• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.309-314
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• 2022

Carbon dots (CDs) are few nanometer-sized carbon-based nanoparticles and emerging candidate materials in various fields such as biosensors and bioimaging due to their excellent optical properties and high biocompatibility. However, most CDs, emitting blue light, have limited their application in biomedical fields due to the low penetration of short-wavelength lights into the biological system. Therefore, there has been enormous need to develop long-wavelength emitting CDs. In this study, red-emitting CDs were successfully synthesized through the hydrothermal reaction of p-phenylenediamine with hydrochloric acid. In addition, the effect of the amount of hydrochloric acid on the formation of carbon dots, resulting in the variation of the chemical structures of CDs, were investigated, which was confirmed with the intensive structural analyses using infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that the chemical structure of CDs governed their optical properties and quantum yield. Therefore, this study provides an insight into the role of acid in forming red-emitting CDs as the optimal probe for biomedical application.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.83-89
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• 2022

Since the pandemic of COVID-19, active investigation to develop immunity to infectious disease by delivering nucleic acids has been proceeded. Particularly, many studies have been conducted on non-viral vector as several vital side-effects which were found on nucleic acid delivery system using viral vectors. In this study, we have developed plasmid DNA (pDNA) loaded-hyaluronic acid derivative (HA) coated-polyethyleneimine (PEI) based polyplex for enhanced nucleic acid delivery efficiency. We have optimized the ratio of pDNA : PEI : HA by measuring size and protein transcription efficiency. The final product, polyplex-HA, was characterized through measuring size, zeta-potential and TEM image. Intracellular uptake and protein transcription efficiency were compared to commercially available transfection reagent, lipofectamine, through fluorescence image and flow cytometry. In conclusion, polyplex-HA presents a novel gene delivery system for efficient and stable protein transcription since it is available for delivering various genetic materials and has less immunoreactivity.

• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2022

Background: No studies have reported on the effects of loess beddings on insomnia patients. Purpose: It studied the change in quality of life and quality of sleep after having 15 insomnia subjects use the bedding that emits far-infrared rays. Methods: After using loess bedding for the test group and general yellow bedding for the control group, the study was conducted in the form of a questionnaire on the WHO quality of life of the subjects. Results: In the overall quality of life evaluation, the pre-and post-changes significantly improved in the test group. Using loess bedding was greatly enhanced the physical change, the actual sleep time, and the quality of sleep of the test group. The period of sleep was significantly longer post-treating, and the habitual sleep efficiency was considerably higher, and sleep disturbance was significantly lower than before in the test group. Sleep drug use and daytime dysfunction after treating in the test group significantly improved the sleep effect. Changes in the Sociality Scale, Environmental Change Scale, and Quality of Life Scale significantly improved in the test group. The quality of life for 14 items in the test group was significantly correlated. Daytime drowsiness, depression, and anxiety scale changes were significantly improved in the test group. According to the predictive survey, the subjects felt warmth in their body and comfort in mind during and after using loess bedding and evaluated that sleep quality was good. Conclusions: The overall quality of life in the test group increased using loess bedding.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.265-275
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• 2021

Findings of microplastics and nanoplastics from diverse natural environments have increased demand for research of the fate and transport of the potentially toxic plastic particles in soils and groundwater. Weathering of microplastics would generate a significant amount of nanoplastics, but nanoplastics research is scarce because of technical difficulties in detecting nanoplastics in environments and analyzing nanoplastics adsorption to mineral surfaces. In the current study, we tested a possibility using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) for application to nanoplastics adsorption analysis on mineral surfaces. In silica (SiO₂)-packed column experiments, a measurable adsorption capacity for polystyrene nanoparticles often requires injection of unrealistically high ionic strengths or concentrated nanoplastic particles. The current test shows that QCM can measure polystyrene nanoplastics adsorbed onto SiO₂ surface under the low ionic strengths and nanoplastics concentrations, where typical column experiments cannot. QCM is a promising tool for understanding the interaction between nanoplastics and mineral surfaces and thus transport of nanoplastics in soils and groundwater.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.285-292
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• 2022

Adsorption tower systems based on activated carbon adsorption towers have mainly been employed to reduce the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major cause of air pollution. However, the activated carbon currently used in these systems has a short lifespan and thus requires frequent replacement. An approach to overcome this shortcoming could be to develop metal oxide photocatalysis-activated carbon composites capable of degrading VOCs by simultaneously utilizing photocatalytic activation and powerful adsorption by activated carbon. TiO₂ has primarily been used as a metal oxide photocatalyst, but it has low economic efficiency due to its high cost. In this study, ZnO particles were synthesized as a photocatalyst due to their relatively low cost. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were deposited on the ZnO surface to compensate for the photocatalytic deactivation that arises from the wide band gap of ZnO. A microfluidic process was used to synthesize ZnO particles and Ag NPs in separate reactors and the solutions were continuously supplied with a pack bed reactor loaded with activated carbon powder. This microfluidic-assisted pack bed reactor efficiently prepared a Ag-ZnO-activated carbon composite for VOC removal. Analysis confirmed that Ag-ZnO photocatalytic particles were successfully deposited on the surface of the activated carbon. Conducting a toluene gasbag test and adsorption breakpoint test demonstrated that the composite had a more efficient removal performance than pure activated carbon. The process proposed in this study efficiently produces photocatalysis-activated carbon composites and may offer the potential for scalable production of VOC removal composites.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.150-162
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• 2022

