• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.151-156
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• 2022

Liposomes are bilayered particles that are surrounded by an aqueous solvent with amphiphilic substances such as phospholipids. Liposomes have the potential to overcome the limitations of physiochemical properties of existing drugs, and are therefore widely used in research for the treatment of many diseases, especially cancer. Currently, there are many liposome manufacturing methods that use various lipids and amphiphiles. Among them, the thin film-hydration method is a traditional and very simple method to prepare liposomes by hydrating a dry lipid film in an aqueous solvent, which has been widely used in the laboratory until recently. Recently, approaches to new nuclear imaging agents and radiotherapy by loading radioactive isotopes inside liposomes have been actively studied. In this review, we would like to discuss considerations for preparing liposomes using the thin film-hydration method.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.154-158
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• 2005

Organic molecules have many properties that make them attractive for electronic applications. We have been examining the progress of memory cell by using molecular-scale switch to give an example of the application using both nano scale components and Si-technology. In this study, molecular electronic devices were fabricated with amino style derivatives as redox-active component. This molecule is amphiphilic to allow monolayer formation by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method and then this LB monolayer is inserted between two metal electrodes. According to the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, it was found that the devices show remarkable hysteresis behavior and can be used as memory devices at ambient conditions, when aluminum oxide layer was existed on bottom electrode. The diode-like characteristics were measured only, when Pt layer was existed as bottom electrode. It was also found that this metal layer interacts with organic molecules and acts as a protecting layer, when thin Ti layer was inserted between the organic molecular layer and Al top electrode. These electrical properties of the devices may be applicable to active components for the memory and/or logic gates in the future.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.799-804
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• 2008

An amphiphilic diacetylene compound was deposited on the surface of nano sized magnetite particles ($Fe_3O_4$) using a self-assembly method. The diacetylene molecular assembly formed on the surface of nanoparticle was subjected to photopolymerization. This resulted in the formation of a polymeric assembly on the surface of the nanoparticles in which the adjacent diacetylene molecules were connected through conjugated covalent networks. The presence of immobilized polymer species on the surface of nanoparticles is expected to protect them from agglomeration and ripening, thereby stabilizing their physical properties. In this work, $Fe_3O_4$ nanoparticles were prepared by chemical coprecipitation method and the diacetylene molecule 10,12- pentacosadiynoic acid (PCDA) was anchored to the surface of $Fe_3O_4$ nanoparticles through its carboxylate head group. Irradiation of UV light on the nanoparticles containing immobilized diacetylenes resulted in the formation of a polymeric assembly. Presence of diacetylene molecules on the surface of nanoparticles was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and FT-IR measurements. Photopolymerization of the diacetylene assembly was detected by UV-Visible spectroscopy. Magnetic properties of the nanoparticles coated with polymeric assembly were investigated with SQUID and magnetic hysteresis showed superparamagnetic behaviors. The results put forward a simple and effective method for achieving polymer coating on the surface of magnetic nanoparticle.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.558-564
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• 2013

A simple and effective method is introduced to synthesize a series of polystyrene-b-poly(oligo(ethylene oxide) monomethyl ether methacrylate)-b-polystyrene (PSt-b-POEOMA-b-PSt) triblock copolymers. The structures of PSt-b-POEOMA-b-PSt copolymers were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance ($^1H$ NMR) spectroscopy. The molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the copolymer were measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Furthermore, the self-assembling and drug-loaded behaviours of three different ratios of PSt-b-POEOMA-b-PSt were studied. These copolymers could readily self-assemble into micelles in aqueous solution. The vitamin E-loaded copolymer micelles were produced by the dialysis method. The micelle size and core-shell structure of the block copolymer micelles and the drug-loaded micelles were confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal properties of the copolymer micelles before and after drug-loaded were investigated by different scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results show that the micelle size is slightly increased with increasing the content of hydrophobic segments and the micelles are still core-shell spherical structures after drug-loaded. Moreover, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of polystyrene is reduced after the drug loaded. The drug loading content (DLC) of the copolymer micelles is 70%-80% by ultraviolet (UV) photolithography analysis. These properties indicate the micelles self-assembled from PSt-b-POEOMA-b-PSt copolymers would have potential as carriers for the encapsulation of hydrophobic drugs.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1653-1668
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• 2005

Assembly of hybrid mesophases through the combination of amphiphilic block copolymers, acting as structuredirecting agents, and silicon sources using low acid catalyst concentration regimes is a versatile strategy to produce large quantities of high-quality ordered large-pore mesoporous silicas in a very reproducible manner. Controlling structural and textural properties is proven to be straightforward at low HCl concentrations with the adjustment of synthesis gel composition and the option of adding co-structure-directing molecules. In this account, we illustrate how various types of large-pore mesoporous silica can easily be prepared in high phase purity with tailored pore dimensions and tailored level of framework interconnectivity. Silica mesophases with two-dimensional hexagonal (p6mm) and three-dimensional cubi (Fm$\overline{3}$m, Im$\overline{3}$m and Ia$\overline{3}$d) symmetries are generated in aqueous solution by employing HCl concentrations in the range of 0.1−0.5 M and polyalkylene oxide-based triblock copolymers such as Pluronic P123 $(EO_{20}-PO_{70}-EO_{20})$ and Pluronic F127 $(EO_{106}-PO_{70}-EO_{106})$. Characterizations by powder X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, and transmission electron microscopy show that the mesoporous materials all possess high specific surface areas, high pore volumes and readily tunable pore diameters in narrow distribution of sizes ranging from 4 to 12 nm. Furthermore, we discuss our recent advances achieved in order to extend widely the phase domains in which single mesostructures are formed. Emphasis is put on the first synthetic product phase diagrams obtained in $SiO_2$-triblock copolymer-BuOH-$H_2O$ systems, with tuning amounts of butanol and silica source correspondingly. It is expected that the extended phase domains will allow designed synthesis of mesoporous silicas with targeted characteristics, offering vast prospects for future applications.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.873-876
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• 2012

