• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.121-121
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• 2008

We propose a novel nanomaterial-based pn diode which constructed with an n-type ZnO nanowire (NW) and a p-type HgTe nanoparticle (NP) thin film. The photo current characteristics of a ZnO NW, a HgTe NP thin film and pn diode constructed with a ZnO NW and a HgTe NP thin film were investigated under illumination of the 325 nm and 633 nm wavelength light. The conductivities of a ZnO NW exposed to the 325 nm and 633 nm wavelength light increased, while the photocurrents taken from the HgTe NP thin film was very close to the dark currents. Moreover, The pn diode exhibited the rectifying characteristics of the dark current and of the photocurrent excited by the 633 nm wavelength light. In contrast, the ohmic characteristics for the photocurrent were observed due to the junction barrier lowering in the conduction band of the ZnO nanowire under the illumination of the 325 nm wavelength light.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.172-178
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• 2009

Nanoparticles are small-scale substances (<100 nm) with unique properties, complex exposure and health risk implications. Aluminum oxide ($Al_2O_3$) nanoparticles (NP) have been widely used as abrasives, wear-resistant coatings on propeller shafts of ships, to increase the specific impulse per weight of composite propellants used in solid rocket fuel and as drug delivery systems to increase solubility. However, recent studies have shown that nano-sized aluminum (10 nm in diameter) can generate adverse effects, such as pulmonary response. The cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of $Al_2O_3$ NP were investigated using the dye exclusion assay, the comet assay, and the mouse lymphoma thymidine kinase (tk$^{+/-}$) gene mutation assay (MLA). IC$_{20}$ values of $Al_2O_3$ NP in BEAS-2B cells were determined the concentration of 273.44 $\mu$g/mL and 390.63 $\mu$g/mL with and without S-9. However IC$_{20}$ values of $Al_2O_3$ NP were found nontoxic in L5178Y cells both of with and without S-9 fraction. In the comet assay, L5178Y cells and BEAS-2B cells were treated with $Al_2O_3$ NP which significantly increased 2-fold tail moment with and without S-9. Also, the mutant frequencies in the $Al_2O_3$ NP treated L5178Y cells were increased compared to the vehicle controls with S-9. The results of this study indicate that $Al_2O_3$ NP can cause primary DNA damage and cytotoxicity but not mutagenicity in cultured mammalian cells.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.1605-1610
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• 2017

The electrochemical luminescence (ECL) device was investigated, which has similar structure to the dye-sensitized solar cell. The structure of the ECL cell in this experiment reliably induces a large amount of the oxidation around electrodes. The band gap of the ECL electrode is of 3.0 - 3.2 eV. Titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) nanoparticle has following properties: a band gap of 3.4 eV, a low-priced material, and 002 preferred orientation (Z-axis). Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanorod is easy to grow in a vertical direction. In this paper, in order to determine material suitable for the ECL device, the properties of various materials for electrodes of ECL devices such as ZnO nanorod (ZnO-NR) and $TiO_2$ nanoparticle ($TiO_2-NP$) were compared. The threshold voltage of the light emission of the ZnO-NR was 2.0 V which is lower than 2.5 V of $TiO_2-NP$. In the other hand, the luminance of $TiO_2-NP$ was $44.66cd/m^2$ and was higher than that of $34cd/m^2$ of ZnO-NR at the same applied voltage of 4 V. Based on the experimental results, we could conclude that $TiO_2-NP$ is a more suitable electrode material in ECL device than the ZnO-NR.

• CELLMED
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.23.1-23.6
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• 2016

With the rapid developments in nanotechnology, an increasing number of nanomaterials have been applied in various aspects of our lives. Recently, pharmaceutical nanotechnology with numerous advantages has growingly attracted the attention of many researchers. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) are nanomaterials that are widely used in many fields including diagnostics, therapeutics, drug-delivery systems, electronics, cosmetics, sunscreens, coatings, ceramic products, paints, and food additives, due to their magnetic, catalytic, semiconducting, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, ultraviolet-protective, and binding properties. The present review focused on the recent research works concerning role of ZnO-NP on inflammation. Several studies have reported that ZnO-NP induces inflammatory reaction through the generation of reactive oxygen species by oxidative stress and production of inflammatory cytokines by activation of nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ ($NF-{\kappa}B$). Meanwhile, other researchers reported that ZnO-NP exhibits an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the up-regulation of inflammatory cytokines and the activation of $NF-{\kappa}B$, caspase-1, $I{\kappa}B$ $kinase{\beta}$, receptor interacting protein2, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase. Previous studies reported that size and shape of nanoparticles, surfactants used for nanoparticles protection, medium, and experimental conditions can also affect cellular signal pathway. This review indicated that the anti-inflammatory effectiveness of ZnO-NP was determined by the nanoparticle size as well as various experimental conditions. Therefore, the author suggests that pharmaceutical therapy with the ZnO-NP is one of the possible strategies to overcome the inflammatory reactions. However, further studies should be performed to maximize the anti-inflammatory effect of ZnO-NP to apply as a potential agent in biomedical applications.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.1748-1752
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• 2012

We carried out the tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) with a tip that is functionalized with a Aunanoparticle (AuNP, with a diameter of 250 nm). The AuNP tip is fabricated by a direct mechanical pickup of a AuNP from a flat substrate, and the TERS signal from the AuNP tip - organic monolayer - Au thin film (thickness of 10 nm) is recorded. We find that such a AuNP-tip interacting with a thin film routinely yields signal enhancement larger than ${\sim}10^4$, which is sufficient not only for local (with detection area of ~200 $nm^2$) Raman spectroscopy, but also the nanometric imaging of organic monolayers within a reasonable acquisition time (~20 minutes/image).

