• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.3433-3436
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• 2011

Some of metal nanoparticles have the potential for use as colorimetric assays for estimating solution properties, such as pH and temperature due to localized surface plasmon (LSP) phenomena. This report describes the use of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) conjugated with cytochrome c (Cyt c) for the colorimetric determination of solution pHs. When the pH of a solution decreases, the Cyt c immobilized on the AgNP undergoes a conformational change, leading to a decrease in the interparticle distance between Cyt c-AgNP probes and consequent red-shift in LSP. As a result, the color of the Cyt c-AgNP probe solution changes from yellow to red and finally to a grayish blue in the pH range from 11 to 3. This gradual color change can be used to determine the pH of a solution over a wide pH range, compared to other colorimetric methods that use gold nanoparticles.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.383-391
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• 2020

Use of nanoparticles (NPs) in several commercial products has led to emergence of novel contaminants of air, soil and water bodies. The NPs may exhibit greater ecotoxicity due to nano-scale dependent properties over their bulk counterparts. The present investigation explores the effect of in vitro supplementation of TiO₂, silica and silver NPs on radial growth and ultrastructural changes in the hyphae and spores of two mushroom genera, Ganoderma lucidum and Volvariella volvaceae. A concentration dependent decrease in radial growth on NP amended potato dextrose agar medium was recorded. However, in comparison to control, there was decrease in radial diameter on supplementation with TiO₂ NPs while an increase was recorded for silica and silver NPs amendments as compared to their bulk salts at same concentrations after 48 h of incubation. Optical microscopy studies showed decrease in the number of spores while increase in spore diameter and thinning of hyphal diameter on NPs supplementation. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of fungal growth showed presence of deflated and oblong spores in two fruiting strains of Ganoderma while Volvariella exhibited decreased sporulation. Further, hyphal thinning and branching was recorded in response to NP amendments in both the test mushrooms. Enhancement of protein content was observed on NP compared to bulk supplementation for all cultures, concentrations and hours of incubation except for TiO₂ NPs. Likewise, bulk and NP supplementations (at 100 mg L^-1) resulted in enhanced laccase activity with occurrence of laccase specific protein bands on SDS-PAGE analysis.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.171-173
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• 2016

In this study, we fabricate a high efficiency heater consisting of the indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticle (NP)-paste and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and investigate the effect of PDMS on temperature maintenance of the heater through the comparison with the PDMS-free ITO film heater. Compared to the ITO film heater, the temperature of the PDMS/ITO film heater lasts 1.5 times longer. And the power consumption of the PDMS/ITO film heater is reduced by 35%, owing to the low thermal conductivity of the PDMS layer.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.177-186
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• 2013

The use of nanoparticles (NPs) in industry is increasing, bringing with it a number of adverse health effects on workers. Like other chemical carcinogens, NPs can cause cancer via oxidative DNA damage. Of all the molecules vulnerable to oxidative modification by NPs, DNA has received the greatest attention, and biomarkers of exposure and effect are nearing validation. This review concentrates on studies published between 2000 and 2012 that attempted to detect oxidative DNA damage in humans, laboratory animals, and cell lines. It is important to review these studies to improve the current understanding of the oxidative DNA damage caused by NP exposure in the workplace. In addition to examining studies on oxidative damage, this review briefly describes NPs, giving some examples of their adverse effects, and reviews occupational exposure assessments and approaches to minimizing exposure (e.g., personal protective equipment and engineering controls such as fume hoods). Current recommendations to minimize exposure are largely based on common sense, analogy to ultrafine material toxicity, and general health and safety recommendations.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.125-130
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• 2022

We describe the importance of zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnO NP) concentration in the enhancement of electrical properties in a lead sulfide quantum dot (PbS QD)-based shortwave infrared (SWIR) photodetector. ZnO NPs were synthesized using the sol-gel method. The concentration of the ZnO NPs was controlled as 20, 30 and 40 mg/mL in this study. Note that the ZnO NPs layer is commonly used as an electron transport layer in PbS QDs SWIR photodetectors. The photo-to-dark ratio, which is an important parameter of a photodetector, was intensively examined to evaluate the electrical performance. The 20 mg/mL condition of ZnO NPs exhibited the highest photo-to-dark ratio value of 5 at -1 V, compared with 1.8 and 0.4 for 30 mg/mL and 40 mg/mL, respectively. This resulted because the electron mobility decreased when the concentration of ZnO NPs was higher than the optimized value. Based on our results, the concentration of ZnO NPs was observed to play an important role in the electrical performance of the PbS QDs SWIR photodetector.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.217-224
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• 2013

In this paper, we have investigated the characteristics of cyclic voltammetry of a self-assembled mono-layer(SAM) electrode which was modified by 3-Mercaptopropionic acid (3-MPA) on gold nanoparticle(AuNP)-deposited electrode. Also, the transport phenomena of electrons and ions around the electrode have been analyzed. The governing equation and its boundary conditions by adopting the semi-infinite diffusion model were formulated for the mass-transfer dominant system. In order to obtain the numerical solutions of cyclic voltammetry(CV) on SAM electrodes, MATLAB program was implemented by applying the explicit finite difference method. Resulting CV program for the SAM-modified electrode was verified in good agreements with the experimental CV results for the 3-MPA on AuNP electrode.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.153-158
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• 2016

