• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.382-393
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• 2019

Wound care is a health industry concern affecting millions worldwide. Recent increase in metabolic disorders such as diabetes comes with elevated risk of wound-based complications. Treatment and management of wounds are difficult practices due to complexity of the wound healing process. Conventional wound dressings and treatment applications only provide limited benefits which are mainly aimed to keep wound protected from external factors. To improve wound care, recent developments make biopolymers to be of high interest and importance to researchers and medical practitioners. Biopolymers are polymers or natural origin produced by living organisms. They are credited to be highly biocompatible and biodegradable. Currently, studies reported biopolymers to exhibit various health beneficial properties such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, cell proliferative and angiogenic activities which are crucial for effective wound management. Several biopolymers, namely chitosan, cellulose, collagen, hyaluronic acid and alginic acid have been already investigated and applied as wound dressing agents. Different derivatives of biopolymers have also been developed by cross-linking with other molecules, grafting with other polymers, and loading with bioactive agents or drugs which showed promising results towards wound healing without any undesired outcome such as scarring and physiological abnormalities. In this review, current applications of common biopolymers in wound treatment industry are highlighted to be a guide for further applications and studies.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.514-520
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• 2021

A drug delivery system (DDS) based on nanoparticles has been used as a mediator to improve the efficacy of a drug by controlling the amount of drug released and delivering it to a target place. Chitosan, which is non-toxic and biodegradable, has good biocompatibility and excellent adsorption, so it can be used as a drug delivery vehicle. Valine, the essential amino acids, helps muscle growth and tissue recovery, and along with other amino acids. It lowers blood sugar levels and increases growth hormone production. In this study, Valine was adsorbed on magnetic chitosan which is capable of drug absorption, and Fe₃O₄-Valine CNPs was prepared through cross-linking with TPP (Tripolyphosphate). And then absorption and release trends of valine were investigated with the Fe₃O₄-Valine CNPs. Fe₃O₄, which has relatively high stability, is used to make the drug carrier magnetic so that the drug can be delivered to a target place. At optimal conditions, the absorption and release tendency of Fe₃O₄-Valine CNP was confirmed by analyzing by UV-Vis through the Ninhydrin test which is the color reaction of amino acids and by measuring the size of the particles, it was confirmed that it is suitable as a drug carrier.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.111-123
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• 2021

Objective: Using domestic cats as a biomedical research model for fertility preservation, the present study aimed to characterize the influences of ovarian tissue encapsulation in biodegradable hydrogel matrix (fibrinogen/thrombin) on resilience to cryopreservation, and static versus non-static culture systems following ovarian tissue encapsulation and cryopreservation on follicle quality. Methods: In experiment I, ovarian tissues (n=21 animals; 567 ovarian fragments) were assigned to controls or hydrogel encapsulation with 5 or 10 mg/mL fibrinogen (5 or 10 FG). Following cryopreservation (slow freezing or vitrification), follicle viability, morphology, density, and key protein phosphorylation were assessed. In experiment II (based on the findings from experiment I), ovarian tissues (n=10 animals; 270 ovarian fragments) were encapsulated with 10 FG, cryopreserved, and in vitro cultured under static or non-static systems for 7 days followed by similar follicle quality assessments. Results: In experiment I, the combination of 10 FG encapsulation/slow freezing led to greater post-thawed follicle quality than in the control group, as shown by follicle viability (66.9%±2.2% vs. 61.5%±3.1%), normal follicle morphology (62.2% ±2.1% vs. 55.2%±3.5%), and the relative band intensity of vascular endothelial growth factor protein phosphorylation (0.58±0.06 vs. 0.42±0.09). Experiment II demonstrated that hydrogel encapsulation promoted follicle survival and maintenance of follicle development regardless of the culture system when compared to fresh controls. Conclusion: These results provide a better understanding of the role of hydrogel encapsulation and culture systems in ovarian tissue cryopreservation and follicle quality outcomes using an animal model, paving the way for optimized approaches to human fertility preservation.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.609-615
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• 2021

