• Molecules and Cells
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.447-453
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• 2009

The quorum sensing (QS) inhibitors that antagonize TraR, a receptor protein for N-3-oxo-octanoyl-L-homoserine lactones (3-oxo-C8-HSL), a QS signal of Agrobacterium tumefaciens were developed. The structural analogues of 3-oxo-C8-HSL were designed by in silico molecular modeling using SYBYL packages, and synthesized by the solid phase organic synthesis (SPOS) method, where the carboxamide bond of 3-oxo-C8-HSL was replaced with a nicotinamide or a sulfonamide bond to make derivatives of N-nicotinyl-L-homoserine lactones or N-sulfonyl-L-homoserine lactones. The in vivo inhibitory activities of these compounds against QS signaling were assayed using reporter systems and compared with the estimated binding energies from the modeling study. This comparison showed fairly good correlation, suggesting that the in silico interpretation of ligand-receptor structures can be a valuable tool for the pre-design of better competitive inhibitors. In addition, these inhibitors also showed anti-biofilm activities against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.183-194
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• 2019

The consumption of fresh vegetables has been related to recurrent outbreaks of foodborne diseases (FBD) worldwide. Therefore, the development of effective alternative technologies is necessary to improve the safety of these products. This study aimed to isolate and identify epiphytic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from fresh fruits and leafy vegetables and characterize their antagonistic capacity due to their ability to produce bacteriocins or antibacterial compounds. For this, 92 LAB isolates from fruits and leafy vegetables were screened for antagonistic activity. Two strains with the highest and broadest antagonistic activities were selected for further characterization; one from cantaloupe melon (strain CM175) and one from cilantro leaves (strain C15). The cell-free supernatants (CFS) of CM175 and C15 were found to exhibit antagonistic activity against FBD-causing pathogens. The CM175 and C15 strains were identified as Pediococcus pentosaceus and Lactobacillus graminis, respectively. Notably, the P. pentosaceus CM175 CFS stopped the growth of Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Saintpaul, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes, and delayed Escherichia coli O157:H7 growth. Moreover, L. graminis C15 CFS delayed the growth of all indicator pathogens, but did not completely stop it. Organic acids and bacteriocin-like molecules were determined to be possibly exerting the observed antagonistic activity of the identified LAB strains. Thus, application of the antagonistic compounds produced by Pediococcus pentosaceus and Lactobacillus graminis could be a novel and ecological strategy in developing antimicrobial biopreservatives for the food industry and mitigating FBD by reducing the biological contamination in fruit and vegetable orchards, mainly via their potential in controlling both gram-negative and gram-positive pathogenic bacteria.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.247-251
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• 2023

Lecithin can self-assemble into reverse spherical micelles in organic solvents due to its amphiphilic properties. With additives such as D-sorbitol and water, the reverse spherical micelles are transformed into reverse cylindrical micelles by the morphology change of lecithin molecules. In this study, the rheological properties of lecithin/D-sorbitol/water mixtures were investigated. In addition, the small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) technique was used to examine the shape and size of the formed nanostructures related to their rheological properties. Such mixtures are expected to be used in drug delivery and oleogels because of their high viscosity and viscoelastic behavior.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.313-325
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• 2007

In order to have better insights into adsorption of organic molecules on kaolinite surfaces, we performed quantum chemical calculations of interaction between three different model clusters of kaolinite siloxane surfaces and benzyl alcohol, with emphasis on the effect of size and lattice topology of the cluster on the variation of electron density and magnetic shielding tensor. Model cluster 1 is an ideal silicate tetrahedral surface that consists of 7 hexagonal rings, and model cluster 2 is composed of 7 ditrigonal siloxane rings with crystallographically distinct basal oxygen atoms in the cluster, and finally model cluster 3 has both tetrahedral and octahedral layers. The Mulliken charge analysis shows that siloxane surface of model cluster 3 undergoes the largest electron density transfer after the benzyl alcohol adsorption and that of model cluster 1 is apparently larger than that of model cluster 2. The difference of Mulliken charges of basal oxygen atoms before and after the adsorption is positively correlated with hydrogen bond strength. NMR chemical shielding tensor calculation of clusters without benryl alcohol shows that three different basal oxygen atoms (O3, O4, and O5) in model cluster 2 have the isotropic magnetic shielding tensor as $228.2{\pm}3.9,\;228.9{\pm}3.4,\;and\;222.3{\pm}3.0ppm$, respectively. After the adsorption, the difference of isotropic chemical shift varies from 1 to 5.5 ppm fer model cluster 1 and 2 while model cluster 2 apparently shows larger changes in isotropic chemical shift. The chemical shift of oxygen atoms is also positively correlated with electron density transfer. The current results show that the adsorption of benzyl alcohol on the kaolinite siloxane surfaces can largely be dominated by a weak hydrogen bonding and electrostatic force (charge-charge interaction) and demonstrate the importance of the cluster site and the lattice topology of surfaces on the adsorption behavior of the organic molecules on clay surfaces.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1337-1346
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• 2006

