• The Journal of Natural Sciences
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.7-24
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• 2004

We found new type of thiol peroxidase, fused with GRX.(TPx-GRX) The TPx-GRX exists in pathogenic bacteria including -. This protein was homogeneously purified from the E.coli recombinant overexpressing TPx-GRX. In the presence of a thiol-containing electron donor such as DTT, the purified TPx-GRX has potent the antioxidant to prevent the inactivation of GS by the MCO system, which is comprised of DTT, $Fe^{3+}$, and $O^2$. The antioxidant activity is much higher that other thiol peroxidase. The investigate the peroxidase activity of TPx-GRX, we directly measured the peroxidase activity of TPx-GRX toward peroxides in terms of the removal of peroxides in the presence of GSH. This result demonstrates that the peroxidase activity of TPx-GRX. These taken together results suggest that TPx-GRX is a new member of thiol peroxidase. These observations also suggest that in the pathogenic bacteria, TPx-GRX plays an important antioxidative role as a multiple array defence mechanism against oxidative stress.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.42-63
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• 1992

In order to investigate the effect of nonionic surfactants on the antimicrobial activity of preservatives in the presence and absence of p.0.E(20) Sorbitan fatty acid ester commonly used in cosmetics and pharmaceutical systems, these experiments were carried out by determining Minimum Inhibitory Concentration(MIC) values and MIC values of adaptation against test organisms. And also the inactivation of the preservative against each microorganism in formula added with various concentrations of P.0.E(20) Sorbitan monostearate were measured by use of a preservative death time curve The results obtained were as fort low : 1) Nonionic surfactant inactivated Methylparaben to varying extents, but not Imidazolidinyl urea. 2) A combined preservative system was inactivated to a little extent (range of 0.16-0.20% Conc.), no adaptation was observed for the 5. aureus ATCC 6538. Imidazolidinyl urea complex combined with Methylparaben had a broad antibacterial spectrum against the Gram(.) and the Gram(-) bacteria It was found that preservatives had a synergistic effect by use of mixed form of preservatives, 3) In formula preserved with 0.2% Methylparaben containing 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0% P.0.E(20) Sorbitan monostearate, E. coli ATCC 10s36 and P. aeruginosa NCTC 10490 died quickly within in 2hr 4) However, from Fig.5, S. aereus ATCC 6538 died more slowly within increasing surfactant concentration and the D-values(Decimal reduction time) were 5.2, 8 and 14 hr. for samples containing 0.5, 1 0 and 2.0% P 0. E(20) Sorbitan monostearate, respectively. 5) In the case of Methylparaben, no adaptation for the E. coli ATCC 10536 6) All of the nonionic surfactant, p.0. E(20) Sorbitan fatty acid ester used in the experiments decreased the effectiveness of Methylparaben, but not of Imidazolidinyl urea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1401-1411
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• 2019

Mycobacterial cell walls comprise thick and diverse lipids and glycolipids that act as a permeability barrier to antibiotics or other chemical agents. The use of OH radicals from a non-thermal plasma jet (NTPJ) for the inactivation of mycobacteria in aqueous solution was adopted as a novel approach. Addition of water vapor in a nitrogen plasma jet generated OH radicals, which converted to hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) that inactivated non-pathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis and pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. A stable plasma plume was obtained from a nitrogen plasma jet with 1.91 W of power, killing Escherichia coli and mycobacteria effectively, whereas addition of catalase decreased the effects of the former. Mycobacteria were more resistant than E. coli to NTPJ treatment. Plasma treatment enhanced intracellular ROS production and upregulation of genes related to ROS stress responses (thiolrelated oxidoreductases, such as SseA and DoxX, and ferric uptake regulator furA). Morphological changes of M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis H37Rv were observed after 5 min treatment with $N_2+H_2O$ plasma, but not of pre-incubated sample with catalase. This finding indicates that the bactericidal efficacy of NTPJ is related to the toxicity of OH and $H_2O_2$ radicals in cells. Therefore, our study suggests that NTPJ treatment may effectively control pulmonary infections caused by M. tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) such as M. avium or M. abscessus in water.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.68-74
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• 2020

