, IQU and IN in the raffinate oil recovered through the equilibrium extraction of batch co-current 5-stage under constant conditions [y_w,0 = 0.1, volume fraction of solvent to feed (CMNO) at the initial state = 1, operating temperature = 303 K, liquid-liquid contacting time = 72 h] were reduced by about 51.5%, 55.2%, and 71.8%, respectively, when compared to those of CMNO. From the excellent reduction rate of NC, the formamide extraction method suggested in this study can be expected to be a useful reduction method for NC contained in the CMNO.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2023

Microfluidic reactors have been made to achieve significant development for the generation of new functional materials to apply in a variety of fields. Over the last decade, microfluidic reactors have attracted attention as a user-friendly approach that is enabled to control physicochemical parameters such as size, shape, composition, and surface property. Here, we develop a centrifugal microfluidic reactor that can control the flow of fluid based on centrifugal force and generate multifunctional particles of various sizes and compositions. A centrifugal microfluidic reactor is fabricated by combining microneedles, micro- centrifuge tubes, and conical tubes, which are easily obtained in the laboratory. Depending on the experimental control param- eters, including centrifuge rotation speed, alginate concentration, calcium ion concentration, and distance from the needle to the calcium aqueous solution, this strategy not only enables the generation of size-controlled microparticles in a simple and reproducible manner but also achieves scalable production without the use of complicated skills or advanced equipment. Therefore, we believe that this simple strategy could serve as an on-demand platform for a wide range of industrial and academic applications, particularly for the development of advanced smart materials with new functionalities in biomedical engineering.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.386-393
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• 2022

In this study, the surface modification of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) nanoparticles by a silane coupling agent, octyltrimethoxysilane (OTMS), was investigated and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis. Both floating tests and contact angle measurements were also conducted to study the effect of OTMS concentration on the hydrophobicity of CaCO₃ nanoparticles. It was found that the active ratio for the CaCO₃ nanoparticles modified by 1 wt% of OTMS was 97.0 ± 0.5%, indicating that OTMS is a very effective silane coupling agent in enhancing the hydrophobicity of the CaCO₃ nanoparticle surface. The most stable foam was generated with 1 wt% of CaCO₃ nanoparticles in aqueous solutions at 1 wt% of OTMS, where the contact angle of water was found to be 91.8 ± 0.7°. It was also found that the most stable emulsion drops were formed at the same OTMS concentration. These results suggest that CaCO₃ nanoparticles modified by a silane coupling agent OTMS are a powerful candidate for a foam stabilizer or an emulsifier in many industrial applications.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.431-435
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• 2022

The reduction of nitrogen-containing compounds (NC) containing the model crude methylnaphthalene oil (CMNO) of 5 compounds system was experimentally studied by solvent extraction. The model CMNO consisting of 3 kinds of NC including quinolone (QU), iso-quinoline (IQU), indole(IN) and 2 kinds of bicyclic aromatic compounds such as 1-methylnaphthalene (1MNA), 2-methylnaphthalene (2MNA) as raw materials, as well as the aqueous solution of formamide as a solvent, were used. The increase in the volume fraction of water to the solvent at the initial state (y_w,0) sharply decreased, but the distribution coefficient and the yield of NC conversely increased the selectivity of NC based on 2MNA, and an increase in the volume fraction of solvent to feed (S/F) simultaneously increased the distribution coefficient, yield and selectivity of NC. The yields of QU, IQU and IN under constant conditions (y_w,0 = 0.1, S/F = 1, equilibrium temperature 303 K) were 30%, 31% and 10%, respectively, and selectivity was 15, 15 and 20, respectively. From the excellent yield and selectivity of NC, the formamide extraction method of this study was expected as a method for reducing the NC contained in the model CMNO.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.252-257
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• 2023

