• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.8-11
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• 1995

Biodegradability of poly $Poly({\gamma}-benzyl L-Glutamate)/poly(ethylene oxide)/Poly({\gamma}-benzyl L-Glutamate)$ block copolymer (GEG) having different content of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were examined using magnetite as a tracer in mice. GEG microspheres containing magnetite were injected into mice through tail vein. Biodegradability and tissue distribution of microspheres were examined by analyzing the amount of magnetite in the microspheres recollected from mice organs after specific time interval. The results showed that GEG microsphere of high content of PEO was degraded more rapidly than those of low content of PEO in the mice organs.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.237-240
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• 1992

A series of biodegradable block copolymers consisting of $poly({\gamma}-benzyl\;L-glutamate)$ (PBLG) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-lactoselactone were prepared by polymerization of PEO-lactoselactone and ${\gamma}-benzyl$ L-glutamate-N-carboxyanhydride and characterized by IR and NMR. From circular dichroism measurements, it was found that the polymers exist in the ${\alpha}-helical$ conformation. Block copolymer microspheres were prepared by solvent-extraction-precipitation method for their primary evaluation for medical and biological applications.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.345-345
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• 2006

It is well known that poly(glutamate)s with long n-alkyl side chains form thermotropic liquid crystalline state by melting of the side-chain crystallites and also poly(glutamate)s such as poly(${\gamma}-benzyl\;L-glutamate$ )(PBLG), poly(${\gamma}-n-alkyl\;L-glutamate$), etc. in solvent form the isotropic, biphasic and liquid crystalline phases which contains cholesteric and columnar liquid crystalline forms depending on the polypeptide concentration. Although there is no diffusion study for PBLG in liquid crystalline state, because it is difficult to observed $^{1}H$ spectrum of PBLG in liquid crystalline state for its very short $^{1}H\;T_{2}$. In this study, the diffusional behavior of rodlike PBLG in concentrated solution is successfully elucidated as studied by the field-gradient $^{1}H$ NMR methods.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.527-533
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• 2018

This study compared the radioprotective effects of high-molecular-weight poly-gamma-glutamate (${\gamma}-PGA$, average molecular mass 3,000 kDa) and a reduced form of glutathione (GSH, a known radioprotector) on calf thymus DNA damage. The radiation-induced DNA damage was measured on the basis of the decreased fluorescence intensity after binding the DNA with ethidium bromide. All the experiments used $^{60}Co$ gamma radiation at 1,252 Gy, representing 50% DNA damage. When increasing the concentration of ${\gamma}-PGA$ from 0.33 to $1.65{\mu}M$, the DNA protection from radiation-induced damage also increased, with a maximum of 87% protection. Meanwhile, the maximal DNA protection when increasing the concentration of GSH was only 70%. Therefore, ${\gamma}-PGA$ exhibited significant radioprotective effects against gamma irradiation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.412-415
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• 2017

Prebiotics improve the growth or activities of specific microbial genera and species in the gut microbiota in order to confer health benefits to the host. In this study, we investigated the effect of poly-gamma-glutamate (${\gamma}-PGA$) as a prebiotic on the gut microbiota of mice and the organ distributions of ${\gamma}-PGA$ in mice. Pyrosequencing analysis for 16S rRNA genes of bacteria indicated that oral administration of ${\gamma}-PGA$ increased the abundance of Lactobacillales while reducing the abundance of Clostridiales in murine guts. It is suggested that oral administration of ${\gamma}-PGA$ can be helpful for modulating the gut microbiota as a prebiotic.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.704-708
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• 2005

