• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.1229-1235
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• 2015

Scaffold fabrication technology using a 3D printer was developed for damaged bone tissue regeneration. A scaffold for bone tissue regeneration application should be biocompatible, biodegradable, and have an adequate mechanical strength. Moreover, the scaffold should have pores of satisfactory quantity and interconnection. In this study, we used the polymer deposition system (PDS) based on fused deposition modeling (FDM) to fabricate a 3D scaffold. The materials used were polycaprolactone (PCL) and alginic acid sodium salt (sodium alginate, SA). The salt-leaching method was used to fabricate dual pores on the 3D scaffold. The 3D scaffold with dual pores was observed using SEM-EDS (scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopy) and evaluated through in-vitro tests using MG63 cells.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.140-145
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• 2005

Effects of the polyol type and the hard segment content of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) on the crystallization of hard segments in TPUs were studied employing differential scanning calorimetry. Diols used for the preparation of TPUs were poly(tetramethylene ether glycol) (PTMEG), poly(propylene glycol) (PPG), polycaprolactone (PCL), poly(butylene adipate) (PBA) the molecular weights of which were 2000 and the hard segments contents of TPUs were $35\~44\;wt\%$. We found that crystallization of hard segments in TPUs were observed at higher temperatures and became faster with increasing hard segment contents of TPUs. The crystallization rate of TPU was also affected by the types of polyols used for the preparation of TPUs. It is postulated that lower miscibility of soft segments and hard segments results in higher crystallization rate and increase of cooling crystallization temperatures due to better hydrogen bending between hard segments in melts.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2008

The drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation is a widely acceptable treatment for coronary heart disease. It was reported that iron chelator had anti-proliferative effect on human vascular smooth muscle cells (HA-VSMCs). In this study, tetraphenylporphine (TPP) was selected as an iron chelator and drug for DES. MTT assay showed that TPP had antiproliferative effect on HA-VSMCs. TPP and polycaprolactone (PCL) were coated onto stainless steel plate using a spraycoating method. From the surface morphology examination of the coated plate by SEM, smooth polymer coating layer could be observed. The thickness of coating layer could be controlled by changing repeating time of coating. From in vitro release test, sustained release of TPP was observed from plate during two weeks. Thus, TPP as iron chelator can be used as drug for stent coating because of its antiproliferative effect and sustain release profile.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.612-622
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• 2023

T-cell deficiency may occur in various clinical conditions including congenital defects, cell/organ transplantation, HIV infection and aging. In this regard, the development of artificial thymus has recently been attracting much attention. To achieve this aim, the development of techniques for 3D culture of thymic stromal cells is necessary because thymocytes grown only in a 3D thymic microenvironment can be differentiated fully to become mature, immunocompetent T cells; the same cannot be achieved for thymocytes grown in 2D. This study aimed to develop a nanotechnology-based 3D culture technique using polymeric scaffolds for thymic epithelial cells (TECs), the main component of thymic stromal cells. Scanning electron microscopic observation revealed that the pores of both PCL and PCL/PLGA scaffolds were filled with TECs. Interestingly, TECs grown in 3D on polydopamine-coated scaffolds exhibited enhanced cell attachment and proliferation compared to those grown on non-coated scaffolds. In addition, the gene expression of thymopoietic factors was upregulated in TECs cultured in 3D on polydopamine-coated scaffolds compared to those cultured in 2D. Taken together, the results of the present study demonstrate an efficient 3D culture model for TECs using polymeric scaffolds and provide new insights into a novel platform technology that can be applied to develop functional, biocompatible scaffolds for the 3D culture of thymocytes. This will eventually shed light on techniques for the in vitro development of T cells as well as the synthesis of artificial thymus.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.271-275
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• 2015

The aim of this study was to develop a multi-nozzle based bioprinting system for fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) biological structure. In this study, a thermoplastic biomaterial that has relatively high mechanical stability, polycaprolactone (PCL) was used to make the 3D structure. A multi-nozzle bioprinting system was designed to dispense thermoplastic biomaterial and hydrogel simultaneously. The system that consists of 3-axes of x-y-z motion control stage and a compartment for injection syringe control mounted on the stage has been developed. Also, it has 1-axis actuator for position change of nozzle. The controllability of the printed line width with PCL was tested as a representative performance index.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.79-86
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• 2022

