• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.1721-1725
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• 2010

This paper reports the fabrication of geometry-controlled carbon microneedles by a backside exposure method and pyrolysis. The SU-8 microneedles are a polymer precursor in a carbonization process, which geometries such as base diameter, spacing, and aspect ratio can be controlled in a photolithography step. Using this fabrication method, highly reproducible carbon microneedles, which have high aspect ratios of more than 10 and very sharp nanotips, can be realized. The quartz surface with carbon microneedles becomes very hydrophilic and its wettability is adjusted by carrying out the silane treatment. In the carbon microneedle array ($3\;{\mu}m{\times}3\;{\mu}m$), the contact angle is extremly enhanced (${\sim}180^{\circ}$); this will be advantageous in developing low-drag microfluidics and labs-on-a-chip as well as in other bio-applications.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.127-133
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• 2004

We have studied the surface micelle formation of polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) at the air-water interface. A series of four PS-b-P2VPs were synthesized by anionic polymerization, keeping the PS block length constant (28 kg/㏖) and varying the P2VP block length (1, 11, 28, or 59 kg/㏖). The surface pressure-area ($\pi$-A) isotherms were measured and the surface morphology was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) after Langmuir-Blodgett film deposition onto silicon wafers. At low surface pressure, the hydrophobic PS blocks aggregate to form pancake-like micelle cores and the hydrophilic P2VP block chains spread on the water surface to form a corona-like monolayer. The surface area occupied by a block copolymer is proportional to the molecular weight of the P2VP block and identical to the surface area occupied by a homo-P2VP. It indicates that the entire surface is covered by the P2VP monolayer and the PS micelle cores lie on the P2VP monolayer. As the surface pressure is increased, the $\pi$-A isotherm shows a transition region where the surface pressure does not change much with the film compression. In this transition region, which displays high compressibility, the P2VP blocks restructure from the monolayer and spread at the air-water interface. After the transition, the Langmuir film becomes much less compressible. In this high-surface-pressure regime, the PS cores cover practically the entire surface area, as observed by AFM and the limiting area of the film. All the diblock copolymers formed circular micelles, except for the block copolymer having a very short P2VP block (1 kg/㏖), which formed large, non-uniform PS aggregates. By mixing with the block copolymer having a longer P2VP block (11 kg/㏖), we observed rod-shaped micelles, which indicates that the morphology of the surfaces micelles can be controlled by adjusting the average composition of block copolymers.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.434-442
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• 2021

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane has a good membrane durability because of its high mechanical resistance, thermal and chemical stability. However, the strong hydrophobic property of PVDF membrane can induce a low water permeability and easy fouling by proteins and organic matters. In order to improve the anti-fouling properties of PVDF membrane, the PVDF mixed matrix asymmetric membranes impregnated with biofunctional material 𝛽-cyclodextrin (𝛽-CD) in the membrane structure were prepared by phase inversion method. The membrane filtration experiments of pure water and BSA solution were performed using the PVDF/𝛽-CD mixed matrix asymmetric membranes prepared according to the 𝛽-CD contents. The experiments showed that the introduction of 𝛽-CD into the PVDF polymer matrix contributed to increase in the hydrophilic property of the PVDF membranes, and this led to the reduction of contact angles and improvement of anti-fouling properties. The PVDF/𝛽-CD membrane which was prepared using the dope solution with a 2 wt% 𝛽-CD content represented 64 L/m²·h of pure water flux, 95% of BSA rejection and maximum 80% of flux enhancements compared to flux results of the pristine PVDF membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.427-438
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• 2023

In this study, in order to improve the performance of the reverse osmosis membrane with high water flux and high salt rejection, a study was conducted on the evaluation of characteristics according to the curing temperature and time during various additives and interfacial polymerization. The morphology of the membrane with no additives and the membrane with additives both showed a "rigid-and-valley" structure, confirming that the polyamide layer was successfully polymerized on the surface of the porous support layer. In addition, the additive of 2-Ethyl-1,3-hexanediol (EHD) had improved hydrophilicity and water flux, which was confirmed by measuring the contact angle. Finally, a highly permeable TFC membrane with NaCl and MgSO₄ salt rejection of 97.78% and 98.7% and a high water flux of 3.31 L/(m²⋅h⋅bar) was prepared.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.215-230
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• 2023

