• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.323-328
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• 2015

Poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers and PCL/silica membranes were synthesized by sol-gel derived electrospinning and casting, respectively. Smooth PCL nanofibers were obtained from the precursor containing N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). PCL/silica membranes were prepared by varying the tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) contents from 0 to 40 vol% to investigate the effect of silica addition on mechanical properties and cytotoxicity of the membranes. Although the strength of the membranes decreased from 12 to 8 MPa with increasing the silica content, the strength remained almost constant 7 weeks after dipping in phosphate buffered saline solution (PBS). The strength reduction was attributed to the presence of a patterned surface pores and micro-pores present in the walls between pores. The crystal structure of the membranes was orthorhombic and the crystallite size decreased from 57 to 18 nm with increasing the silica content. From the agar overlay test, the PCL/silica membranes exhibited neither deformation and discoloration nor lysis of L-929 fibroblast cells.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.270-277
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• 2010

In order to manufacture Bacillus cereus-free fermented soybean products, an antimicrobial agentproducing isolate against B. cereus was obtained from 150 traditionally fermented soybean products. The morphological and biochemical tests and the phylogenetic relationship among 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolate named as the strain SCK 121057 was most closely related to Bacillus licheniformis. The B. licheniformis isolate began to produce the antimicrobial agent after 48 h of incubation. The agent was nonproteinaceous and insensitive to heat, long term storage and protease K. Electron microscopic observation indicated that the agent attacked the membrane of B. cereus, leaving the ghost cell. The isolate inhibited growth of B. subtilis, Lactobacillus brevis and various types of pathogenic strains including Escherichia coli, E. faecalis, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus flavus, A. ochraceus, and A. parasiticus as well as B. cereus. After coinoculation of B. licheniformis SCK 121057 and B. cereus in the ratio (as the basis of CFU/g sample) of 10 to 1 on the surface of cooked soybeans, cell numbers of B. cereus had been dramatically reduced after 31 days of incubation compared to those of single inoculation of B. cereus.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.12-19
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• 1999

To improve biopolymer productivity and properties of Bacillus strains, protoplast fusion was performed between biopolymer producing Bacillus subtilis K-1 and lactose utilizing Bacillus coagulans. The results were as follows; Protoplasts mixed in fusion fluid containing 33% PEG 6000, 1% PVP and 10 mM $CaCl_2$ were reacted for 5 min at $37^{\circ}C$ and then centrifused protoplasts were directly overlaid on the selective media containing $100\;{\mu}g/ml$ antibiotics and incubated for 3 days. At this conditions, the frequency of protoplast fusion was generally in the range of $4.6{\times}10^{-5}\;to\;1.8{\times}10^{-7}$ in ratio. Segregation ratio was observed between 1 to 6% indicating genetic stability of all the fusants. Fusants growth were also observed on the media contained amino acid and antibiotics as required marked materials. DNA contents of the selected fusants were 1.6 to 2.7 times more than that of parent strains. With observation by TEM microscopy, spherical protoplasts were first released from the swollen parental cells and then contracted to fuse in the process of fusion. And fused cells were observed representative vesicle. Originally, the parental cells were observed as in the morphology of thick-walled and double membrane-surrounded rod shape with TEM microscopy.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.417-426
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• 1997

Rice bran protein hydrolysates were prepared and some of their physicochemical properties were investigated to utilize rice bran as starting material for functional food ingredient. Rice bran proteins (RBP) were prepared from defatted rice bran by alkaline extraction and isoelectric precipitation. The enzyme for hydrolysis of RBP was selected through measuring relative activity by pH-drop method and comparing the degree of hydrolysis (DH) of hydrolysates. The enzymatic hydrolysates prepared by $Esperase^{\circledR}$ treatment were partitioned into two fractions by ultrafiltration(UF) with a 10 kDa molecular weight cut-off membrane. Each fraction was applied to a cholic acid-conjugated ${\omega}-aminohexyl$ Sepharose 4B column and the bile acid-binding components were obtained by eluting with deoxycholate. Gel permeation chromatography on a Sephadex G-50 column revealed that molecular weight of the bile acid-binding fraction of UF permeate was distributed in ranges of $2\;kDa{\sim}10\;kDa$ and $0.2\;kDa{\sim}0.6\;kDa$. Three peaks (R-1, R-2 and R-3) were obtained by prep-HPLC of bile acid-binding fraction of UF retentate and analyzed for total and free amino acid composition. The results showed that proline content of the bile-acid binding polypeptides and peptides was four times as much as that of rice bran protein and that the peak corresponding to higher average hydrophobicity had a higher free amino acid content. Average hydrophobicity slightly increased with enzymatic hydrolysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.39-39
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• 2003

