• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.379-380
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• 2002

Biodegradable polymers have been regarded as a good alternative to solve the plastic waste problems caused by nondegradable synthetic polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene. In the soil environment, plastics are mainly being used as a mulching film for agricultural purposes. In this research, the miscibility, tensile properties and biodegradation effect of poly-${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone(PCL) with polyvinyl chloride(PVC) have been studied. After 8 weeks of biodegradation, PCL/PVC(9/91) blend surface showed newly formed many holes. Consequently, the antiplasticization phenomenon and biodegradation were observed in the PCL/PVC blends. It was confirmed that a test for general biodegradation condition can be applied to plastic biodegradation in soil.

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.440-443
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• 2001

Polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites have recently received considerable attention from both academia and industry as an effective way to overcome the shortcomings of conventional polymer. When the silicate layers are exfoliated and randomly distributed in polymer matrix, the nanocomposites exhibit improved mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. (omitted)

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.13-23
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• 2014

In this work, glycolide, L-lactide and ${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone monomers were polymerized into the triblock copolymers by two step polymerization method and their non-isothermal crystallization behaviors were studied by combination of modified Avrami and Ozawa formula for further analysis of their behaviors. The result showed that PGCLA21 gave the highest value for supercooling analysis and super cooling degree increased with L-lactide content. Crystallization velocity constant, however, showed no significant change. The result of cooling function in specific relative crystallization degree showed that the increase of L-lactide content made an effect on the more enhancement of crystallization velocity of the PGCLA than PGCL. The result of big logF(T) value with the L-lactide content above critical point for PGCLA41 and PGCLA21 showed that bigger cooling velocity needed to gain same crystal size compared with PGCL. This means that it gives negative effect in the increase of crystallization velocity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.67-70
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• 1998

지방족 폴리에스테르계 고분자인 Poly(lactic acid)(PLA)는 생분해성, 생체적합성, 분해물의 비독성, 가공성 등이 우수하여 부러진 뼈의 접합 재료, 약물 조절 방출 재료 및 흡수성 봉합사 등과 같은 의료용 소재로 널리 이용되고 있다[1]. 그러나 PLA는 높은 결정화도로 인해 물성이 brittle하고 분해속도가 느릴 뿐만 아니라 낮은 열 안정성으로 인해 용융 가공할 경우 급격한 분자량의 감소를 유발하여 기계적 특성이 좋지 않은 단점이 있다.(중략)

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.11-15
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• 2003

In order to suppress a repulsive interfacial energy between hydrophilic clay and hydrophobic polymer matrix in preparing a polymer/clay nanocomposite, a third component of amphiphilic nature such as poly($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (PCL) was introduced into the model system of styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers (SAN)/Na-montmorillonite. Once $\varepsilon$-caprolactone was polymerized in the presence of Na-rnontmorillonite, the successful ring-opening polymerization of $\varepsilon$-caprolactone and the well-developed exfoliated structure of PCL/Na-montmorillonite mixture were confirmed, Thereafter, SAN was melt-mixed with PCL/Na-montmorillonite nanocomposite, which resulted in that SAN matrix and PCL fraction were completely miscible to form homogeneous mixture with retention of the exfoliated state of Na-montmorillonite, exhibiting that PCL effectively stabilizes the repulsive polymer/clay interface and contributes the improvement of mechanical properties of the nanocomposites.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.103-110
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• 2004

The biodegradable poly($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (PCL) microcapsules containing tocopherol were prepared by oil-in-water emulsion solvent evaporation method. The features of the microcapsules were investigated in the manufacturing conditions and degradation behaviors. The form and structural feature of the microcapsules were measured by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The surface free energy of the microcapsules was executed using contact angle measurement. As a result, the microcapsules were more stable and spherical with poly(vinyl alcohol) given in a surfactant. The surface free energy and crystallinity of microcapsules were decreased with increasing the core concentration, and degradation of PCL was occurred after 21 days. The release behaviors were examined by Uv/vis. spectrophotometer. It was found that the release rate of the microcapsules was increased with increasing the stirring rate, due to the increased interface between microcapsules and release media.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.76-82
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• 2003

