• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.119-126
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• 2008

Solid dispersions of poorly water-soluble drug, sibutramine, were prepared with hydrophilic polymer, poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and organic acid, citric acid, to improve the solubility of drug. Physicochemical variation and shape of microsphere were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Microspheres containing additives showed more spherical shape than non additive microspheres. In vitro release behavior of microspheres presented at simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2) and simulated intestinal fluid (pH 6.8). The solid dispersion form transformed the drug into an amorphous state and dramatically improved its dissolution rate. These data suggest that the solid dispersion technique is an effective approach for developing the appetite depressant drug products and various pharmaceutical excipients are able to control the release behaviors.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.355-362
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• 2017

The ${\beta}2$ integrins are cell surface transmembrane proteins regulating leukocyte functions, such as adhesion and migration. Two members of ${\beta}2$ integrin, ${\alpha}M{\beta}2$ and ${\alpha}X{\beta}2$, share the leukocyte distribution profile and integrin ${\alpha}X{\beta}2$ is involved in antigen presentation in dendritic cells and transendothelial migration of monocytes and macrophages to atherosclerotic lesions. ${\underline{R}}eceptor$ for ${\underline{a}}dvanced$ ${\underline{g}}lycation$ ${\underline{e}}nd$ ${\underline{p}}roducts$ (RAGE), a member of cell adhesion molecules, plays an important role in chronic inflammation and atherosclerosis. Although RAGE and ${\alpha}X{\beta}2$ play an important role in inflammatory response and the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, the nature of their interaction and structure involved in the binding remain poorly defined. In this study, using I-domain as a ligand binding motif of ${\alpha}X{\beta}2$, we characterize the binding nature and the interacting moieties of ${\alpha}X$ I-domain and RAGE. Their binding requires divalent cations ($Mg^{2+}$ and $Mn^{2+}$) and shows an affinity on the sub-micro molar level: the dissociation constant of ${\alpha}X$ I-domains binding to RAGE being $0.49{\mu}M$. Furthermore, the ${\alpha}X$ I-domains recognize the V-domain, but not the C1 and C2-domains of RAGE. The acidic amino acid substitutions on the ligand binding site of ${\alpha}X$ I-domain significantly reduce the I-domain binding activity to soluble RAGE and the alanine substitutions of basic amino acids on the flat surface of the V-domain prevent the V-domain binding to ${\alpha}X$ I-domain. In conclusion, the main mechanism of ${\alpha}X$ I-domain binding to RAGE is a charge interaction, in which the acidic moieties of ${\alpha}X$ I-domains, including E244, and D249, recognize the basic residues on the RAGE V-domain encompassing K39, K43, K44, R104, and K107.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.419-429
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• 2022

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) is a perennial herbaceous plant widely cultivated in China, Korea, the United States, and Japan due to its multifunctional properties. In northwest China, transplanting after 2-3 years has become the main mode of artificial cultivation of American ginseng. However, the effects of the cultivation process on the chemical properties of the soil and bacterial community remain poorly understood. Hence, in the present study, high-throughput sequencing and soil chemical analyses were applied to investigate the differences between bacterial communities and nutrition driver factors in the soil during the cultivation of American ginseng. The responses of soil nutrition in different ecological niches were also determined with the results indicating that the cultivation of American ginseng significantly increased the soluble nutrients in the soil. Moreover, the bacterial diversity fluctuated with cultivation years, and 4-year-old ginseng roots had low bacterial diversity and evenness. In the first two years of cultivation, the bacterial community was more sensitive to soil nutrition compared to the last two years. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes dominated the bacterial community regardless of the cultivation year and ecological niche. With the increase of cultivation years, the assembly of bacterial communities changed from stochastic to deterministic processes. The high abundance of Sphingobium, Novosphingobium, and Rhizorhabdus enriched in 4-years-old ginseng roots was mainly associated with variations in the available potassium (AK), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), and organic matter (OM).