In our previous study, WEHI-231, an immature B cell line, showed intractable increase in [C $a^{2+}$]$_{c}$ after the B-cell receptor (BCR) ligation and treatment with 2-aminoethoxydiphenylborate (2-APB), which was never observed in Bal-17, a mature B cell line (Nam et al., 2003, FEBS Lett). In this study, a whole cell voltage clamp study revealed a specific expression of a novel type of $K^{+}$ current, namely voltage-independent background-type $K^{+}$ channels (IK-bg), in WEHI-231 cells. IK-bg was dramatically increase by the application of 2-APB (50 $\square$M), which induced severe hyperpolarization of WEHI-231 from -45 ㎷ to -90 ㎷, When dialyzed with $Mg^{2+}$ and ATP-free pipette solution, a spontaneous development of IK-bg and membrane hyperpolarization were observed. IK-bg was insensitive to classical $K^{+}$ channel blockers (TEA, glibenclamide, $Ba^{2+}$(1 mM)), whereas blocked by quinine and quinidine in a voltage-dependent manner ($IC_{50}$/=6~9 $\square$M at +60㎷). Phorbol myrstate, a PKC activator, decreased the amplitude of IK-bg. Extracellular acidification (pH 6.5) slightly inhibited IK-bg. Arachidonic acid, riluzole, or hyposmotic stress could not affect the IK-bg after the full development by the intracellular dialysis with Mg-ATP-free solution. In a cell-attached mode of single channel recording from WEHI231, we found two types of voltage-independent $K^{+}$ channels with unitary conductance of 300 pS and 120 pS, respectively. Both channels showed very short mean open times and their open probabilities were increase by the application of 2-APB. In Bal-17 cells, no such $K^{+}$ current was observed in 50 cells tested. In summary, WEHI-231 immature B cells express background $K^{+}$ channels. The pharmacological properties and the large unitary conductance suggest that novel types of two-pore domain $K^{+}$ channels (2-P-K channels) might be expressed in WEHI-231, which may provide an intriguing targets of signal transduction in the immature B lymphocytes.e B lymphocytes.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.476-481
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• 2013

Ethylbenzene (EB) which has a similar physical properties with p-xylene (pX) was separated from EB/pX mixture by using MFI-type zeolite (TS-1, ZSM-5, and Silicalite-1) coated membranes. The zeolites were synthesized by microwave method to reduce the synthesis time and uniformly formed zeolite particles were coated on the ${\alpha}$-almina tubular support with a thickness of $3-4{\mu}m$. Separation factor and permeation flux of the synthesized zeolite coated membranes were measured to survey the best performance of ethylbenzene separation from different composition of EB/pX mixtures. When the EB/pX mixture of 5:5 molar ratio applied for the separation experiment, it represented the highest separation factor. We also have studied about the effect of the atomic composition of zeolites on the separation performance within the temperature range from 160 to $220^{\circ}C$. TS-1 showed the highest permeation flux of $1,666mol/m^{2*}s^*Pa$ and Silicate-1 showed the highest separation factor of 1.73 at $200^{\circ}C$ respectively.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.641-646
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• 2018