In the field of water treatment and pharmaceutical bio an alumina hollow fiber membrane used for mixture separation. However, due to the lack of strengths it is very brittle to handle and apply. Therefore, it is necessary to study and improve the bending strength of the membrane to 100 MPa or more. In this study, as the mixing ratio of the nano-particles increased to 0, 1, 3, and 5 wt%, the viscosity of the fluid mixture increased. The pore structure of the hollow membrane produced by interrupting the diffusion exchange rate of the solvent and non-solvent during the spinning process suppresses the formation of the finger-like structure and gradually increases the ratio of the sponge-like structure to improve the membrane mechanical strength to more than 100 MPa. As a result, an interparticle space was ensured to improve the porosity of the sponge-like structure with high permeability, and it showed excellent N2 permeability of about 100000 GPU and high water permeability of 3000 L/m² h. Therefore, it can be concluded, that the addition of γ-Al₂O₃ nanoparticles as sintering aid is an important method to enhance the mechanical strength of the α-alumina hollow fiber membrane to maintain high permeability.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2023

In this study, waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was recycled to produce a support and then polyetherimide (PEI) was used for environmentally friendly organic solvent nanofiltration. The prepared composite membrane was first prepared by electrospinning a PET support, then casted on the support using PEI having excellent solvent resistance, and organic solvent nanoparticles using a Non-solvent Induced Phase Separation (NIPS) method. A filtration membrane was prepared. First, the fiber diameter and tensile strength of the PET scaffold prepared prior to membrane fabrication were identified through morphology analysis, and the optimal scaffold for the organic solvent nanofiltration membrane was identified. Afterward, the PET/PEI composite membrane prepared was checked for the DEA removal rate of Congo red having a molecular weight of 697 g/mol in ethanol to understand the performance as an organic solvent nanofiltration membrane according to the concentration of PEI. Finally, the removal rate of Congo red was 90% or more.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.746-753
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• 2023

Viral infectious diseases have been regarded as one of the greatest threats to global public health. The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a stark reminder of the threat posed by emerging viral infections. Developing and producing appropriate and efficient vaccines and therapeutics are the only options to combat this pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for novel vaccine platforms to control and prevent emerging viral diseases. Conventional vaccine platforms, including live-attenuated vaccine and inactivated vaccines, pose limitations in the speed of vaccine development, manufacturing capacity, and broad protection for emergency use. Interestingly, vaccination with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate based on the mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform protected against COVID-19, confirming that the nucleoside-modified candidate is a safe and effective alternative to conventional vaccines. Moreover, the prophylactic strategies against the COVID-19 pandemic have been mRNA nucleic acid-based vaccines and nanoparticle-based platforms, which are effective against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. Overall, the novel vaccine platform has presented advantages compared with the traditional vaccine platform in the COVID-19 pandemic. This review explores the recent advancements in vaccine technologies and platforms, focusing on mRNA vaccines, digital vaccines, and nanoparticles while considering their advantages and possible drawbacks.

• Clean Technology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.172-181
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• 2010

Hydrofluoroethers (HFEs) with fluoride molecules in their structure which are evaluated as the third generation replacement alternatives to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are known to be excellent for removal of nanoparticles and fluoride-type soils due to their low surface tension and high wetting index. In addition, HFEs have good physical properties with no flash point and excellent drying characteristics. But, HFEs also have shortcomings in that they are not effective for removal of organic soils due to their poor solubility in soil. In this study, $C_5$ HFE-based cleaning agents were formulated through addition of solvents such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA), ethyleneglycol monoether (EG), propyleneglycol monoethylether (PM) to HFE-7100 [$CF_3CF_2CF_2CF_2OCH_3$] or HFE-mec-f [$CF_3CHF=CF_2OCH_2CF_3$] with its maximum amount, respectively, in order to have no flash point for the safety in the working environment. These solvents are known to be excellent for dissolving organics in soil. Their physical properties and cleaning abilities for fluxes, water-insoluble cutting oils, and fluoride-type oils were evaluated and compared with those of other cleaning agents with single components. The experimental results show that the HFE-based formulated cleaning agents have various good physical properties which are almost similar to those of a single type of HFE cleaner. They show excellent cleaning ability for fluxes, water-insoluble cutting oils, and fluoride-type oils. These results indicate that the HFE-based formulated cleaning agents can be applicable to various industrial cleaning fields because of their good physical properties and cleaning abilities for various soils.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.240-246
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• 2023

This study was performed to convert NO_x in atmosphere by photochemical reaction utilizing the eco-friendly solar energy. The mortar specimen coated with photocatalyst was fabricated and the photochemical conversion efficiency of NO_x was analyzed. The photocatalyst coated concrete was fabricated by first adding TiO₂ photocatalyst on the bottom of mold first and next adding cement mortar and, then, curing the concrete mortar. The grease was sprayed on the bottom of mold in advance so that the concrete can be demolded easily after curing. The conversion efficiencies of NO_x by photochemical reactions were investigated systematically by changing the process variable conditions of amount of TiO₂ coating, UV-A light intensity, total gas flow rate, relative humidity and initial NO_x concentration. It was confirmed that the photocatalyst coated concrete fabricated in this study could convert NO_x successfully for various process conditions in atmosphere. In future, we believe this research result can be utilized as basic data to design the infrastructure of building, tunnel and road for controlling efficiently the air pollutants such as NO_x, SO_x, and VOCs.