This study investigated the inactivation and synergistic efficacy of combined low-temperature heating (LT) and atmospheric plasma (AP) against Escherichia coli in red pepper powder. A cocktail of two strains of E. coli (ATCC 11229, KCCM 11234) was inoculated onto red pepper powder and then treated with LT (60℃ for 5-20 min) and AP (atmospheric plasma for 5-20 min). The counts of E. coli in the red pepper powder were significantly (P<0.05) reduced with the increase in treatment time using LT and AP. The reduction of E. coli levels in red pepper powder when treated with LT alone for 5, 10, 15, and 20-min were 0.25, 1.45, 2.54, and 2.85 log₁₀ CFU/g, respectively. Also, the reduced levels of E. coli on red pepper powder when treated with AP alone for 5, 10, 15, and 20 min were 0.19, 0.32, 0.54, and 0.96 log₁₀ CFU/g, respectively. The synergistic effects were not dependent on the treatment time with AP, but were dependent on the LT treatment time. Synergistic reduction values for combined LT and AP treatment against E. coli in red pepper powder were -0.13 to 2.91 log₁₀ CFU/mL, respectively. Especially, the largest synergistic values (2.91-2.82 log₁₀ CFU/mL) of E. coli in red pepper powder were revealed by the combination of a 20-min treatment with LT and a 15-20-min treatment with AP. All sensory parameters (color, off-odor, taste, texture, and overall acceptability) were not significantly (P>0.05) different between non-treated and all combination-treated samples. Therefore, these results suggest that the combination of LT and AP can be potentially utilized in the food industry to effectively inactivate E. coli without incurring quality deterioration in red pepper powder.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.114-120
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• 2002

A 1,989-bp genomic region encoding nickel resistance genes was isolated from Legionella pneumophila, a pathogen for legionellosis. From a sequencing and computer analysis, the region was found to harbor two structural genes, a nreB-like protein gene (1,149 bp) and a nreA-like protein gene (270 bp), in a row. Both genes exhibited a significant degree of similarity to the corresponding genes from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 ($54\%$ amino acid sequence identity) and Achromobacter xylosoxidans 31A ($76\%$). The gene was successfully expressed in E. coli MG1655 and conferred a nickel resistance of up to 5 mM in an LB medium and 3 mM in a TMS medium including gluconate as the sole carbon source. E. coli harboring the nickel resistance gene also exhibited a substantial resistance to cobalt, yet no resistance to cadmium or zinc. Since the extracellular concentration of nickel remained constant during the whole period of cultivation, it was confirmed that the nickel resistance was provided by an efflux system like the $Ni^2＋$permease (nrsD) of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803. Since polyphosphate (poly-P) is known as a global regulator for gene expression as well as a potential virulence factor in E. coli, the nickel resistance of a ppk mutant of E. coli MG 1655 harboring the nickel resistance gene from L. pneumophila was compared with that of its parental strain. The nickel resistance was significantly attenuated by ppk inactivation, which was more pronounced in an LB medium than in a TMS medium.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.270.1-270.1
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• 2013

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the most powerful materials for purifying organic pollutants using photocatalytic activity. In this study, we have introduced a novel method to design highly photoreactive flexible 3 dimensional (3D) ZnO nanocomposite [F-ZnO-m (m: reaction time, min)] by electrospinning and simple-step ZnO growth processing (one-step ZnO seed coating/growth processing). Significantly, the F-ZnO-m could be a new platform (or candidate) as a photocatalytic technology for both morphology control and largearea production. The highest photocatalytic degradation rate ([k]) was observed for F-ZnO-m at 2.552 h-1, which was 8.1 times higher than that of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs; [k] = 0.316 h-1). The enhanced photocatalytic activity of F-ZnO-m may be attributed to factors such as large surface area. The F-ZnO-m is highly recyclable and retained 98.6% of the initial decolorization rate after fifteen cycles. Interestingly, the F-ZnO-m samples show very strong antibacterial properties against both Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) after exposure to UV-light for 30 min. The antibacterial properties of F-ZnO-m samples are more effective than those of ZnO NPs. More than 96.6% of the E. coli is sterilized after ten cycles. These results indicate that F-ZnO-m samples might have utility in several promising applications such as highly efficient water/air treatment and inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.412-412
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• 2014

