• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2006

In semiconductor industries, dissolved oxygen is one of the most undesirable contaminants of ultrapure water. A method for dissolved oxygen removal (DOR) consists in the use of polymeric hollow fibres, loaded with a catalyst and fed with a reducing agent such as hydrogen. In this work, PVDF hollow fibres loaded with Pd were characterized by means of perporometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The hollow fibre analyzed shows a five-layer structure with remarkable morphological differences. An estimation of pore diameters and their distribution was performed giving a mean pore diameter of 100 nm. The permeance and selectivity of the fibres were measured using $H_2,\;N_2,\;O_2$ as single gases, at different operating conditions. An $H_2$ permeance of $37 mmol/m^2s$ was measured and $H_2/O_2$ and $H_2/N_2$ selectivities of ca. 3 were obtained. $H_2$ permeance was 1/3 when a water stream flows in the shell side. Catalytic fibrebehaviour was simulated using a mathematical model for a loop membrane reactor, considering only $O_2$ and $H_2$ diffusive transport inside the membrane and their catalytic reaction. Dimensionless parameters such as the Thiele modulus are employed to describe the system behaviour. The model agrees well with the experimental reaction data.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2018.04a
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• pp.93-93
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• 2018

This study disclosed the aqueous fruits extract of Rubus coreanus as a sustainable agent for the synthesis of Rubus coreanus zinc oxide nanoparticle (Rc-ZnO Nps) using as a reducing and capping precursor for co-precipitation method. The development of Rc-ZnO was assured by white precipitated powder and analyzed by spectroscopic and analytical instruments. The UV-visible (UV-Vis) studies indicate the maximum absorbance at 357nm which confirmed the formation of ZnO Nps and the purity, functional group and monodispersity were assured by field emission transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) data revealed the Nps is 23.16 nm in size, crystalline in nature and possess hexagonal wurtzite structure. The Rc-ZnO Nps were subjected for catalytic studies. The Malachite Green dye was degraded by Rc- ZnO NPs in both dark and light (100 W tungsten) conditions and it degraded about 90% at 4 hours observation in both cases. The biodegradable, low cost Rc-ZnO NPs can be a better weapon for waste water treatment.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.410-418
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• 2012

The performance of the ammonia injection gun (AIG) used for maximizing the utilization of reducing agent in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system is decided by several parameters such as the pattern of flow distribution, geometry of the air distribution manifold (ADM) and the array and geometry of nozzles. In the study, the uniformity of jet flows from the nozzles in AIG was analyzed statistically by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method to evaluate the role of design parameters on the performance of the SCR system. The uniformity of jet flows from the nozzles is being deteriorated with increasing the supplying flow rate to the AIG. Distribution rates to each branch pipe become lower with decreasing distance to the header, and flow rates from nozzle are also reduced with decreasing distance to the header. The uniformity of jet flows from nozzles becomes stable significantly when the ratio of summative area of nozzles to each sectional area of the branch pipe is below 0.5.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.222-227
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• 2020

Inositol polyphosphate multikinase (IPMK) is required for the biosynthesis of inositol phosphates (IPs) through the phosphorylation of multiple IP metabolites such as IP3 and IP4. The biological significance of IPMK's catalytic actions to regulate cellular signaling events such as growth and metabolism has been studied extensively. However, pharmacological reagents that inhibit IPMK have not yet been identified. We employed a structure-based virtual screening of publicly available U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs and chemicals that identified the antidepressant, vilazodone, as an IPMK inhibitor. Docking simulations and pharmacophore analyses showed that vilazodone has a higher affinity for the ATP-binding catalytic region of IPMK than ATP and we validated that vilazodone inhibits IPMK's IP kinase activities in vitro. The incubation of vilazodone with NIH3T3-L1 fibroblasts reduced cellular levels of IP5 and other highly phosphorylated IPs without influencing IP4 levels. We further found decreased Akt phosphorylation in vilazodone-treated HCT116 cancer cells. These data clearly indicate selective cellular actions of vilazodone against IPMK-dependent catalytic steps in IP metabolism and Akt activation. Collectively, our data demonstrate vilazodone as a method to inhibit cellular IPMK, providing a valuable pharmacological agent to study and target the biological and pathological processes governed by IPMK.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.15-19
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• 2021

In this study, we studied a facile method for the synthesis of stable and nearly spherical gold nanoparticles using a tyrosine-rich peptide, Tyr-Tyr-Gly-Tyr-Tyr (YYGYY), as both the reducing and capping agent. The peptide coated spherical and polycrystalline gold nanoparticles with diameters from 3 to 15 nm were successfully synthesized by varying the concentration of the peptide and metal precursor under UV irradiation. The nanoparticles were then characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Furthermore, the catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles was confirmed by the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol, in which the catalytic reaction rate constant was 7.3 × 10-3 s-1.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.1195-1208
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• 2022