The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanical properties of melt-injected poly lactic acid (PLA) composites with β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). The PLA mixed with calcined PLA/β-TCP powder to be contents of 0, 10, 30, 50 wt%, respectively, was dissolved in chloroform solvent under stirring for 24 h. Then the liquid mixtures were dropped into ethanol to extract solvent. After drying, the well-dispersed PLA/β-TCP composites were granulated and melt-injected to prepare specimens for various mechanical testing. PLA/β-TCP induced the precipitation of an apatite bone-mineral phase on the surface after immersion in a human simulated body fluid (SBF) for 90 days, showing in bioactivity. Mean various mechanical properties PLA/β-TCP composite were increased up to 10-30 wt% with significantly in part and composite were decreased 50 wt% of showing in mechanical properties. In conclusion, Over 30 wt% addition of β-TCP to PLA may be not advisable to improve the mechanical properties of melt-injected polymeric composites. Results indicated that β-TCP can be used considered as potential reinforcing agent for increasing mechanical properties for PLA. Therefore, it was suggest that the additional effects of β-TCP and research on a wide range of substances.

• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2021

Antibiotics are compounds broadly used to treat patients with infectious diseases and to enhance productivity in agriculture, fisheries, and livestock industries. However, due to the overuse of antibiotics and their low biodegradability, a substantial amount of antibiotics is leaking into the sewer, subsequently resulting in pollution and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This study explores biodegradable serum albumin's potential as an adsorbent to remove antibiotics from water. Serum albumin is a natural blood protein that transports various metabolites and hormones to all tissues' extravascular spaces. While serum albumin is highly water-soluble, it has intrinsic binding sites which readily accommodate ionic, hydrophilic, or hydrophobic molecules, rendering it a good building block for a nano-adsorbent. To induce coacervation, a desolvating agent, ethanol, was added dropwise into the aqueous albumin solution, resulting in dehydration and liquid-liquid phase separation of albumins into albumin nanoparticles within a size range of 150 ~ 170 nm. The addition of glutaraldehyde as a cross-linker improved the size stability and homogeneity of albumin nanoparticles. Adsorption of amoxicillin antibiotics on albumin nanoparticles was dependent upon glutaraldehyde concentration used in desolvation and pH during adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity measured by spectrophotometry was found to be 12.4 micrograms of amoxicillin per milligram of albumin nanoparticle. These results demonstrate serum albumin's potential as a building block for fabricating a natural nano-adsorbent to remove antibiotics from water.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2022

With the spread of COVID-19 worldwide, non-face-to-face services have grown rapidly, but at the same time, the problem of plastic waste is getting worse. Accordingly, eco-friendly policies such as carbon neutrality and sustainable circular economy are being promoted worldwide. Due to the high demand for eco-friendly products, the packaging industry is trying to develop eco-friendly packaging materials using PLA and PBAT and create new business models. On the other hand, Ulva australis occurs in large quantities in the southern seas of Korea and off the coast of Jeju Island, causing marine environmental problems. In this study, lactic acid was produced through dilute acid pretreatment, enzymatic saccharification, and fermentation processes to utilize Ulva australis as a new alternative energy raw material. In general, seaweeds vary in carbohydrate content and sugar composition depending on the species, harvest location, and time. Seaweed is mainly composed of polysaccharides such as cellulose, alginate, mannan, and xylan, but does not contain lignin. It is difficult to expect high extraction yield of the complex polysaccharide constituting Ulva australis with only one process. However, the fusion process of dilute acid and enzymatic saccharification presented in this study can extract most of the sugars contained in Ulva australis. Therefore, the fusion process is considered to be able to expect high lactic acid production yield when a commercial-scale production process is established.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.680-691
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• 2023