Objectives : Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill contains many nutrients and exhibits high physiological functions. It has been shown that Schisandra seed and pamace contains more nutrients than fruits and thus have higher antioxidant efficacy. In this study, seed and pamace of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill (SPSC) were treated with hot-melt extrudate (HME) extrusion to produce water-soluble nanoparticles. Methods : SPSC was treated with HME to prepare nanoparticles. In this process, excipients (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, pullulan, 2-hydroxylpropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, lecithin) were added to prepare a hydrophilic polymer matrix. To compare and analyze the antioxidant effect and schizandrin content, total flavonoid content, total phenol content and ABTS assay were measured. To confirm the effect of increasing the water solubility of the particles, particle size and water solubility index measurements were performed. The molecular of the material was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Results : The particle size of HME extrudates decreased, while total phenols, flavonoids, schizandrin, antioxidant effect, and solubility increased. Through FT-IR, it was confirmed that the SPSC and the extrudate exhibit the same chemical properties. In addition, it was confirmed that when extracted with water, it exhibited a higher antioxidant effect than the ethanol extract. Conclusions : HME technology increased the solubility of SPSC, which are processing by-products, and improved their antioxidant effect to a higher degree. It was confirmed that SPSC could be used as an eco-friendly, high value-added material.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.135-141
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• 2012

Purpose: Polymerization of HEMA(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) which can be used in the soft contact lens has been performed by using electron beam(EB) irradiation, and examined the best condition for the polymerization. Comparing the physical properties of the contact lenses to the one fabricated by thermal polymerization method, we check the use possibility of the EB irradiation to the fabrication of the soft contact lens. Methods: We investigated the degree of polymerization of the HEMA according to the composition of the monomer, the additive ratio and the dose of electron beam (0~120 kGy). The degree of polymerization was measured depending on the EB dose to research the best synthetic condition under the EB irradiation. The physical properties of the contact lens such as water content(%), oxygen transmissibility(Dk/t) and optical transmittance were analysed by using the FT-IR results with comparing the two different polymerization method (thermal and electron beam polymerization) with same additive ratio. Results: When the dose of electron beam was above 100 kGy, the degree of polymerization of HEMA was above 99% with regardless using cross-linker and initiator. The water content of the lens fabricated by EB method showed 10% higher than the one by the thermal method which was 40%. The lens fabricated by EB method also showed higher oxygen transmissibility(Dk/t) as same with the water content, and showed twice higher value in the lens fabricated by pure HEMA. According to the FT-IR results, hydrophilic property of the lens fabricated by EB method was increased due to increasing the intermolecular hydrogen bonding. It showed above 90% optical transmittance in the visible range of wavelength on the contact lenses fabricated by the both of two different polymerization method. Conclusions: The polymerization of HEMA without cross-linker and initiator was successful above 100 kGy of EB irradiation. Moreover the lens fabricated from the polymer synthesized by pure HEMA with 100 kGy of EB showed the highest water content and oxygen transmissibility. Therefore EB irradiation is another possible method to synthesize the polymer which can be used for the soft contact lens.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.424-433
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• 2017

Antioxidants are used in the manufacturing of commercial food packages made of polyolefin plastic such as polyethylene and polypropylene for the purpose to delay the oxidation reaction of the polymer due to oxygen or traces of ozone in the atmosphere. Additives in plastics may be migrated from the packaging materials into foods, thereby presenting a potential health risk to the consumer. Therefore, it is necessary to determine migration level of antioxidants from food packaging materials to foodstuffs in order to take proactive management. In this study, we have developed a method for the analysis of 10 antioxidants, which are butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), Cyanox 2246, 425 and 1790, Irgafos 168, and Irganox 1010, 1330, 3114 and 1076, migrated from the food packaging materials into four food simulants for aqueous, acidic, alcoholic and fatty foods. The antioxidants were determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatograph-ultraviolet detector with 276 nm after solid-phase extraction with a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) cartridge or dilution with isopropanol. The analytical method showed a good linearity of coefficient ($R^2{\geq}0.99$), limits of detection (0.11~0.41 mg/L), and limits of quantification (0.34~1.24 mg/L). The recoveries of antioxidants spiked to four food simulants ranged from 71.3% to 109.4%. The migrated antioxidants in this study were within the safety levels that resulted from the safety assessment by the estimated daily intake to the tolerable daily intake.