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the most powerful materials for purifying organic pollutants using photocatalytic activity. In this study, we have introduced a novel method to design highly photoreactive flexible 3 dimensional (3D) ZnO nanocomposite [F-ZnO-m (m: reaction time, min)] by electrospinning and simple-step ZnO growth processing (one-step ZnO seed coating/growth processing). Significantly, the F-ZnO-m could be a new platform (or candidate) as a photocatalytic technology for both morphology control and large-area production. The highest photocatalytic degradation rate ([k]) was observed for F-ZnO-m at 2.552 h-1, which was 8.1 times higher than that of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs; [k] = 0.316 h-1). The enhanced photocatalytic activity of F-ZnO-m may be attributed to factors such as large surface area. The F-ZnO-m is highly recyclable and retained 98.6% of the initial decolorization rate after fifteen cycles. Interestingly, the F-ZnO-m samples show very strong antibacterial properties against both Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) after exposure to UV-light for 30 min. The antibacterial properties of F-ZnO-m samples are more effective than those of ZnO NPs. More than 96.6% of the E. coli is sterilized after ten cycles. These results indicate that F-ZnO-m samples might have utility in several promising applications such as highly efficient water/air treatment and inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.219-225
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• 2017

An aqueous chlorine dioxide ($ClO_2$) treatment combined with highly activated calcium oxide (CaO) and mild heat was tested for inactivating naturally existing bacteria and Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated on fresh-cut kale. Kale samples were treated with different concentrations of $ClO_2$ (10, 30, and 50 ppm), CaO (0.01%, 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2%), and mild heat ($25^{\circ}C$, $45^{\circ}C$, $55^{\circ}C$, and $65^{\circ}C$) as well with combinations of 30 or 50 ppm $ClO_2$ and 0.2% CaO at $55^{\circ}C$ for 3 min. An increasing concentration of $ClO_2$ and CaO significantly reduced the microbial population compared with the control. In addition, mild heating at $55^{\circ}C$ elicited greater microbial reduction than the other temperatures. A combined treatment of 50 ppm $ClO_2$ and 0.2% CaO at $55^{\circ}C$ reduced the population of naturally existing bacteria on kale by 3.10 log colony forming units (CFU)/g, and the counts of E. coli O157:H7 were below the detection limit (1 log CFU/g). In addition, no significant differences in the Hunter color values were evident in any treatment during storage. Therefore, a combined treatment of $ClO_2$ and active CaO at $55^{\circ}C$ can be an effective sanitizing method to improve the microbiological safety of fresh-cut kale without affecting its quality.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.554-558
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• 2015

Drug delivery systems (DDSs) incorporating bacterial minicells have been evaluated as a very powerful tool in view of biocompatibility. However, limited studies have been carried out on these systems, mainly using minicells from Salmonella sp. and Escherichia coli. Thus, we generated a new minicell-producing strain from an endotoxin-free Corynebacterium glutamicum by the inactivation of genes related to cell division. The two knockout strains, ${\Delta}parA$ and ${\Delta}ncgl1366$, showed distinct abilities to produce minicells. The resulting minicells were purified via sequential antibiotic treatments and centrifugations, which resulted in reproducible yields.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.1295-1300
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• 2007

The antibacterial effects of anodic electrolyzed water against various bacteria were studied in this investigation. Complete inactivation of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria occurred within 15 s after exposure to anodic electrolyzed water. Moreover, 1/2, 1/5 and 1/10 diluted anodic electrolyzed water by adding deionized water showed strong antibacterial effects. However, the inhibitory effect of anodic electrolyzed water on the anaerobe of Propionibacterium acnes was much weaker than that on the aerobes, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The degraded fragments of E. coli cell were observed upon treating anodic electrolyzed water for 1 min by using scanning electron microscopy.