• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.2660-2667
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• 2011

TREK-1 channel is a member of the two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channel family that is regulated by intracellular pH, membrane stretch, polyunsaturated fatty acids, temperature, and some neuroprotectant agents. TREK-1 channel can influence neuronal excitability by regulating leakage of potassium ions and resting membrane potential. TREK-1 channel has been shown to be overexpressed in prostate cancer cells. Although the importance of these properties, relatively little is known about flavonoid effects in the regulations of TREK-1 channel. The purpose of the study was to screening of flavonoids as the TREK-1 channel modulator using one of electrophysiological techniques such as excised inside-out patch configuration. We demonstrated blocking effect on TREK-1 channel by flavonoids such as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), curcumin and quercetin in CHO cells transiently expressing TREK-1 channel. The inhibition of TREK-1 channel by quercetin and curcumin was reversible, whereas EGCG was little reversible. Quercetin, EGCG and curcumin decreased the relative channel activity to 73%, 91% and 94%, respectively. The half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of curcumin, quercetin and EGCG was $1.04{\pm}0.19\;{\mu}M$, $1.13{\pm}0.26\;{\mu}M$ and $13.5{\pm}2.20\;{\mu}M$ in CHO cells expressing TREK-1 channel, respectively. These results indicate that flavonoids might regulate TREK-1 and this regulation might be one of the pharmacological actions of flavonoid in nervous systems and cancer cells.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.373-383
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• 2018

Fouling by solids and microorganisms is the major obstacle limiting the efficient use of membrane wastewater treatment. In our previous study, two stages microalgae/membrane filtration system was proposed to treat anaerobic digested palm oil mill effluent (AnPOME). This two stages microalgae/membrane filtration system had showed great potential for the treatment of AnPOME with high removal of COD, $NH_3-N$, $PO_4{^{3-}}$, TSS, turbidity, and colour. However, fouling behavior of the membrane in this two stages microalgae/membrane filtration system was still unknown. In this study, empirical models that describe permeate flux decline for dead-end filtration (pore blocking - complete, intermediate, and standard; and cake layer formation) presented by Hermia were used to fit the experimental results in identifying the fouling mechanism under different experimental conditions. Both centrifuged and non-centrifuged samples were taken from the medium with 3 days RT intervals, from day 0 to day 12 to study their influence on fouling mechanisms described by Hermia for ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO) filtration mode. Besides, a more detailed study on the use of resistance-in-series model for deadend filtration was done to investigate the fouling mechanisms involved in membrane filtration of AnPOME collected after microalgae treatment. The results showed that fouling of UF and NF membrane was mainly caused by cake layer formation and it was also supported by the analysis for resistance-in-series model. Whereas, fouling of RO membrane was dominated by concentration polarization.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.473-478
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• 2017

In this study, the guanidine compound, 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD) was impregnated to three kinds of silica to prepare $CO_2$ adsorbents, and the $CO_2$ adsorption and physicochemical properties of the resulting adsorbents were investigated. The TBD amount of impregnation was changed and its effect on adsorption capacity and characteristics were studied. The physicochemical properties of TBD-impregnated silica were evaluated with $N_2$ adsorption/desorption, FT-IR, elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. The TBD-impregnated silica lowered the surface area and pore volume, and the increased impregnation amount of TBD made them further decrease. When TBD was 6 mmol/g, the $CO_2$ adsorption capacity was the highest at 7.3 wt%, and the adsorption capacity decreased due to the blocking phenomenon when the TBD amount increased.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 1999

The studies on the adsorption properties and the antibacterial effects of the Cd and Cu-treated activated carbon were carried out. From the adsorption studies on the series of these metal-treated activated carbons, typical Type-I isotherm was observed. The surface areas of the treated carbon obtained from BET equation were in the range of $1101-1418m^2/g$ for Cd-AC and of $1084-1361m^2/g$ for Cu-AC. Using ${\alpha}_s$-plot, the micropore volumes and pore size distribution were obtained. From the SEM study, it is also observed that many of micropores in activated carbon are blocked by window blocking effect of metals after the impregnation. Finally, antibacterial effects of M-activated carbon against Escherichia coli was discussed. From the study, the area of antibacterial activity becomes larger with the increase of the amount of metal treated.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.559-567
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• 2013

In recent years, NF (nanofiltration) membrane has been receiving great attention for hardness removal and has begun to replace traditional lime soda ash softening process, particularly in Florida, USA, mainly due to less sludge production and easy operation. This study aimed to provide detailed surface characteristics of various commercial NF membranes by performing sophisticated surface analysis, which would help more fundamentally understand the performance of NF membranes. More specifically, a total of 7 NF membranes from top NF/RO manufacturers in the world were examined for basic performance tests, surface analysis, and fouling potential assessment. The results demonstrated that NF membranes are classified into two groups in terms of surface zeta potential; they are highly negatively charged ones, and neutral and/or less negatively charged ones. Their hydrophobicities, measured by contact angle, varied from hydrophilic to slightly hydrophobic ones. The AFM measurements showed various surface roughness, ranging from 23 nm (smooth) to 162 nm (rough) of average peak height. Lab-scale fouling experiments were performed using feedwater obtained from conventional water treatment plants in the province of Korea, and their results attempted to correlate to surface characteristics of NF membranes. However, unlike typical RO membranes, no clear correlation was found in this study, indicating that fouling mechanisms of NF membrane may be different from those of typical RO membranes, and both cake deposition and pore blocking mechanisms should be considered simultaneously.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.171-176
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• 2011