Sodium borohydride, $NaBH_4$, shows a number of advantages as hydrogen source for portable proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Properties of $NaBH_4$ hydrolysis reaction using activated carbon supported Co-B/C, Co-P-B/C catalyst were studied. BET surface area of catalyst, yield of hydrogen, effect of $NaBH_4$ concentration and durability of catalyst were measured. The BET surface area of carbon supported catalyst was over $500m^2/g$ and this value was 2~3 times higher than that of unsupported catalyst. Hydrogen generation of activated carbon supported catalyst was more stable than that of unsupported catalyst. The activation energy of Co-P-B/C catalyst was 59.4 kJ/mol in 20 wt% $NaBH_4$ and 14% lower than that of Co-P-B/FeCrAlloy catalyst. Catalyst loss on activated carbon supported catalyst was reduced to about 1/3~1/2 compared with unsupported catalyst, therefore durability was improved by supporting catalyst on activated carbon.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.175-181
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• 1985

Agrobacterium tumefaciens induces cancerous growths called crown galls at wound sites on dicotyledonous plants. A large plasmid called Ti plasmid is responsible for virulence. Upon tumor induction, part of the plasmid, termed T-DNA, becomes integrated into plant genome and its genetic sequences are expressed. These properties allow Ti plasmids to be used as gene vectors in plants. Several in vitro methods for the transfer of Ti plasmid into plant cell have been developed. One of them is the treatment of bacterial spheroplasts and plant protoplasts mixture with polyethylene glycol that is generally used as fusogen in cell-to-cell fusion. Several workers investigated the interaction of bacterial spheroplasts with plant protoplasts in the presence of polyethylene glycol and suggested that the interaction is not fusion but endocytosis. In this report we observed the interaction of Agrobacterium tumefaciens spheroplasts with Nicotiana tabacum protoplasts by electron microscope. Agrobacterium tumefaciens spheroplasts and Nicotiana tabacum protoplasts were prepared and mixed in the presence of polyethylene glycol and high pH-high $Ca^{2+}$ buffer. Then the interaction of the spheroplasts with the protoplasts was examined by transmission electron microscope. After the treatment of polyethylene glycol the spheroplasts adhered to the surface of the protoplasts and then they were engulfed by the protoplasts. After the high pH-high $Ca^{2+}$ buffer treatment the engulfed spheroplasts lost their cell integrity. No fusion process was observed. Thus all these observations suggest that the introduction process of Agrobacterium tumefaciens spheroplasts into Nicotiana tabacum protoplasts with the aid of polyethylene glycol is endocytosis.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.377-383
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• 2009

Ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuator generates bending actuation via ion/water flux to the cathode side under an electric field. Polyelectrolytes in IPMC should possess high water-retention capability, proton conductivity, and Young's modulus. In this study. for endowing IPMCs with these properties, Nafion-alumina composite membranes containing $\alpha$- or $\gamma$-aluminas of $4{\sim}8$ wt% were prepared. Mechanical moduli of Nafion-alumina composite membranes were $7{\sim}3$ MPa higher than that of Nafion, with the slight decrease in proton conductivity. At DC 3 V. the actuation performance of the Nafion-$\alpha$-alumina (8 wt%)-IPMC was superior to that of the typical Nafion-IPMC. exhibiting 2.7 times the displacement with an enhanced blocking force. The enhanced actuation performance with the Nafion-$\alpha$-alumina composite membranes was attributed to the higher proton conductivity, the elevated ion/water flux, and the lower interfacial electric resistance of platinum electrodes and membrane, compared with those containing $\gamma$-alumina.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.702-707
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• 2014

Corneal endothelium is mono-inner cell layer of cornea and lay on Descmet's membrane which comprised of various proteins called extracellular matrix such as fibronectin, collagen, laminin, and proteoglycan, etc. In this study, we fabricated transparent poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) film because PLGA is widely used for tissue engineering based on their properties. We investigated the behaviors of rabbit corneal endothelial cells (rCEnCs) on PLGA film surfaces coated with various cell-adhesive molecules like fibronectin, laminin, collagen type I and IV and FNC coating mix. The morphologic images, proliferation and adhesion assay, immunofluorescence for ZO-1 and $Na^+/K^+-ATPase$ and RT-PCR for expression of specific markers were conducted. These results showed that PLGA film plays a role as CEnC carriers in vitro and the cell-adhesive molecules give positive effects on the behaviors of rCEnC.