Ionic liquids (ILs) existing in the liquid ion form under standard conditions show a unique properties. 1-10-Alkyl-3-methyl-imidazolium bromide ([C10mim][Br]) is one of the ILs that shows amphiphilic characteristics under specific conditions. This property enables it to function as a surfactant, and therefore, it finds applications in a wide range of areas. In this study, we tried to predict the behavior, especially the aggregation aspect, of [C10mim][Br] in an aqueous solution using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The canonical (NVT) ensemble was used to relax the system and trace the trajectory of atoms. Several case studies were simulated and the interaction among [C10mim]+, [Br]-, and water was analyzed using the radial distribution function of each atom. The density distribution function was also used for the structural analysis of the entire system. We used the Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS) code for the present MD simulations.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.528-533
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• 2004

We have prepared amide dendrons having alkyl peripheral units and various focal moieties through a convergent synthetic approach. The amphiphilic properties, due to hydrophilic amide branches and the hydrophobic peripheral units, provide an opportunity for the amide dendrons to self-organize in water. The dendritic architecture itself is also one of the critical factors in the self-organization of the amide dendrons in water. In particular, function-alization was performed at the focal point to elucidate the relationship between the focal functionality and the self-organized structures of the dendritic building blocks in the aqueous phase. The dendron having a short poly(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether (MeO-PEG) unit (M$\_$n/ =750) as the focal moiety formed a vesicular organization in water. As the size of the hydrophilic focal MeO-PEG increased to M$\_$n/ =2,000 and 5,000, the self-organized structures became rod-type and spherical micelles, respectively. Our observation of multiple morphologies for amide dendrons is in good agreement with previous reports that indicated that the micellar structures changed from vesicles to rod-types and then to spheres upon increasing the size of the hydrophilic moiety of the amphiphiles.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.615-618
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• 2011

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) draw attention as promising materials due to their excellent electrical and mechanical properties. However, the intrinsic strong interaction between CNTs presents a challenge to their use in various applications. Here, we present a facile method to disperse single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in a polar solution using a graft copolymer, poly(vinyl chloride)-graft-poly(oxyethylene methacrylate), PVC-g-POEM. The graft copolymer was synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), as confirmed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and $^1H$ NMR spectroscopy. The SWCNTs were uniformly dispersed in a polar solvent such as dimethylsiloxane (DMSO) using PVC-g-POEM as a dispersant, due to interaction between CNT and the graft copolymer, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Upon removal of the solvent, free standing nanocomposite films with good homogeneity were obtained.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.121-125
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• 2023

Casein is a milk protein and one of the most important nutrients in milk. The composition is over 80% in cow's milk and about 20~45% in human's milk. Casein is highly biocompatible and biodegradable, so it has been studied for various biomedical materials applications as well as drug delivery systems. It is widely known that casein can be prepared as nanoparticles in the presence of the Ca²⁺ metal ion. Because casein is amphiphilic, hydrophobic drugs could be loaded inside to form a protein-based drug delivery system. In this study, we studied the optimum conditions for casein nanoparticle formation using natural metal ions present in the body, such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron. It was confirmed that nanoparticles have a uniform size of around 150 nm and negative zeta potential values. In addition, it was demonstrated that casein nanoparticles have a cell viability of more than 80% and efficient intracellular uptake properties using confocal microscopy. From the results, it was also shown that the casein nanoparticles prepared using various metal ions have the potential to be biocompatible drug delivery carriers.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1023-1029
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• 2023

Biosurfactants reduce surface and interfacial tension due to their amphiphilic properties and are an eco-friendly alternative for chemical surfactants. In this study, a new yeast strain JAF-11 that produces a biosurfactant was selected using drop collapse method, and the properties of the extracts were investigated. The nucleotide sequences of the strain were compared with closely related strains and identified based on the D1/D2 domain of the large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. Neodothiora populina CPC 39399^T, the closest species with strain JAF-11, showed a sequence similarity of 97.75% for LSU and 94.27% for ITS, respectively. The result suggests that the strain JAF-11 represents a distinct species that cannot be assigned to any existing genus or species in the family Dothideaceae. Strain JAF-11 produced a biosurfactant reducing the surface tension of water from 72 mN/m to 34.5 mN/m on the sixth day of culture and the result of measuring the critical micelle concentration (CMC) by extracting the crude biosurfactant was found to be 24 mg/l. The molecular weight 502 of the purified biosurfactant was confirmed by measuring the fast atom bombardment mass spectrum. The chemical structure was analyzed by measuring ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C NMR, and two-dimensional NMRs of the compound. The molecular formula was C₂₆H₄₆O₉, and it was composed of one octanoyl group and two hexanoyl groups to myo-inositol moiety. The new biosurfactant is the first report of a compound produced by a new yeast strain, JAF-11.