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2022

To improve the solubility of β-carotene, three types of β-carotene-loaded nanocapsules were prepared using chitosan (CS) and two cross-linkers, sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) and hyaluronic acid (HA), alone or in combination (CS-TPP, CS-TPP-HA, and CS-HA). The entrapment efficiency of all nanocapsules significantly increased with an increase in TPP and HA, with the efficiency ranging from 95% to 99%. The solubility of β-carotene was significantly improved by CS nanoencapsulation before and after lyophilization and during storage. CS/HA nanoencapsulation significantly improved (by 11-fold) the water solubility of β-carotene. In particular, CS/HA nanoencapsulation was the most effective in terms of not only the solubility of β-carotene, but also the redispersibility ratio. Therefore, CS/HA encapsulation could be useful for improving the solubility of poorly soluble active ingredients, such as β-carotene.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.533-540
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• 2009

In this work, 5'-nitroindirubinoxime (5'-NIO) has been prepared as solid dispersions using a supercritical aerosol solvent extraction system (ASES) process in order to enhance its water solubility and dissolution rate. Solid dispersions of 5'-NIO and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) were prepared in various weight percent ratios. Three-component solid dispersions consisting of 5'-NIO, PVP, and poloxamer 188 (P188) were also prepared to study the influence of P188 level on their morphology, crystallinity, and dissolution behavior. All samples were prepared at $35^{\circ}C$ and 180 bar using supercritical carbon dioxide. The particle morphology and size of the two-component solid dispersions were found to be nearly spherical and much smaller (100-200 nm) compared with the original 5'-NIO. The morphology of three-component solid dispersions became more agglomerated as the level of P188 increased. The crystallinity of the original 5'-NIO was not observed in the solid dispersions prepared by the ASES process. Faster dissolution rates were observed for the three-componet solid dispersions because the arrangement of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide blocks of the poloxamer 188 enabled the formation of micelles in an aqueous phase.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.83-90
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• 1997

Aiming at the treatment of large volumes of gas with a low concentration of poorly water soluble VOC(Volatile Organic Compound), a new system is proposed: the combination absorption tower/bioreactor. In the scrubber part of the bioscrubbing system, the contaminating compounds are absorbed in a aqueous phase. The contaminated scrubbing liquid is transported to the bioreactor, where the compounds are biodegraded by aerobic microorganisms (mainly to carbon dioxide, water, and biomass). In this study, separation of a volatile organic compound(VOC) out of a waste gas stream has been carried out using a re-cyclable high boiling point extrant(HBE). The liquid stream containing a high boiling point entrant(HBE) scrubs the gas stream in a direct gas-liquid countercurrent contacting operation in a packed tower for the removal of said component from the gaseous stream. A packed-bed column using Pall Ring was set up in order to simulate practical conditions for the scrubbing tower. The liquid stream transported to the bioreactor is recovered and recycled to the scrubber. The model gas, which contained 400 mg/$\textrm{m}^3$ of toluene, at a rate of 100 L/min, flowed into the packed column where the scrubbing liquid trickled over the packing in countercurrent to the rising gas at 10~15L/min. The bioscrubber designed for large volume air streams containing VOCs showed removal efficiency up to 80% in an optimum operating conditions during the tests fer removing toluene from an air stream by scrubbing the air stream with HBE.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.604-611
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• 2005

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000-based solid dispersions (SDs), by incorporating various pharmaceutical excipients or microemulsion systems, were prepared using a fusion method, t o compare the dissolution rates and bioavailabilities in rats. The amorphous structure of the drug in SDs was also characterized by powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The ketoconazole (KT), as an antifungal agent, was selected as a model drug. The dissolution rate of KT increased when solubilizing excipients were incorporated into the PEG-based SDs. When hydrophilic and lipophilic excipients were combined and incorporated into PEG-based SDs, a remarkable enhancement of the dissolution rate was observed. The PEG-based SDs, incorporating a self microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) or microemulsion (ME), were also useful at improving the dissolution rate by forming a microemulsion or dispersible particles within the aqueous medium. However, due to the limited solubilization capacity, these PEG-based SDs showed dissolution rates, below 50% in this study, under sink conditions. The PEG-based SD, with no pharmaceutical excipients incorporated, increased the maximum plasma concentration (C$_{max}$) and area under the plasma concentration curve (AUC$_{0-6h}$) two-fold compared to the drug only. The bioavailability was more pronounced in the cases of solubilizing and microemulsifying PEG-based SDs. The thermograms of the PEG-based SDs showed the characteristic peak of the carrier matrix around 60$^{\circ}C$, without a drug peak, indicating that the drug had changed into an amorphous structure. The diffraction pattern of the pure drug showed the drug to be highly crystalline in nature, as indicated by numerous distinctive peaks. The lack of the numerous distinctive peaks of the drug in the PEG-based SDs demonstrated that a high concentration of the drug molecules was dissolved in the solid-state carrier matrix of the amorphous structure. The utilization of oils, fatty acid and surfactant, or their mixtures, in PEG-based SD could be a useful tool to enhance the dissolution and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs by forming solubilizing and microemulsifying systems when exposed to gastrointestinal fluid.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.193-198
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• 2008