In this study, to replace phthalate-based plasticizers known as endocrine disruptors, compounds as plasticizer candidates were synthesized by using alcohols containing rings and fatty acids extracted from animal and vegetable oils, and their properties as plasticizers, including their plasticization efficiency, were evaluated. Nine compounds synthesized by esterification of fatty acids (caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid) and alcohols (solketal, benzyl alcohol, cyclohexanol) were identified by ¹H-NMR. The nine synthetic compounds were evaluated for their plasticity by adding them to PVC resin, and compared with the commercial plasticizers DEHP, DINCH, and ESO. According to the results, plasticization efficiency was 0.96 to 1.02 times higher than DEHP, 0.94 to 0.98 times higher than ESO, and 1.05 to 1.10 times higher than DINCH. Thermal stability was somewhat lower than that of DEHP and DINCH, but showed better results than ESO. The results of the solvent extraction test showed that both aqueous and oily solvents showed higher values than DEHP and DINCH but showed similar or superior properties to ESO.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.665-669
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• 2023

The crude methylnaphthalene oil (CMNO) contains nitrogen compounds (NCs) such as quinoline (QU), isoquinoline (IQU), and indole (IN). These NCs in the CMNO are treated as impurities contained in the CMNO due to contamination of the atmospheric environment and unpleasant odors. In order to improve the quality of CMNO, this study examined the effect of extraction experimental factors on the reduction of NCs contained in CMNO using CMNO as a raw material and an aqueous formamide solution as a solvent, respectively. The increase in the volume ratio of solvent to feed in initial (S/F)₀ in initial increased the distribution coefficient of NCs and the selectivity of NCs in reference to 2-methylnaphthalene (2MNA). Additionally, an increase in operating temperature (T) increased the distribution coefficient of NCs but conversely decreased selectivity. The compositions of QU, IQU, and IN in the raffinate oil recovered through equilibrium extraction under a constant condition (volume fraction of water to solvent in initial (y_w,0) = 0.1, (S/F)₀ = 9, T = 303 K, liquid-liquid contacting time = 72 h) were reduced by about 58.5 wt%, 61.9 wt%, and 73.4 wt%, respectively, compared to those of CMNO. The formamide extraction method in this study was expected to be an effective reduction method for NCs contained in CMNO.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.477-483
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• 2023

The flowers of Carthamus tinctorius (Safflower) were extracted with 80% aqueous methanol (CTex) and the concentrates were partitioned into EtOAc (CTE), n-BuOH (CTB), and H₂O (CTW) fractions. Repeated silica gel (SiO₂) and octadecyl silica gel column chromatographies for the EtOAc and n-BuOH fractions led to isolation of four flavonol glycosides. Nuclear magnetic resornance, infrarad spectroscopy, and mass spectroscopy revealed the chemical structure of the isolated compounds, astragalin (1), isoquercetin (2), nicotiflorin (3), and rutin (4). Quantitative analysis of four isolated compounds in CTex was performed by HPLC. CTex was found to contain 1 at 0.107, 2 at 0.367, 3 at 6.752, and 4 at 0.991 mg/g, respectively. Through this study, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the protective effect on pancreatic islets of the extract, solvent fractions, and all isolated compounds using a zebrafish larvae damaged by alloxan. Pancreatic islet size treated with EtOAc (CTE), n-BuOH (CTB), and H₂O (CTW) fractions and compounds 1-4 significantly increased compared to the alloxan-induced group. These results indicate that C. tinctorius flowers and its isolated compounds are used as potential anti-diabetic agents.

• School Science Journal
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.226-235
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• 2018

Boiling point elevation has been important in chemistry education in terms of interpreting macroscopic phenomena from a microscopic viewpoint. However, in spite of the importance of the boiling point elevation concept, it is hard to find any documents discussing experimental methods and results of the boiling point elevation in the field of chemical education. Therefore, in this study, we tried to compare the reality and the theory through quantitative measurement of the boiling point elevation, and proposed an explanatory model that explains the difference between the reality and the theory. For this purpose, a boiling point measurement instrument which prevents overheating of the solution and maintains thermal equilibrium was prepared. And boiling point elevation values of nonelectrolyte(such as glucose, maltose, sugar, and resorcinol) aqueous solutions were measured. In the cases of glucose, maltose, and sugar solutions, the boiling point elevation values increased more than the theoretically expected values with increasing concentration (positive deviation). On the other hand, in the case of the resorcinol, the boiling point elevation values increased less than the expected (negative deviation). The difference in the tendency among solutes was explained by introducing the concept of surface tension in addition to the explanatory model of vapor pressure depression. The reality of the boiling point elevation and the microscopic model presented in this study are meaningful in that they can be used as a learning material in chemistry education to promote a deeper understanding of the boiling point elevation.