• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.1317-1320
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• 2012

Well-defined solid-state microcrystalline structures from bispyridyl Zn-porphyrin have been successfully synthesized. The coordinative interactions between pyridine and Zn are main responsible for this translation of porphyrin molecular building blocks to crystalline microscopic objects. The hexagonal plates are obtained from acetonitrile and rhombus plates are grown from toluene solution. With a simple manipulation during the microcrystal growth, such as growth temperature and time, the morphologies can be controlled by adopting different molecular packing. Consequently, morphologies of microcrystals have been diversified.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제33권5호
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• pp.1475-1479
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• 2012

Human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ($hPPAR{\gamma}$) has been implicated in numerous pathologies, including obesity, diabetes, and cancer. In this study, we verified that amentoflavone is an agonist of $hPPAR{\gamma}$ and probed the molecular basis of its action. It was demonstrated that amentoflavone bound $hPPAR{\gamma}$ with high (picomolar) affinity and increased the binding between $hPPAR{\gamma}$ and steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1) by approximately 4-fold. Based on a docking study, for the first time, we propose a model of amentoflavone and $hPPAR{\gamma}$ binding in which amentoflavone forms three hydrogen bonds with the side chains of His323, Tyr327, and Arg280 in $hPPAR{\gamma}$ and participates in two hydrophobic interactions.

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• 제4권1호
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

For understanding molecular mechanisms of photochemical reactions, in particular reactions of proteins with biological functions, it is important to elucidate both the initial reactions from the photoexcited states and the series of subsequent chemical reactions, e.g., conformation, intermolecular interactions (hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions), and inter-protein interactions (oligomer formation, dissociation reactions). Although time-resolved detection of such dynamics is essential, these dynamics have been very difficult to track by traditional spectroscopic techniques. Here, relatively new approaches for probing the dynamics of protein photochemical reactions using time-resolved transient grating (TG) are reviewed. By using this method, a variety of spectrally silent dynamics can be detected and such data provide a valuable description about the reaction scheme. Herein, a blue light sensor protein TePixD is the exemplar. The initial photochemistry for TePixD occurs around the chromophore and is detected readily by light absorption, but subsequent reactions are spectrally silent. The TG experiments revealed conformational changes and changes in inter-protein interactions, which are essential for TePixD function. The TG experiments also showed the importance of fluctuations of the intermediates as the driving force of the reaction. This technique is complementary to optical absorption detection methods. The TG signal contains a variety of unique information, which is difficult to obtain by other methods. The advantages and methods for signal analyses are described in detail in this review.

• Macromolecular Research
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• 제16권5호
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• pp.446-456
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• 2008

A recent theoretical approach based on the coupling of both the Flory-Huggins (FH) and the Association Equilibria thermodynamic (AET) theories was modified and adapted to study the miscibility properties of a multi-component system formed by two polymers (a proton-donor and a proton-acceptor) and a proton-acceptor solvent, named copolymer(A)/solvent(B)/polymer(C). Compatibility between polymers was mainly attained by hydrogen-bonding between the hydroxyl group on the phenol unit of the poly(styrene-co-vinyl phenol) (PSVPh) and the carbonyl group of the biodegradable and environmentally friendly poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). However, the self-association of PSVPh and specific interactions between the PSVPh and the H-acceptor group (an ether oxygen atom) of the epichlorohydrin (ECH) solvent were also established in a lower extension, which competed with the polymer-polymer association. All the binary specific interactions and their dependence with the system composition as well as with the copolymer content were evaluated and quantified by means of two excess functions of the Gibbs tree energy, ${\Delta}g_{AB}$ and ${\Delta}g_{AC}$. Experimental results from fluorescence spectroscopy were consistent with the theoretical simulations derived with the model, which could also be applied and extended to predict the miscibility in solution of any polymer blend with specific interactions.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제32권11호
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• pp.4071-4074
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• 2011

• BMB Reports
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• 제43권5호
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• pp.311-318
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• 2010

This review explored the mechanism of breast carcinoma progression by focusing on integrins and receptor tyrosine kinases (or growth factor receptors). While the primary role of integrins was previously thought to be solely as mediators of adhesive interactions between cells and extracellular matrices, it is now believed that integrins also regulate signaling pathways that control cancer cell growth, survival, and invasion. A large body of evidence suggests that the cooperation between integrin and receptor tyrosine kinase signaling regulates certain signaling functions that are important for cancer progression. Recent developments on the crosstalk between integrins and receptor tyrosine kinases, and its implication in mammary tumor progression, are discussed.

• BMB Reports
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• 제36권5호
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• pp.508-513
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• 2003

The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis produces toxin inclusions that are deleterious to target insect larvae. These toxins are believed to interact with a specific receptor protein(s) that is present on the gut epithelial cells of the larvae. In various insect species (in particular those belonging to the lepidopteran class), aminopeptidase N (APN) is one of the two receptor proteins that are considered to be involved in toxin-receptor interactions. However, in mosquitoes, the nature and identity of the receptor protein is unknown. Here, using RT-PCR, we identified two isoforms of the APN transcripts in the Aedes aegypti mosquito larval midgut. These results are congruent with a previous report of multiple isoforms of the APN gene expression in lepidopteran larvae. Which of the two isoforms (or other yet unidentified receptor proteins) is involved in the killing of mosquito larvae remains to be elucidated.

• 대한기계학회논문집A
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• 제23권7호
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• pp.1223-1230
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• 1999

This paper addresses a novel optimization technique based on molecular dynamics simulation which has been utilized for physical model simulation at various disciplines. In this study, objective functions are considered to be potential functions, which depict molecular interactions. Comparisons of typical optimization method such as the steepest descent and the present method for several test functions are made. The present method shows applicability and stability in finding a global optimum.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.441-446
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• 2002

We have presented the results of thermodynamic, structural and dynamic properties of liquid benzene, toluene, and p-xylene in canonical (NVT) ensemble at 293.15 K by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The molecular model adopted for these molecules is a combination of the rigid body treatment for the benzene ring and an atomistically detailed model for the methyl hydrogen atoms. The calculated pressures are too low in the NVT ensemble MD simulations. The various thermodynamic properties reflect that the intermolecular interactions become stronger as the number of methyl group attached into the benzene ring increases. The pronounced nearest neighbor peak in the center of mass g(r) of liquid benzene at 293.15 K, provides the interpretation that nearest neighbors tend to be perpendicular. Two self-diffusion coefficients of liquid benzene at 293.15 K calculated from MSD and VAC function are in excellent agreement with the experimental measures. The self-diffusion coefficients of liquid toluene also agree well with the experimental ones for toluene in benzene and for toluene in cyclohexane.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.28-35
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• 2004

Stimulated by novel phenomena observed in molecular aggregates, recent developments in engineering fields of microscopic scales are creating tremendous opportunities for future nanotechnology-based applications. Investigation in the field involves sub-nanosecond or sub-micrometer interactions between extremely small systems, but researches, to date in these physical extremes have been quite limited. Here, we shed light on some of nanoscale phenomena using molecular dynamics simulation: visualization of various phenomena of nanoscales and exploration of size-dependent mechanical properties.