Numerous fabrication techniques have been used to mimic cylindrical natural tissues, such as blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, and skeletal muscles. However, most processes have limitations in achieving the biomimetic properties of multilayered and porous architectures. In this study, to embrace both features, a novel self-assembly method was proposed using electrospun microfibrous sheets. A bilayer microfibrous structure, comprising two sheets with different internal stresses, was fabricated by electrospinning a polycaprolactone (PCL) sheet on a uniaxially stretched thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) sheet. Then, by removing the stretching tension, the sheet was rolled into a hollow cylindrical structure with a specific internal diameter. The internal diameter could be quantitatively controlled by adjusting the thickness of the PCL sheet against that of the TPU sheet. Through this self-assembly method, biomimetic cylindrical structures with multilayer and porous features can be manufactured in a stable and controllable manner. Therefore, the resulting structures may be applied to various tissue engineering scaffolds, especially vascular and connective tissues.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.565-570
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• 2005

Melt processing characteristics of nylon 6 (N6) has been investigated by controlling the melt viscosity in melt impregnation process. Calcium stearate (CaST) was introduced as a lubricant for N6 and the melt viscosity of N6 decreased with adding only 1 wt$\%$ of CaST. In addition, reactive blending with polycaprolactone (PCL) was carried out by lowering the melt viscosity in N6. It was found that the melt viscosity of N6 could be controlled and further melt viscosity drop could be obtained by applying phenyl phosphite (PP) and diphenyl phosphite (DPP) to enhance the transesterification between N6 and PCL. Our approaches show that the melt viscosity of N6 could be reduced without loss of thermal stability which is the critical problem in high temperature melt impregnation process of N6.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.86-92
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• 2016

In this study, we used a polymer deposition system, based on fused deposition modeling, to fabricate the 3D scaffold and then fabricated micro-pores on a 3D scaffold using a salt leaching method. Materials included polycaprolactone (PCL) and sodium chloride (NaCl). The 3D porous scaffolds were fabricated according to blending ratio such as PCL (70 wt%)/NaCl (30 wt%) and PCL (50 wt%)/NaCl (50 wt%). The 3D porous scaffolds were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that 3D porous scaffolds had a deposition width of $500{\mu}m$, contained a pore size of $500{\mu}m$ and below $100{\mu}m$. To evaluate the 3D porous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, we carried out the cell proliferation experiment using a CCK-8 and a mechanical strength test using a universal testing machine. In summary, the 3D porous scaffold was found to be suitable for cancellous bone of human in accordance with the result of in-vitro cell proliferation and mechanical strength. Thus, a 3D porous scaffold could be a promising approach for effective bone regeneration.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2018

Thread lifting has become popular as a minimally invasive technique for facial rejuvenation. Commercially available threads are composed of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), or polydioxanone (PDO). However, the histological changes that occur in response to implanted threads are unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate histological changes that occur in response to implantation with three types of bioresorbable threads (PLLA, PCL, PDO) in rat skin. PLLA, PCL and PDO threads were implanted in the dorsal skin of Sprague Dawley rats and tissue samples were harvested 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks post-implantation. To evaluate histologic changes induced by bioresorbable face-lifting threads, tissue samples were stained with hematoxylin & eosin, Masson's trichrome stain and Herovici's collagen stain. All three threads induced neocollagenesis of type 3 collagen in the rat skin. The amount of collagen induced by the threads was dependent on the thread surface area. The PDO cavern-type thread was most effective in inducing neocollagenesis due to its extensive surface area. Our results suggest that type 3 collagen induced by bioresorbable threads depends on the thread surface area to uphold the dermis and contributes to facial rejuvenation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.19-22
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• 1998

polycaprolactone diol(PCL), 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate(MDI) 및 1,4 butane diol(BD)로부터 segment형 폴리우레탄을 합성하였으며, 이들의 열변형 회복 특성을 조사한 결과 이들 재료들은 전형적인 형상기억 효과를 발휘함을 알 수 있었다. 형상회복온도는 연질성분의 함량 증가와 더불어 증가하였으며, 연질성분의 함량조절로 40-8$0^{\circ}C$의 넓은 범위에서 임의로 조절할 수 있었다.