• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.157-161
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• 2024

Amphiphilic gold nanoparticles, synthesized by the simultaneous binding of hydrophilic and hydrophobic ligands on their surfaces, find diverse applications in energy, bio, optical, electronic technologies, and various other fields. Particularly, these amphiphilic gold nanoparticles possess both hydrophilic and hydrophobic characteristics, enabling them to activate interface at the interface of immiscible fluids and form organized structures. The surface properties of gold nanoparticles play a crucial role in influencing the behaviors of amphiphilic gold nanoparticles at the interface of two fluids. Therefore, this study investigated the adsorption behaviors of gold nanoparticles at the organic solvent-water interface based on the surface characteristics of amphiphilic gold nanoparticles and the type of organic solvents. It was observed that the amount of adsorbed gold nanoparticles at the interface increased with the length of hydrocarbon chains in hydrophobic ligands and increased with shorter hydrocarbon chains in the organic solvent. Furthermore, using the Langmuir isotherm model, the study confirmed the formation of a monolayer by amphiphilic gold nanoparticles and obtained significant thermodynamic parameters simultaneously.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.411-411
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• 2012

Over the recent years, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has dramatically grown as a label-free detecting technique with the high level of selectivity and sensitivity. Conventional SERS-active nanostructured layers have been deposited or patterned on rigid substrates such as silicon wafers and glass slides. Such devices fabricated on a flexible platform may offer additional functionalities and potential applications. For example, flexible SERS-active substrates can be integrated into microfluidic diagnostic devices with round-shaped micro-channel, which has large surface area compared to the area of flat SERS-active substrates so that we may anticipate high sensitivity in a conformable device form. We demonstrate fabrication of flexible SERS-active nanostructured substrates based on soft-lithography for simple, low-cost processing. The SERS-active nanostructured substrates are fabricated using conventional Si fabrication process and inkjet printing methods. A Si mold is patterned by photolithography with an average height of 700 nm and an average pitch of 200 nm. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a mixture of Sylgard 184 elastomer and curing agnet (wt/wt = 10:1), is poured onto the mold that is coated with trichlorosilane for separating the PDMS easily from the mold. Then, the nano-pattern is transferred to the thin PDMS substrates. The soft lithographic methods enable the SERS-active nanostructured substrates to be repeatedly replicated. Silver layer is physically deposited on the PDMS. Then, gold nanoparticle (AuNP) inks are applied on the nanostructured PDMS using inkjet printer (Dimatix DMP 2831) to deposit AuNPs on the substrates. The characteristics of SERS-active substrates are measured; topology is provided by atomic force microscope (AFM, Park Systems XE-100) and Raman spectra are collected by Raman spectroscopy (Horiba LabRAM ARAMIS Spectrometer). We anticipate that the results may open up various possibilities of applying flexible platform to highly sensitive Raman detection.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.473-479
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• 2016

We report a highly selective and sensitive 200 MHz Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensor that can detect cyanide ion in aqueous solution using surface immobilized thioester molecules in combination with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). To construct the sensor device, a monolayer of thioester compound was immobilized on the SAW sensor surface. At the sensor surface, hydrolysis of thioester group by nucleophilic addition of cyanide occurred and the resulting free thiol unit bound to AuNP to form thiol-AuNP conjugate. For the signal enhancement, gold staining signal amplification process was introduced subsequently with gold (III) chloride trihydrate and reducing agent, hydroxylamine hydrochloride. The SAW sensor showed a detection ability of $17.7{\mu}M$ for cyanide in aqueous solution and demonstrated a saturation behavior between the frequency shift and the concentration of cyanide ion. On the other hand, our SAW sensor had no activities for other anions such as fluoride ion, acetate ion and sulfate ion, moreover, no significant interference observed by other anions. Finally, all the experiments were carried out in-house developed sensor and fluidics modules to obtain highly reproducible results.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2018.04a
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• pp.3-3
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• 2018

