• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.45.2-45.2
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• 2010

Possessing of carbon nanotubes in biopolymer intrigued much interest due to their mechanical and unique nanoscale surface properties. Surface stiffness can be controlled by the amount of carbon nanotubes in polymer and surface wettability can be altered by the order of nanoscale surface roughness. Protein adsorption mechanism on nanostructured carbon nanotube/polymer thin film will be discussed in this study. In addition, we identified that mechanical stimuli also contribute the messenchymal stem cell and bone cell interactions. Importantly, live cell analysis system also showed altered morphology and cellular functions. Thus, embedding of carbon nanostructures simultaneously contribute to protein adsorption and cellular interactions. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the evidence that nanoscale surface features determine the subsequent biological interactions, such as protein adsorption and cellular interactions.

• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.51-57
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• 2001

Tissue engineering is one exciting approach to treat patients who need a new organ or tissue. A critical element in this approach is the polymer scaffold, as it provides a space for new tissue formation and mimics many roles of natural extra-cellular matrices. In this review, we describe several design parameters of polymer matrices that can significantly affect cellular behavior, as well as various polymers which are frequently used to date or potentially useful in many tissue engineering applications. Interactions between cells and polymer scaffolds, including specific receptor-ligand interactions, physical and degradation feature of the scaffolds, and delivery of soluble factors, should be considered in the design and tailoring of appropriate polymer matrices to be used in tissue engineering applications, as these interactions control the function and structure of engineered tissues.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2014

Polymer multilayered hydrogels were prepared on a titanium alloy (Ti) substrate using a layer-by-layer (LBL) process to load a cell growth factor. Two water-soluble polymers were used to fabricate the multilayered hydrogels, a phospholipid polymer with both N, N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) units and 4-vinylphenylboronic acid (VPBA) units [poly(MPC-co-DMAEMA-co-VPBA) (PMDV)], and the polysaccharide alginate (ALG). PMDV interacted with ALG through a selective reaction between the VPBA units in PMDV and the hydroxyl groups in ALG and through electrostatic interactions between the DMAEMA units in PMDA and the anionic carboxyl groups in ALG. First, the Ti substrate was covered with photoreactive poly vinyl alcohol, and then the Ti alloy was alternately immersed in the respective polymer solutions to form the PMDV/ALG multilayered hydrogels. In this multilayered hydrogel, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was introduced in different layers during the LbL process under mild conditions. Release of VEGF from the multilayered hydrogels was dependent on the location; however, release continued for 2 weeks. Endothelial cells adhered to the hydrogel and proliferated, and these corresponded to the VEGF release profile from the hydrogel. We concluded that multilayered hydrogels composed of PMDV and ALG could be loaded with cell growth factors that have high activity and can control cell functions. Therefore, this system provides a cell function controllable substrate based on the controlled release of biologically active proteins.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.88-93
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• 2008

The bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cell based on regioregular P3HT (poly(3-hexylthiophene)) and PCBM (methanofullerene [6,6]-phenyl $C_{61}$-butyric acid methyl ester) was fabricated. Annealing effects on the crystal structure of polymer-fullerene blends as well as the UV-VIS electronic absorption spectroscopy were investigated. The correlation between the crystal organization of bulk-heterojunction film and the power conversion efficiency of solar cell was studied. Resultantly, the polymer solar cell annealed on $150^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, showed both the enhanced molecular interactions and the optimized crystal structure and displayed the power conversion efficiency of 3.2 %.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.277-284
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• 2005

The loss or failure of an organ or tissue can occur because of accident or disease, for which tissue or organ transplantation is a generally accepted treatment. However, this approach is extremely limited due to donor shortage. Tissue engineering is a new and exciting strategy, in which patients who need a new organ or tissue are supplied with a synthetic organ or tissue. In this approach, tissues are engineered using a combination of the patient's own cells and a polymer scaffold. The polymer scaffold potentially mimics many roles of extracellular matrices in the body. Various polymers have been studied and utilized to date in tissue engineering approaches. However, no single polymer has been considered ideal for all types of tissues and approaches. This paper discusses the design parameters of those polymers potentially useful in tissue regeneration.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.290-294
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• 2008

Induction mechanism of molecular orientations for a rubbed polymer film as an alignment layer was investigated using polarized UV/Vis spectroscopic experiments for polyimide and polyvinylcinnamate whose conjugated electrons are located along main chain and side chain, respectively. By determining anisotropy formed in the rubbed film, LC director formed in the LC cell, and orientation direction of deposited pentacene molecules, it was found that LC orientation was induced mainly by molecular interactions whereas surface microgrooves formed by the rubbing process affect the orientation direction of deposited pentacene molecules.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.268-268
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• 2006

