• Current Applied Physics
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1313-1319
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• 2018

The coil-to-globule behavior of poly{${\gamma}$-2-[2-(2methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy-3-caprolactone} (PMEEECL) as a ${\gamma}$-substituted poly (${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) was investigated via atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. For this purpose, radius of gyration, end-to-end distance and radial distribution function of the chain in the presence of water were calculated. Consequently, the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PMEEECL chain at which the coil-to-globule transition takes place, was determined in each calculated parameter curve. The simulation results indicated that the LCST of PMEEECL was occurred at close to 320 K, which is in a good agreement with previous experimental results. Additionally, the appearance of sudden change in both Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (${\chi}$) and interaction energy between the PMEEECL chain and water molecules at about 320 K confirmed the calculated LCST result. The radial distribution function (RDF) results showed that the affinity of the PMEEECL side chain to water molecules is lower than its backbone.

• Proceeding of EDISON Challenge
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• 2016.03a
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• pp.147-154
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• 2016

Co-nonsolvency is a puzzling phenomenon that a polymer swells in a good solvent individually, but it collapses in a mixture of good solvents. This structural transition with changing solvent environment has been drawing attention due to practical application for stimuli-responsive polymer. The aim of this work is to describe the physical origin of the co-nonsolvency. In this work, we present Monte Carlo simulations for polymer solutions by using simple and general model. We simulate linear and ring polymers to compare their co-nonsolvency behaviors. Calculating Flory exponents and bridging fractions gives a good description for polymer structures. While the polymer structure shows non-monotonous behavior with increasing the cosolvent fraction, the chemical potential decreases monotonously. This indicates that coil-to-globule transition of polymers is purely controlled by free energy and can be regarded as a thermodynamics transition. We also present that ring polymers have higher looping probability than linear polymers, thus the bridging fraction remains higher at high cosolvent fraction. Our study provides a new perspective to understand polymer structure when the polymer "dissolves well" in any solvent.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.206-206
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• 2006

Polymer induced turbulent drag reduction achieved by adding minute amounts of high molecular weight DNAs in aqueous solution was investigated using a rotating disk apparatus. The DNAs in this study include ${\lambda}-DNA$ and calf-thymus (CT) DNA. By putting emphasis on effect of CT-DNA concentration, its DR characteristics were compared with that of ${\lambda}-DNA$ possessing monodisperse molecular weight characteristics based on both DR efficiency and a mechanical degradation under turbulence. The DNA chains having much higher molecular size than that of ${\lambda}-DNA$ are observed to be more susceptible to mechanical degradation in a turbulent flow. This result was verified via electrophoresis. Furthermore, the coil to globule phase transition of DNA was also investigated under a turbulent flow.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.623-632
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• 2007

Thermosensitive nanoparticles were prepared via the self-assembly of two different $poly({\varepsilon}-caprolactone)$-based block copolymers of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-b-$poly({\varepsilon}-caprolactone)$ (PNPCL) and poly(ethylene glycol)-b-$poly({\varepsilon}-caprolactone)$ (PEGCL). The self-aggregation and thermosensitive behaviors of the mixed nanoparticles were investigated using $^1H-NMR$, turbidimetry, differential scanning microcalorimetry (micro-DSC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and fluorescence spectroscopy. The copolymer mixtures (mixed nanoparticles, M1-M5, with different PNPCL content) formed nano-sized self-aggregates in an aqueous environment via the intra- and/or intermolecular association of hydrophobic PCL chains. The microscopic investigation of the mixed nanoparticles showed that the critical aggregation concentration (cac), the partition equilibrium constants $(K_v)$ of pyrene, and the aggregation number of PCL chains per one hydrophobic microdomain varied in accordance with the compositions of the mixed nanoparticles. Furthermore, the PNPCL harboring mixed nanoparticles evidenced phase transition behavior, originated by coil to the globule transition of PNiPAAm block upon heating, thereby resulting in the turbidity change, endothermic heat exchange, and particle size reduction upon heating. The drug release tests showed that the formation of the thermosensitive hydrogel layer enhanced the sustained drug release patterns by functioning as an additional diffusion barrier.