Membrane fouling is formed due to pore blocking and cake formation by suspended material or contaminant in the membrane boundary layer. Membrane fouling is main obstacle for the wider application of industrial water treatment. The objective of this paper is to study the direct monitoring technique for the measuring the membrane fouling in real time. We investigated the extracted image of R, G, and B by visible light irradiation of 360 nm wavelength to measure the membrane fouling in real time by transparent foulant. The intensity of B of 400~499 nm wavelength range was stronger than that of R and G. The fluorescence image extraction analysis appeared to be a very attractive technique for monitoring the membrane fouling in real time.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2006

There is a possibility of the production of the air bubbles in membrane pores due to the reduction in pressure during membrane filtration. The effect of fine air bubbles from dissolved gases on microfiltration was investigated in the submerged membrane bio-reactor (SMBR). The $R_{air}$ (air bubble resistance) was defined as the filtration resistance due to the air bubbles formed from the gasification of dissolved gases. From the results of filtration tests using pure water with changes in the dissolved oxygen concentration, the air bubbles from dissolved gases were confirmed to act as a foulant and; thus, increase the filtration resistance. The standard pore blocking and cake filtration models, SPBM and CFM, respectively, were applied to investigate the mechanism of air bubble fouling on a hollow fiber membrane. However, the application of the SPBM and CFM were limited in explaining the mechanism due to the properties of air bubble. With a simple comparison of the different filtration resistances, the $R_{air}$ portion was below 1% of the total filtration resistance during sludge filtration. Therefore, the air bubbles from dissolved gases would only be a minor foulant in the SMBR. However, under the conditions of a high gasification rate from dissolved gases, the effect of air bubble fouling should be considered in microfiltration.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2006

Tamsulosin or a salt thereof such as its hydrochloride salt has been known to have an adrenaline ${\alpha}$ receptor blocking action for urethra and prostate areas. It has been widely used as a drug which lowers the prostate pressure and improves urinary disturbance accompanied by prostate-grand enlargement, thus for the treatment of prostatic hyperplasia. To avoid dose-dependent side effects of tamsulosin upon oral administration, the development of sustained-release delivery system is essentially required, that can maintain therapeutic drug levels for a longer period of time. The aim of this study was therefore to formulate sustained-release tamsulosin granules and assess their formulation variables. We designed entric coated sustained-release tamsulosin granules for this purpose. Nano-pores in the outer controlled release membrane were needed in order to obtain initial tamsulosin release even in an acidic environment such as gastric region. In our sustained release osmotic granule system, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose in a drug-containing layer was used as a rate controller. The drug-containing granules were coated with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate (HPMCP) and Eudragit, along with glycerol triacetate as an aqueous nano-pore former. The release of tamsulosin depended heavily on the type of Eudragit such as RS, RL, NE 30D, used in the formulation of controlled release layer. These results obtained clearly suggest that the sustained-release oral delivery system for tamsulosin could be designed with satisfying drug release profile approved by the Korean Food and Drug Administration.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.171-177
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• 2005

Coconut based activated carbon and silica-gels were impregnated with 3-aminopropyltri ethoxysilan(APS) and N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (AEAPS) in order to investigate the effect of the amine group and the pore size of the supports on the removal of hydrogen cyanide(HCN) and aldehydes in mainstream smoke(MS). The physicochemical properties of the supports were analyzed by using thermal gravity analyzer(TGA), $N_2$ adsorption and desorption isotherms$(BET,\;N_2)$, and SEM-EDS. According to our experimental data, there was no significant difference in the delivery amount of HCN and aldehydes of non-functionalized silica-gels having meso-pores bigger than $20\AA$. In the case of silica-gels functionalized with APS(APS silica-gel), the delivery amounts of hydrogen cyanide(HCN) and aldehydes decreased with the increase of APS concentration. Silica-gel functionalized with AEAPS(AEAPS silica-gel) showed higher removal efficiency than that of APS silica-gels. The delivery amounts of HCN and aldehydes of activated carbon impregnated with APS and AEAPS increased with the increase of the APS and AEAPS concentrations. In accordance with the specific surface area analysis results, APS and AEAPS molecules decreased the specific surface area by blocking the micro-pores of the activated carbon. The volatile organic components removal efficiency by the micro-pores was higher than that of the amine group impregnated into the activated carbon.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.256-267
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• 2015

The goal is to compare two different aeration strategies for a pilot scale operation of submerged microfiltration with respect to the minimization of membrane fouling. A constant aeration (65 L/min) was examined parallel with a step-wise increase in airflow rate (40 to 65 L/min). The airflow rate was stepped to a higher rate every 5 min and the step-aeration cycles were repeated at regular intervals of 15 min. The comparative filtration runs were conducted with synthetic water containing powdered activated carbon (~10 g/L) and/or kaolin (~20 g/L) at a constant flux of 80 LMH. The extent and mechanisms of fouling in the microfiltration were identified by determining hydraulic resistance to filtration and the fouling reversibility after cleaning. Results showed that the step-aeration effectively alleviated fouling in the microfiltration of synthetic water compared to when using constant aeration. A substantial decrease in fouling was achieved by combining with coagulation using aluminum salts regardless of the aeration strategies. The constant aeration resulted in increased pore blocking likely due to increased accumulation of particles on the surface of membrane.