Poly-y-glutamate (${\gamma}$-PGA) has great potential as a biodegradable polymer in a broad range of industrial fields such as food, cosmetics, medicine and water treatment. In order to isolate ${\gamma}$-PGA producers that are suitable for specific industrial applications, 653 Bacillus-like strains were isolated from 439 varieties of three Korean fermented foods, Cheongkukjang, Doenjang, and Kochujang, which were collected from different regions across Korea. A very high level of ${\gamma}$-PGA production was demonstrated in 4.7%, 1.8%, and 3.0% of the Bacillus-like strains isolated from Cheongkukjang, Doenjang, and Kochujang samples, respectively, which produced a viscous substance to such extent that it overflowed to the lid of the plate on the glutamate-dependent ${\gamma}$-PGA production plates. On glutamate-independent ${\gamma}$-PGA production plates, 5.1%, 5.9%, and 6.1% of Bacillus-like strains isolated from Cheongkukjang, Doenjang, and Kochujang samples, respectively, showed high production. The maximum ${\gamma}$-PGA production yields were 32.5 g/L and 5 g/L, depending on the purification methods in the glutamate-dependent media, with the higher yield resulting from a simple precipitation of ${\gamma}$-PGA by either methanol or ethanol and dialysis. The viscous substance produced by each strain showed different morphological characteristics, suggesting that isolated ${\gamma}$-PGA producers could produce various types of ${\gamma}$-PGA.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2010

Poly-gamma-glutamic acid ($\gamma$-PGA) is a mucilaginous and biodegradable compound produced by Bacillus subtilis from fermented soybeans, and is found in the traditional Korean soy product, cheongkukjang. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of $\gamma$-PGA from a food source on the concentration of the neurotransmitter GABA and its metabolic precursor glutamate in diet-induced obese rats. Eight-week old male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=60) were used. The rats were divided into two groups and obesity was induced by providing either a 10% control fat or 45% high fat diet for 5 weeks. The rats were then blocked into 6 groups and supplemented with a 0.1% $\gamma$-PGA diet for 4 weeks. After sacrifice, brain and serum GABA and glutamate concentrations were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detection. The rats fed the high fat diet had significantly increased body weights. $\gamma$-PGA supplementation significantly increased serum concentrations of glutamate and GABA in the control fat diet groups while this effect was not found in the high fat groups. In the brain, glutamate concentrations were significantly higher in the $\gamma$-PGA supplemented groups both in rats fed the normal and high fat diets than in the no $\gamma$-PGA controls. GABA concentrations showed the same tendency. The results indicated that $\gamma$-PGA intake increased GABA concentrations in the serum and brain. However, the effects were not shown in obese rats.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.203-210
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• 1990

As a possible biocompatible and biodegrable polymer skeleton for drug delivery system, block copolymers of L-lactic acid and L-glutamic acid with different composition were synthesized and characterized. Poly (L-lactide) was prepared by polymerization of L-lactide with zine oxide at $130^{\circ}C$ for 72 hrs. 3-Amino-l-propanol was introduced to poly (L-lactide) by an ester linkage in order to initiate polymerization. Polymerization of $\gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate-N-carboxyanhydride(\gamma-BLG-NCA)$ utiliizing the amino group of modified poly (L-lactide) as an initiator gave rise to the block copoly $(L-lactide-\gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate).$ The NMR study of resulting block copolymers showed that the composition of L-lactic acid and $\gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate$ in block copolymers was depended on the weight ratio of poly (L-lactide) and $\gamma-BLG-NCA.$ The thermal properties of the resulting block copolymers were determined by the differential scanning calorimetry and by the thermogravimetry.

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 1993.06b
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• pp.145-150
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• 1993

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2002.05b
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• pp.86-89
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• 2002

We give pressure stimulation into organic thin films and then manufacture a device under the accumulation condition that the state surface pressure is 10[mN/m]. In processing of a device manufacture, we can see the process is good from the change of a surface pressure for organic thin films and transfer ratio of area per molecule. The structure of manufactured device is Au/Poly-${\gamma}$ Benzyl $_D$-Glutamate/Al and Au/Poly-${\gamma}$ Benzyl $_D$-Glutamate/Au; the number of accumulated layers is 1, 3, 5 and 7. Also, we then examined of the MIM device by means of I-V. The I-V characteristic of the device is measured from 0 to +2[V]. We determined electrochemical measurement by using cyclic voltammetry with a three-electrode system. LB film accumulated by monolayer on an ITO. In the cyclicvoltammetry, An Ag/AgCl reference electrode, a platinum wire counter electrode and LB film-coated ITO working electrode measured in $LiBF_4$ solution, stable up to 0.9V vs. Ag/AgCl.