Sibutramine is a highly crystalline and poorly water soluble drug as the appetite depressant for obesity treatment. In order to increase water solubility of sibutramine, microspheres including sibutramine were prepared by solid dispersion method using a spray dryer. The crystallinity and morphology of the prepared microspheres were confirmed by SEM and XRD. The morphology of micro spheres has gradually changed into spherical shape as increasing evaporation rate of solvent. According to XRD analysis, crystallinity of sibutramine in micro spheres was decreased by below 10%. Release behavior of microspheres was investiaged at pH 1.2, pH 6.8, and solubility of the sibutramine was significantly different depending on pH. The hard capsule showed fast release of sibutramine comparing with the tablet. These results demonstrated that the pharmaceutical preparation is able to control the release behaviors.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 1998

Extract of Centella asiatica(ECA), which is poorly water-soluble extract from the Centella asiatica is known to express excellent wound healing properties. $ECA-{\beta}-cyclodextrin$ $(asiaticoside-{\beta}-cyclodextrin\;and\;genin-{\beta}-cyc1odextrin)$ solid dispersion system, which was prepared by freezedrying method, was formulated as gels containing poloxamer 407 and propylene glycol, and evaluated with respect to their viscosity, stability, skin permeation and drug amount in the skin of hairless mouse. The average molar ratio $asiaticoside-{\beta}-CD$ and $genin-{\beta}-CD$ was 1:1.7 and 1:22, respectively. When the molar ratio of genin and ${\beta}-CD$ was 1:5, madecassic acid made 100% solid dispersion system and asiatic acid about 65%. In dissolution study, >99% of asiaticoside from $asiaticoside-{\beta}-CD$ was dissolved in 5 minutes, and >99% madecassic acid and >64% asiatic acid from $genin-{\beta}-CD$. The apparent viscosity of poloxamer 407 gels with $ECA-{\beta}-CD$ solid dispersion system increased in proportion to poloxamer 407 and propylene glycol concentration. In the accelerated stability test, all $ECA-{\beta}-CD$ poloxamer 407 gels showed that asiaticoside was most stable and madecassic acid stable and asiatic acid similar to stability of gel with free ECA. The permeation amount of asiaticoside in poloxamer gels through hairless mouse skin decreased as the concentration of poloxamer 407 increased. When propylene glycol was added at the level of 10%, the permeation amount of asiaticoside at poloxamer gels through hairless mouse skin increased but from 15% it decreased. The permeation of asiaticoside into the skin of hairless mouse was estimated to be about $0.10\;{\mu}g/cm^2$.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2012

In this study, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was used as a hydrophilic polymer carrier to develop solid dispersion formulations for enhancing solubility and dissolution rate of pranlukast, one of poorly soluble drugs that has been broadly used for the treatment of asthma. PEG based solid dispersions with or without poloxamer were prepared by hot melting and solvent evaporation methods. The resultant solid dispersions were characterized by DSC and powder X-ray measurements, and their morphological properties were observed to be partially changed to amorphous state with reduced crystallinity. Dissolution and solubility tests showed that the solubility and dissolution rate of the solid dispersions were significantly enhanced. The solid dispersion formulation prepared by the hot melting method with a chemical composition of pranlukast:PEG:poloxamer = 1:5:1 demonstrated the most enhanced solubility and dissolution rate. The results suggest that the solid dispersions based on PEG and poloxamer are promising systems for the enhancement of solubility and bioavailability of pranlukast.