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.274-274
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• 2006

Recently, conjugated polymer solar cells have attracted a great deal of attention. In this work, we applied the various scanning probe techniques to characterize composite materials typically used to fabricate polymer solar cells: poly-3(hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and P3HT/PCBM/Au nanoparticle (NP) samples. The latter is studied due to the idea of using the gold NP surface plasmon to enhance the optical absorption of the composite films. AFM is used to characterize the film morphology whereas conducting AFM is used to study the charge transport properties at the nanoscale. We found that there is a direct correlation between the nanoscale charge transport measurements and the device efficiencies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.267.2-267.2
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• 2013

In the citrate reduction method of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) synthesis, pH of the reaction mixture can have a considerable impact on the size and size distribution of AuNPs. In this work, effects of pH variation upon the size and its distribution were examined systematically. As the initial pH was change from 5.5 to 10.5, it showed an optimal pH around 7.5. At this pH, both of the size and the size distribution showed their minimum values, which was verified by transmission electron microscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy. This occurrence of optimal pH was discussed with the results of in situ monitoring pH during the reaction of AuNP synthesis.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.105-108
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• 2011

Newly-developed fabrication of a p-n heterojunction diode constructed with a p-Si nanowire (NW) and an n-ZnO nanoparticle (NP) thin-film by the dielectrophoresis (DEP) technique is demonstrated in this study. With the bias of 20 Vp-p at the input frequency of 1 MHz, the most efficient assembly of the n-ZnO NPs is shown for the fabrication of the p-n heterojunction diode with a p-Si NW. The p-n heterojunction diode fabricated in this study represents current rectifying characteristics with the turn on voltage of 1.1 V. The diode can be applied to the fabrication of optoelectrical devices such as photodetectors, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), or solar cells based on the high conductivity of the NW and the high surface to volume ratio of the NP thin film.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.257-270
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• 2019

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely used in a variety of applications in innovative development; consequently, people are more exposed to this particle. Growing concern about toxicity from AgNP exposure has attracted greater attention, while questions about nanosilver-responsive genes and consequences for human health remain unanswered. By considering early detection and prevention of nanotoxicology at the genetic level, this study aimed to identify 1) changes in gene expression levels that could be potential indicators for AgNP toxicity and 2) morphological phenotypes correlating to toxicity of HepG2 cells. To detect possible nanosilver-responsive genes in xenogenic targeted organs, a comprehensive systematic literature review of changes in gene expression in HepG2 cells after AgNP exposure and in silico method, connection up- and down-regulation expression analysis of microarrays (CU-DREAM), were performed. In addition, cells were extracted and processed for transmission electron microscopy to examine ultrastructural alterations. From the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) Series database, we selected genes that were up- and down-regulated in AgNPs, but not up- and down-regulated in silver ion exposed cells, as nanosilver-responsive genes. HepG2 cells in the AgNP-treated group showed distinct ultrastructural alterations. Our results suggested potential representative gene data after AgNPs exposure provide insight into assessment and prediction of toxicity from nanosilver exposure.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.795-799
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• 2006

Peptides, although high efficacy and specificity in their physiological function, usually have low therapeutical activities due to their poor bioavailability when administrated orally. Nanoparticles have been regarded as a useful vector for targeted drug delivery system because they can protect drug from being degraded quickly and pass the gastrointestinal barriers. Here we described a novel oral N-trimethyl chitosan nanoparticles formulation containing thymopentin (Tp5-TMC-NP). N-trimethyl chitosan (TMC) was synthesized and then used to prepare Tp5-TMC-NP by ionotropic gelation. A three-factor, five-level CCD (Central Composite Design) design was used in the optimization procedure, with HPLC as the analyzing method. The resulting Tp5-TMC-NP had a regular spherical surface and a narrow particle size range with a mean diameter of 110.6 nm. The average entrapment efficiency was 78.8%. The lyophilized Tp5-TMC-NP formulation was stable in $4^{\circ}C\;or\;-20^{\circ}C$ after storage of 3 months without obvious changes in morphology, particle size, pH and entrapment ratio. The results of the flow cytometer determination showed that the ratio of $CD4^+/CD8^+$ of Wistar female rat given Tp5-TMC-NP (ig) was 2.59 time that of the group given Tp5 (ig).