Soil humin is the insoluble fraction of humic materials and play an important roles in the irreversible sorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants onto soil particles. However, there have been limited knowledge about the sorption and chemical properties of humin due to the difficulties in its separation from the inorganic matrix(mainly clays and oxides). In this study, de-ashed soil humins($Hu_1-Hu_6$) were isolated from a soil residues(Crude Hu) after removing alkali-soluble organic fractions followed by consecutive dissolution of the mineral matrix with 2%-HF for 2 hr. The humin samples were characterized by elemental analysis and $^{13}C$ NMR spectroscopic method and their sorption-desorption behavior for 1-naphthol were investigated from aqueous solution. The results were compared one another and that with peat humin. $^{13}C$ NMR spectra features indicate that the soil humin molecules are mainly made up of aliphatic carbons(>80% in total carbon) including carbohydrate, methylene chain. Freundlich sorption parameter, n was increased from 0.538 to 0.697 and organic carbon-normalized sorption coefficient(log $K_{OC}$) values also increased from 2.43 to 2.74 as inorganic matrix of the soil humin removed by HF de-ashing. The results suggest that inorganic phase in humin plays an important, indirect role in 1-naphthol sorption and the effects on the sorption non-linearity and intensity are analyzed by comparison between the results of soil humin and peat humin. Sorption-desorption hysteresis were also observed in all the humin samples and hysteresis index(HI) at low solute concentration($C_e$=0.1 mg/L) are in order of Peat humin(2.67)>De-ashed humin(0.74)>Crude Hu(0.59).

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.42-51
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• 2004

Peat humin(p-Humin), humic acid(p-HA) and fulvic acid(p-FA) were isolated from Canadian Sphagnum peat moss by dissolution in 0.1M NaOH followed by acid precipitation. After purification cycles, they are characterized for their elemental compositions and, acid/base properties. Functionalities and carbon structures of the humic fractions were also characterized using FT-IR and solid state $^{13}C$-NMR spectroscopy. Those results are compared with one another and with soil humic substances from literatures. Main purpose of this study was to present a chemical and spectroscopic characterization data of humic substance from peat moss needed to evaluate its environmental applicability. The relative proportions of the p-Humin, p-HA and p-FA in the peat moss was $76\%,\;18\%,\;and\;3\%$, respectively, based on the total organic matter content ($957{\pm}32\;g/kg$). Elemental composition of p-Humin were found to be $C_{1.00}H_{1.52}O_{0.79}N_{0.01}$ and had higher H/C and (N+O)/C ratio compared to those of p-HA($C_{1.00}H_{1.09}O_{0.51}N_{0.02}$) and p-FA($C_{1.00}H_{1.08}O_{0.65}N_{0.01}$). Based on the analysis of pH titration data, there are two different types of acidic functional groups in the peat moss and its humic fractions and their proton exchange capacities(PEC, meq/g) were in the order p-FA(4.91) >p-HA(4.09) >p-Humin(2.38). IR spectroscopic results showed that the functionalities of the peat moss humic molecules are similar to those of soil humic substances, and carboxylic acid(-COOH) is main function group providing metal binding sites for Cd(II) sorption. Spectral features obtained from $^{13}C$-NMR indicated that peat moss humic molecules have rather lower degree of humification, and that important structural differences exist between p-Humin and soluble humic fractions(p-HA and p-FA).

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.372-376
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• 2008

Vacuum deposited 4,4',4"-tris(N-(2-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino)-triphenylamine (2-TNATA), used as a hole injection (HIL) material in OLEDs, is placed as a thin interlayer between indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode and a hole transporting layer (HTL) in the devices. C60-doped 2-TNATA:C60 (20 wt%) film was formed via co-evaporation process and molecular ordering and topology of 2-TNATA:C60 films were investigated using XRD and AFM. The J-V, L-V and current efficiency of multi-layered devices were characterized as well. Vacuum-deposited C60 film was molecularly oriented, but neither was 2-TNATA:C60 film due to the uniform dispersion of C60 molecules in the film. By using C60-doped 2-TNATA:C60 film as a HIL, the current density and luminance of a multi-layered ITO/2-TNATA:C60/NPD/$Alq_3$/LiF/Al device were significantly increased and the current efficiency of the device was increased from 4.7 to 6.7 cd/A in the present study.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.spc8
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• pp.2941-2948
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• 2011