The principal objective of this study was to produce a chitosan nanoparticle (NP) system for improving blood circulation. Chitosan NPs were prepared using fucoidan and $poly-{\gamma}-glutamic$ acid (PGA), denoted as CS/Fu and CS/Fu/PGA NPs, respectively. As the chitosan concentration was increased, the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) of the NPs significantly increased (p<0.05). When the concentration of fucoidan and ${\gamma}-PGA$ was 5-20 and $1-10{\mu}g/mL$, respectively, the size of the CS/Fu and CS/Fu/PGA NPs was approximately 200 and 100 nm, respectively. With an increase in the fucoidan and PGA concentration, the APTT of CS/Fu and CS/Fu/PGA NPs significantly increased (p<0.05). These results suggest that CS/Fu and CS/Fu/PGA NPs could be used as a potent NP system for improving blood circulation.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.618-624
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• 2013

We demonstrated unique inter- and intra-plasmonic coupling effects in bimetallic Au@Ag core-shell NP arrays which are regularly or randomly arranged on self-assembled block copolymer (BCP) inverse micelle monolayers. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-stabilized Au@Ag core-shell NP arrays in regular or disordered configuration were incorporated and assembled on reconstructed PS-b-P4VP inverse micelle templates through two types of processes. The intensively enhanced LSPR coupling properties of individual and assembled Au@Ag NPs were evaluated by UV-visible spectroscopy in terms of the type of ligand stabilizer, coupling between Au and Ag, thickness of Ag shell, and type of array configuration. Finally, Au@Ag core-shell NP arrays were employed as active substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and a significantly enhanced signal enhancement was observed in accordance with the coupling intensity of Au@Ag NPs patterns.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.382.2-382.2
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• 2014

We explain a method to fabricate multi-layered transparent conductive films (TCF) using graphene oxide (GO), copper powder and polyurethane (PU) solution. The flexible graphene nanosheets (GNSs) serve as nanoscale connection between conductive copper nanoparticles (CuNps) and PU nanofibers, resulting in a highly flexible TCF. To fabricate conductive films with high transmittance, polyurethane (PU) nanofibers were used for a conductive network consisting of CuNps and GNSs (CuNps-GNSs). In this experiment, copper powder and graphene oxides were mixed in deionized water with the ultrasonication for 2 h. NaBH4 solution is used as a reduction agents of CuNps and GNSs (CuNps-GNSs) under a nitrogen atmosphere in the oil bath at 100% for 24 h to mixed. The purified and dispersed CuNp-GNS were obtained in deionized water, and diluted to a 10wt.% based on the contents of GNSs. Polyurethane (PU) nanofibers on a PET substrate were formed by electrospinning method. PET slides coated with the PU nanofibers were immersed into CuNp-GNS solution for several second, rinsed briefly in deionized water, and dried to obtain self-assembled CuNp-GNS/PU films. The morphology of the multi-layered films were characterized with a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM, Hitachi S-4700) and atomic force microscope (AFM, PSIA XE-100). The electrical property was analysed by the I-V measurement system and the optical property was measured by the UV/VIS spectroscopy.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.1114-1119
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• 2012

This study was conducted to assess the microbial toxicity of ionic silver solution ($Ag^+N$) and silver nanoparticle suspension ($Ag^0NP$) based on the Microtox bioassay. In this test, the light inhibition of luminescent bacteria was measured after 15 and 30 min exposure to aqueous solutions and soils spiked with a dilution series of $Ag^+N$ and $Ag^0NP$. The resulting dose-response curves were used to derive effective concentration (EC25, $EC_{50}$, EC75) and effective dose ($ED_{25}$, $ED_{50}$, $ED_{75}$) that caused a 25, 50 and 75% inhibition of luminescence. In aqueous solutions, $EC_{50}$ value of $Ag^+N$ after 15 min exposure was determined to be < $2mg\;L^{-1}$ and remarkably lower than $EC_{50}$ value of $Ag^0NP$ with $251mg\;L^{-1}$. This revealed that $Ag^+N$ was more toxic to luminescent bacteria than $Ag^0NP$. In soil extracts, however, $ED_{50}$ value of $Ag^+N$ with 196 mg kg-1 was higher than $ED_{50}$ value of $Ag^0NP$ with $104mg\;kg^{-1}$, indicating less toxicity of $Ag^+N$ in soils. The reduced toxicity of $Ag^+N$ in soils can be attributed to a partial adsorption of ionic $Ag^+$ on soil colloids and humic acid as well as a partial formation of insoluble AgCl with NaCl of Microtox diluent. This resulted in lower concentration of active Ag in soil extracts obtained after 1 hour shaking with $Ag^+N$ than that spiked with $Ag^0NP$. With longer exposure time, EC and ED values of both $Ag^+N$ and $Ag^0NP$ decreased, so their toxicity increased. The toxic characteristics of silver nanomaterials were different depending on existing form of Ag ($Ag^+$, $Ag^0$), reaction medium (aqueous solution, soil), and exposure time.