Due to their multipotency, stem cells can differentiate into a variety of specialized cell types, such as chondrocytes, osteoblasts, myoblasts, and nerve cells. As an alternative to mature tissue cells, stem cells are of importance in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Since interactions between scaffold and cells play an important role in the tissue development in vitro, synthetic oligopeptides have been immobilized onto polymeric scaffolds to improve specific cell attachment and even to stimulate cell differentiation. In this study, chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells was evaluated using surface-modified PLLA scaffolds, i.e., either hydrophilic acrylic acid (AA)-grafted PLLA or RGD-immobilized one. Porous PLLA scaffolds were prepared using a gas foaming method, followed by plasma treatment and subsequent grafting of AA to introduce a hydrophilicity (PLLA-PAA). This was further processed to fix RGD peptide to make an RGD-immobilized scaffold (PLLA-PAA-RGD). Stem cells were seeded at $1{\times}10^{6}$ cells per scaffold and the cell-PLLA constructs were cultured for up to 4 weeks in the chondrogenic medium. Using these surface-modified scaffolds, adhesion, proliferation, and chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells were evaluated. The surface of PLLA scaffolds turned hydrophilic (water contact angle, 45 degrees) with both plasma treatment and AA grafting. The hydrophilicity of RGD-immobilized surface was not significantly altered. Cell proliferation rate on the either PLLA-PAA or PLLA-PAA-RGD surface was obviously improved, especially with the RGD-immobilized one as compared to the control PLLA one. Chondrogenic differentiation was clearly identified with Safranin O staining of GAG in the AA- or RGD-grafted PLLA substrates. This study demonstrated that modified polymer surfaces may provide better environment for chondrogenesis of stem cells.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.513-519
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• 2007

Self-assembled nanoparticles have great potential to act as vehicles for hydrophobic drug delivery. Understanding nanoparticle cellular internalization is essential for designing drugs intended for intracellular delivery. Here, the endocytosis and exocytosis of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated glycol chitosan (FGC) self-assembled nanoparticles were investigated by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The cellular internalization of FGC nanoparticles was initiated by nonspecific interactions between nanoparticles and cell membranes. Although adsorptive endocytosis of the nanoparticles occurred quickly, significant amounts of FGC nanoparticles were exocytosed, particularly in the early stage of endocytosis. The amount of exocytosed nanoparticles was dependent on the pre-incubation time with nanoparticles, suggesting that exocytosis is dependent on the progress of endocytosis. FGC nanoparticles internalized by adsorptive endocytosis were distributed in the cytoplasm, but not in the nucleus. In vitro cell cycle analysis demonstrated that FGC nanoparticles delivered paclitaxel into the cytoplasm and were effective in arresting cancer cell growth.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.538-544
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• 2004

Polyurethanes containing L-lysine segments in the main chain (PULL) were synthesized from 4,4'-diphenymethyl diisocynate, poly(tetramethylene glycol), and z-lysine oligomer as a chain extender. Insulin-immobilized polyurethanes (PULL-In) were prepared by a coupling reaction of PULL surface amino groups with insulins. The amount of immobilized insulin was about 0.30 nmol/$\textrm{cm}^2$, as determined by Bradford method. The interactions of NIH/3T3 fibroblasts with surface-modified PULLs were investigated using $^3$H-thymidine incoporation and optical microscopy. The cell growth rate on PULL-In film was higher than those on other substrates. The cell proliferation by the immobilized insulin was almost same as that by the free one.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.183-195
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• 2014

The efficiency of two metal ions (cadmium, zinc) removal from aqueous solutions by ultrafiltration (UF) and Polymer Enhanced Ultrafiltration (PEUF) processes were investigated in this work. The UF and PEUF studies were carried out using an ultrafiltration tangential cell system equipped with 5.000 MWCO regenerated cellulose. A water-soluble polymer: the polyacrylic acid (PAA) was used as complexant for PEUF experiments. The effects of transmembrane pressure, pH, metal ions and loading ratio on permeate fluxes and metal ions removals were evaluated. In UF process, permeate fluxes increase linearly with increasing pH for different transmembrane pressure, which may be the consequence of the formation of soluble metal hydroxyl complexes in the aqueous phase. In PEUF process, above pH 5.0, the Cd(II) retention reaches a plateau at 90% and Zn(II) at 80% for L = 5. Also, cadmium retention at different L is greater than zinc retention at pH varying from 5.0 to 9.0. In a mixture solution, cadmium retention is higher than zinc for different loading ratio, this is due to interactions between carboxylic groups of PAA and metal ions and more important with cadmium ions.