For centuries, Panax ginseng Meyer (Korean ginseng) has been widely used as a medicinal herb in Korea, China, and Japan. Ginsenosides are a class of triterpene saponins and recognized as the bioactive components in Korean ginseng. Ginsenosides, which can be classified broadly as protopanaxadiols (PPD), protopanaxatriols (PPT), and oleanolic acids, have been shown to flaunt a vast array of pharmacological activities such as immune-modulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-diabetic, and antioxidant effects. In recent years, a number of ginseng and ginsenoside researches have increasingly gained wide attention owing to its unique pharmacological properties. Although good efficacies of ginsenosides have been reported, lack of target specific delivery into tumor sites, low solubility, and low bioavailability due to modifications in gastro-intestinal environments limit their biomedical application in clinical trials. As a result to this major challenge, nanotechnology and drug delivery techniques play a significant role to solve this problematic issue. Thus, we reported the preparation of poly-ethylene glycol (PEG) and glycol chitosan (GC) functionalized to ginsenoside (Compound K and PPD) conjugates via hydrolysable ester bonds with improved aqueous solubility and pH-dependent drug release. In vitro cytotoxicity assays revealed that PEG-CK, and PPD-CK conjugates exhibited lower cytotoxicity compared to bare CK and PPD in HT29 cells. However, GC-CK conjugates exhibited higher and similar cytotoxicity in HT29 and HepG2 cells. Furthermore, GC-CK-treated RAW264.7 cells did not exhibit significant cell death at higher concentration of treatment which supports the biocompatibility of the polymer conjugates. They also inhibited nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW64.7 cells. In addition to polymer-ginsenoside conjugates, silver (AgNps) and gold nanoparticles (AuNps) have been successfully synthesized by green chemistry using different m. The biosynthesized nanoparticles demonstrated antimicrobial efficacy, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant activity, biofilm inhibition, and anticoagulant effect. Special interest on the effective delivery methods of ginsenoside to treatment sites is the focus of metal nanoparticle research.In short, nano-sizing of ginsenoside results in an increased water solubility and bioavailability. The use of nano-sized ginsenoside and P. ginseng mediated metallic nanoparticles is expected to be effective on medical platform against various diseases in the future.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.2895-2900
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• 2014

We fabricated quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) using cadmium sulfide (CdS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) as sensitizers. A spin coated $TiO_2$ nanoparticle (NP) film on tin-doped indium oxide glass and sputtered Au on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass were used as photo-anode and counter electrode, respectively. CdS QDs were deposited onto the mesoporous $TiO_2$ layer by a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method. Pre-synthesized CdTe QDs were deposited onto a layer of CdS QDs using a direct adsorption technique. CdS/CdTe QDSSCs had high light harvesting ability compared with CdS or CdTe QDSSCs. QDSSCs incorporating single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), sprayed onto the substrate before deposition of the next layer or mixed with $TiO_2$ NPs, mostly exhibited enhanced photo cell efficiency compared with the pristine cell. In particular, a maximum rate increase of 24% was obtained with the solar cell containing a $TiO_2$ layer mixed with SWNTs.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.406-414
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• 2021

Electrochemical devices are constructed for continuous syngas (CO + H₂) production with controlled selectivity between CO₂ and proton reduction reactions. The ratio of CO to H₂, or the faradaic efficiency toward CO generation, was mechanically manipulated by adjusting the space volume between the cathode and the polymer gas separator in the device. In particular, the area added between the cathode and the ion-conducting polymer using 0.5 M KHCO₃ catholyte regulated the solution acidity and proton reduction kinetics in the flow cell. The faradaic efficiency of CO production was controlled as a function of the distance between the polymer separator and cathode in addition to that manipulated by the electrode potential. Further, the electrochemical CO₂ reduction device using Au NPs presented a stable operation for more than 23 h at different H₂:CO production levels, demonstrating the functional stability of the flow cell utilizing the mechanical variable as an important operational factor.