A nanogap formed by a metal nanoparticle and a flat metal substrate is one kind of "hot site" for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The characteristics of a typical nanogap formed by a planar Au and either an Au and Ag nanoparticle have been well studied using 4-aminobenzenethiol (4-ABT) as a probe. 4-ABT is, however, an unusual molecule in the sense that its SERS spectral feature is dependent not only on the kinds of SERS substrates but also on the measurement conditions; thus further characterization is required using other adsorbate molecules such as 1,4-phenylenediisocyanide (1,4-PDI). In fact, no Raman signal was observable when 1,4-PDI was selfassembled on a flat Au substrate, but a distinct spectrum was obtained when 60 nm-sized Au or Ag nanoparticles were adsorbed on the pendent -NC groups of 1,4-PDI. This is definitely due to the electromagnetic coupling between the localized surface plasmon of Au or Ag nanoparticle with the surface plasmon polariton of the planar Au substrate, allowing an intense electric field to be induced in the gap between them. A higher Raman signal was observed when Ag nanoparticles were attached to 1,4-PDI, irrespective of the excitation wavelength, and especially the highest Raman signal was measured at the 632.8 nm excitation (with the enhancement factor on the order of ${\sim}10^3$), followed by the excitation at 568 and 514.5 nm, in agreement with the finite-difference timedomain calculation. From a separate potential-dependent SERS study, the voltage applied to the planar Au appeared to be transmitted without loss to the Au or Ag nanoparticles, and from the study of the effect of volatile organics, the voltage transmission from Au or Ag nanoparticles to the planar Au also appeared as equally probable to that from the planar Au to the Au or Ag nanoparticles in a nanogap electrode. The response of the Au-Ag nanogap to the external stimuli was, however, not the same as that of the Au-Au nanogap.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.268-268
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• 2016

Chemical sensors have attracted much attention due to their various applications such as agriculture product, cosmetic and pharmaceutical components and clinical control. A conventional chemical and biological sensor is consists of fluorescent dye, optical light sources, and photodetector to quantify the extent of concentration. Such complicated system leads to rising cost and slow response time. Until now, the most contemporary thin film transistors (TFTs) are used in the field of flat panel display technology for switching device. Some papers have reported that an interesting alternative to flat panel display technology is chemical sensor technology. Recent advances in chemical detection study for using TFTs, benefits from overwhelming progress made in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) electronic, have been studied alternative to current optical detection system. However numerous problems still remain especially the long-term stability and lack of reliability. On the other hand, the utilization of metal oxide transistor technology in chemical sensors is substantially promising owing to many advantages such as outstanding electrical performance, flexible device, and transparency. The top-gate structure transistor indicated long-term atmosphere stability and reliability because insulator layer is deposited on the top of semiconductor layer, as an effective mechanical and chemical protection. We report on the fabrication of InGaZnO TFTs with silver nanowire as the top gate electrode for the aim of chemical materials detection by monitoring change of electrical properties. We demonstrated that the improved sensitivity characteristics are related to the employment of a unique combination of nano materials. The silver nanowire top-gate InGaZnO TFTs used in this study features the following advantages: i) high sensitivity, ii) long-term stability in atmosphere and buffer solution iii) no necessary additional electrode and iv) simple fabrication process by spray.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.460-466
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• 2012

An environmentally friendly, so-called green, high performance liquid chromatography method was developed and validated for the determination of trans, trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA) in human urine as a biomarker of benzene exposure. After urinary t,t-MA was extracted and enriched using solid-phase extraction, a MF-Ph1 SG80 ($150mm{\times}2.0mm$ I.D., 5 ${\mu}m$) column with a mobile phase of 10 mM $KH_2PO_4$ containing 0.1% $H_3PO_4$ was used for isocratic separation of t,t-MA with UV detection at 259 nm. The calibration curve was constructed in the range of 0.1-5.0 mg/L with good linearity ($r^2$=0.9992). The intra-day and inter-day precision (as RSD) were 0.9-8.5% and 3.1-4.5%, respectively. The average recovery ranged from 97.5% to 101.7%. The green sample preparation and separation with no organic solvents were successfully achieved. The validated method would be suitable for the routine biological monitoring of benzene exposure in the occupational settings.