Peak oil, climate change, and microplastics caused by the production and usage of petroleum-based plastics have threatened the sustainability of our daily life, and this has emerged as a recent global issue. To solve this global issue, the production and usage of biodegradable eco-friendly bioplastics such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) has been suggested as an alternative. Therefore, in this review, the present status of global PHA manufacturers, the advantages of the production of PHAs using marine-origin microorganisms (with their productivity potential) and further required research and development strategies for cost-competitive production of PHAs using marine-based microorganisms were investigated. In this review, PHAs produced from marine microorganisms were found to have similar physical properties to petroleum-based plastics but with several advantages that can reduce the costs of PHA production. Those advantages include, seawater used in the medium preparation step, and osmotic-based cell lysis technology used in the separation and purification steps. However, the PHA productivities from marine microorganisms showed somewhat lower efficiencies than those from the commercial strains isolated from terrestrial environments. In order to solve the problem, further research strategies using synthetic microbiology-based technology, the development of long-term continuous culture technology, and solutions to improve PHA efficiency are required to meet future market demands for alternative bioplastics.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.49-55
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• 2023

Currently, the demand for green technologies toward a sustainable future is rapidly increasing due to growing concern over environmental issues. Methanol is biodegradable and can provide clean combustion to reduce sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, and therefore it is a candidate fuel for marine engines. However, the effect of methanol on tribological characteristic degradation should be addressed for methanol-fueled engines. In this study, the methanol addition effects on tribological characteristic degradation is experimentally assessed using a pin-on-disk tribo-tester. Ni-based alloy is used as a target material due to its broad applicability as an engine component material. For a lubricant, engine oil with and without methanol are used. The tests are conducted for up to 10,000 cycles under boundary lubrication while the change in friction force is monitored. Additionally, the wear rate is determined based on laser scanning confocal microscope data. An additional test in which methanol is added at regular intervals is performed with an aim to directly observe its effect on friction. Overall, the friction coefficient increases slightly with increasing methanol concentration. Furthermore, the wear rate of the pin and disk increase significantly with methanol addition. The results also indicate that the friction increases instantaneously with methanol addition at the contacting interface. These findings may be useful for better understanding the methanol effect on the tribological characteristics of Ni-based alloys for methanol-fueled engines with improved performance.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.285-290
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• 2023

Poly-lactic acid (PLA) is the most promising polymer in additive manufacturing as an alternative to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Since it is produced from renewable resources such as corn starch and sugar beets, it is also biocompatible and biodegradable. However, PLA has a couple of issues that limit its use. First, it has a comparatively low glass transition temperature of around 60 ℃, such that it exhibits low thermal resistance. Second, PLA has low impact strength because it is brittle. Due to these problems, scientists have found methods to improve the crystallinity and ductility of PLA. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is one of the most studied plasticizers for PLA to give it chain mobility. However, the blend of PLA and PEG becomes unstable, and phase separation occurs even at room temperature as PEG is self-crystallized. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the optimal mixing ratio of PLA-PEG at the molecular scale. In this study, molecular dynamics will be conducted with various ratios of L-type PLA (PLLA) or DL-type PLA-PEG (PDLA-PEG) systems by using BIOVIA Materials Studio.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.4B
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• pp.441-447
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• 2008

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from various industrial sources commonly consist of biodegradable chemicals and recalcitrant compounds. Therefore, it is not effective to employ a single method to treat such mixtures. In this study, a novel hybrid system coupled with a ultraviolet (UV) photolysis reactor and a biofilter in a series was developed and evaluated using toluene and TCE as model VOCs. When only TCE was applied to the UV reactor, greater than 99% of TCE was degraded and the concentration of soluble byproducts from photo-oxidation reaction increased significantly. However, the toluene and TCE mixture was not effectively degraded by the UV photo-oxidation standalone process. The hybrid system showed high toluene removal efficiencies, and TCE degradation at a low toluene/TCE ratio was improved by UV pretreatment. These findings indicated that the UV photo-oxidation were effective for TCE degradation when the concentration of toluene in the mixture was relatively low. A restively high toluene content in the mixture resulted in an inhibition of TCE degradation. Thus, chemical interactions in both photo-oxidation and biodegradation need to be carefully considered to enhance overall performance of the hybrid system.