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have potential applications in medicine, photocatalysis, agriculture, and cosmetic fields due to their unique physicochemical properties and strong antimicrobial activity. Here, AgNPs were synthesized using actinobacterial SL19 strain, isolated from acidic forest soil in Poland, and confirmed by UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy, TEM, and zeta potential analysis. The AgNPs were polydispersed, stable, spherical, and small, with an average size of 23 nm. The FTIR study revealed the presence of bonds characteristic of proteins that cover nanoparticles. These proteins were then studied by using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and identified with the highest similarity to hypothetical protein and porin with molecular masses equal to 41 and 38 kDa, respectively. Our AgNPs exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The combined, synergistic action of these synthesized AgNPs with commercial antibiotics (ampicillin, kanamycin, streptomycin, and tetracycline) enabled dose reductions in both components and increased their antimicrobial efficacy, especially in the case of streptomycin and tetracycline. Furthermore, the in vitro activity of the AgNPs on human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, A375, A549, and HepG2) showed cancer-specific sensitivity, while the genotoxic activity was evaluated by Ames assay, which revealed a lack of mutagenicity on the part of nanoparticles in Salmonella Typhimurium TA98 strain. We also studied the impact of the AgNPs on the catalytic and photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO). The decomposition of MO was observed by a decrease in intensity of absorbance within time. The results of our study proved the easy, fast, and efficient synthesis of AgNPs using acidophilic actinomycete SL19 strain and demonstrated the remarkable potential of these AgNPs as anticancer and antibacterial agents. However, the properties and activity of such particles can vary by biosynthesized batch.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.113-119
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• 2021

In this study, impurity free V^3.5+ electrolytes were prepared using formic acid as a reducing agent and PtD/C as a catalyst and it was applied to VRFB. The well-oriented 3D dendrite structure of the PtD/C catalyst showed high catalytic activity in formic acid oxidation reaction and vanadium reduction reaction. As a result, the conversion ratio of electrolyte using the PtD/C was 2.73 mol g^-1 h^-1, which was higher than that of 1.67 mol g^-1 h^-1 of Pt/C prepared by the polyol method. In addition, in the VRFB charging and discharging experiment, the V^3.5+ electrolyte produced by the catalytic reaction showed the same performance as the standard V^3.5+ electrolyte prepared by the electrolytic method, thus proving that it can be used as an electrolyte for VRFB.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2013

Lowering surface reflectance of Si wafers by texturization is one of the most important processes for improving the efficiency of Si solar cells. This paper presents the results on the effect of texturing using acidic solution mixtures containing the catalytic agents to moderate etching rates on the surface morphology of mc-Si wafer as well as on the performance parameters of solar cell. It was found that the treatment of contaminated crystalline silicon wafer with $HNO_3-H_2O_2-H_2O$ solution before the texturing helps the removal of organic contaminants due to its oxidizing properties and thereby allows the formation of nucleation centers for texturing. This treatment combined with the use of a catalytic agent such as phosphoric acid improved the effects of the texturing effects. This reduced the reflectance of the surface, thereby increased the short circuit current and the conversion efficiency of the solar cell. Employing this technique, we were able to fabricate mc-Si solar cell of 16.4% conversion efficiency with anti-reflective (AR) coating of silicon nitride film using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and Si wafers can be texturized in a short time.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.115-119
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• 2005

The catalytic hydrolysis reactivities of dinuclear nickel (II) complex, ${\mu}-aquapentaaqua[{\mu}-3,6-bis(6'-methyl-2'-pyridyl)pyridazine]chlorodinickel\;(II)$ trichloride trihydrate (APNT) for bis(p-nitrophenyl) phosphate (BNPP) as a DNA model compound were investigated. The dissociation constants of APNT were $pKa_1=7.9$ and $pKa_2=9.6$, respectively. The hydrolysis rate constant of BNPP compound by APNT was showed the rate enhancement of about 370,000 times in the case of none catalyst at pH 7.0 and $50^{\circ}C$. Based on the findings, we proposed the catalytic cycle for the hydrolysis of BNPP by APNT complex. The metal ions of dinuclear nickel (II) complex significantly enhance the transfer rate of phosphoryl group in the catalytic process and the water molecules as nucleophile and proton transfer agent act in different steps.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.316-321
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• 2010

The $SO_2$ catalytic reduction was carried out under the condition of high pressure in this study. Sn-Zr based oxide and CO were used as the catalyst and reducing agent for the reduction of $SO_2$ to element sulfur, respectively. In order to compare the reactivity with the pressure on the catalytic process, the reactivity tests were performed under the conditions of atmospheric pressure and 20 atm. $SO_2$ conversion, the element sulfur yield and COS selectivity were also compared with changing the reaction temperature, $CO/SO_2$ mole ratio and the space velocity(GHSV). $SO_2$ conversion increased with increasing temperature and $CO/SO_2$ mole ratio under the condition of atmospheric pressure and element sulfur yield decreased due to the production of COS by the series reaction of CO and the produced sulfur. However, high $SO_2$ conversion and high element sulfur were obtained under the condition of 20 atm. It was concluded that COS decreased due to the condensation of the produced element sulfur under the condition of high pressure. Therefore, the high sulfur yield for $SO_2$ catalytic reduction could be profitably obtained under the condition of high pressure.