Drug releasing porous poly($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (PCL)-chitosan matrices were fabricated for bone regenerative therapy. Porous matrices made of biodegradable polymers have been playing a crucial role as bone substitutes and as tissue-engineered scaffolds in bone regenerative therapy. The matrices provided mechanical support for the developing tissue and enhanced tissue formation by releasing active agent in controlled manner. Chitosan was employed to enhance hydrophilicity and biocompatibility of the PCL matrices. PDGF-BB was incorporated into PCL-chitosan matrices to induce enhanced bone regeneration efficacy. PCL-chitosan matrices retained a porous structure with a 100-200 $\mu$m pore diameter that was suitable for cellular migration and osteoid ingrowth. $NaHCO_3$ as a porogen was incorporated 5% ratio to polymer weight to form highly porous scaffolds. PDGF-BB was released from PCL-chitosan matrices maintaining therapeutic concentration for 4 week. High osteoblasts attachment level and proliferation was observed from PCL-chitosan matrices. Scanning electron microscopic examination indicated that cultured osteoblasts showed round form and spread pseudopods after 1 day and showed broad cytoplasmic extension after 14 days. PCL-chitosan matrices promoted bone regeneration and PDGF-BB loaded matrices obtained enhanced bone formation in rat calvarial defect. These results suggested that the PDGF-BB releasing PCL-chitosan porous matrices may be potentially used as tissue engineering scaffolds or bone substitutes with high bone regenerative efficacy.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.157-166
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• 2008

In this study, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were compounded with the poly($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (PCL) matrix at the solution state using chloroform. For homogeneous dispersion of MWCNTs in polymer matrix, oxygen-containing groups were introduced on the surface of MWCNTs. The mechanical properties of the PCL/MWCNTs composites were effectively increased due to the incorporation of MWCNTs. The composites were characterized using scanning electron microscopy in order to obtain information on the dispersion of MWCNT in the polymeric matrix. In case of 1.2 wt% of MWCNTs in the matrix, strength and modulus of the composite increased by 12.1% and 164.3%, respectively. In addition, the dispersion of MWCNTs in the PCL matrix resulted in substantial decrease of the electrical resistivity of the composites as the MWCNTs loading was increased from 0 to 2.0 wt%. Furthermore, thermal stability of the PCL and PCL/MWCNTs-COOH composites were investigated using the data acquired from the thermogravimetric analysis. The detailed kinetics of the thermal degradation of the composites was investigated by analyzing their thermal behavior at different heating rates in a nitrogen atmosphere. Activation energy of thermal degradation was determined by using the equations proposed by Kissinger and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa. The apparent activation energy of PCL/MWCNTs-COOH composite was considerably higher than that of neat PCL.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.59-63
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• 2005

Kinetic study of a reaction between poly(caprolactone diol) and aliphatic isocyanate was investigated by FTIR spectroscopy. The reaction rate was obtained from analyzing the absorbance change of NCO peak (2265 $cm^{-1}$) in series IR spectra. In the results, the overall reaction between PCL and isocyanate conformed to the simple second-order law, and the rate constant increases with increasing reaction temperature. The activation energies obtained from the evaluation of kinetic data were 25.4∼30.9 kJ/mol for hexamethylene diisocyanate and 16.8∼22.1 kJ/mol for cyclohexylmethane diisocyanate, respectively.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.232-238
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• 2004

MPEG-PCL diblock copolymers consisting of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG) and $\varepsilon$-caprolactone (CL) as drug carriers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization MPEG-PCL diblock copolymers were characterized by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. After freeze milling of block copolymers and albumin bovine-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC-BSA) as model protein, the wafers loaded FITC-BSA were fabricated by direct compression method. The release profiles of FITC-BSA were examined using pH 7.4 PBS for 14 days at 37$^{\circ}C$. The release amount was determined by fluorescence intensity by using the fluorescence spectrophotometer. The morphological change of wafers was observed by digital camera and scanning electron microscope. The release rate and initial burst of BSA increased with increasing PEG molecular weights and decreasing PCL molecular weights in the segments of MPEG -PCL diblock copolymers.