• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.276-279
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• 2009

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.919-923
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• 2005

A bacterium capable of poly(${\gamma}$-glutamic acid) production was isolated from nonpasteurized soy sauce. It was judged to be a variety of Bacillus subtilis and designated as B. subtilis C1. B. subtilis C1 produced ${\gamma}$-PGA in the absence of exogenous glutamic acid; therefore, it is a de novo PGA­producing bacterium. The product produced by B. subtilis C1 was characterized by amino acid analysis to be composed of solely glutamic acid. However, the $H^1-NMR$ spectra showed chemical shifts of glycerol protons in addition to those of authentic ${\gamma}$-PGA, indicating that the product is in fact a bioconjugate of ${\gamma}$-PGA. The finding is unique, because the microbial production of ${\gamma}$-PGA bioconjugate has never been reported before. The molecular mass of the product was over 10,000 kDa as determined by GPC, and $97\%$ of the product was D-glutamate, indicating that L-glutamate was converted to its D-form counterpart by B. subtilis C1.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.196-208
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• 2009

Sophisticated polymeric materials with 'responsive' properties are beginning to reach the market. The use of reversible, noncovalent interactions is a recurring design principle for responsive materials. Recently developed hydrogen-bonding units allow this design principle to be taken to its extreme. Supramolecular polymers, where hydrogen bonds are the only force keeping the monomers together, form materials whose (mechanical) properties respond strongly to a change in temperature or solvent. In this review, we describe some examples of hydrogen-bonded supramolecular polymers that can be utilized for self-healing materials. Synthesis of a rubber-like material that can be recycled might not seem exciting. But one that can also repeatedly repair itself at room temperature, without adhesives, really stretches the imagination. Autonomic healing materials respond without external intervention to environmental stimuli in a nonlinear and productive fashion, and have great potential for advanced engineering systems.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 2013

A family of Cr(III) complexes supported on tridentate dibenzimidazolyl ligands having a general formula: $[N(CH_3)(CH_2)_2(Bm-R)_2]CrCl_3$ [where Bm = benzimidazolyl, R = H (3a); -Me(3b); -Bn (3c)] have been synthesized and utilized them for the trans-1,4-specific polymerizations of 1,3-butadiene (BD), activated with methylalumoxane (MAO). The activity of BD polymerizations was sensitive to the type of ligand on the Cr metal, so that the activity decreases in the order of 3a > 3c > 3b. All the catalysts combined with MAO yielded polybutadienes with perfect trans-1,4 structure with moderate molecular weight.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.1461-1462
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• 2011

• Clean Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2011

Scientists and engineers have altered the properties of materials such as metals, alloys, polymers, ceramics, and so on, to suit the ever changing needs of our society. Man-made engineering materials generally demonstrate excellent mechanical properties, which often tar exceed those of natural materials. However, all such engineering materials lack the ability of self-healing, i.e. the ability to remove or neutralize microcracks without intentional human interaction. The damage management paradigm observed in nature can be reproduced successfully in man-made engineering materials, provided the intrinsic character of the various types of engineering materials is taken into account. Various self-healing ptotocols that can be applied for the organic materials such as polymers, ionomers and composites can be developed by utilizing suitable chemical reactions and physical intermolecular interactions.

• Clean Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.85-96
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• 2011

Self-healing materials are a class of smart materials that have the structurally incorporated ability to repair damage caused by mechanical usage over time. A material (polymers, ceramics, metals, etc.) that can intrinsically correct damage caused by normal usage could lower production costs of a number of different industrial processes through longer part lifetime, reduction of inefficiency over time caused by degradation, as well as prevent costs incurred by material failure. The recent announcement from Nissan on the commercial release of scratch healing paints for use on car bodies has gained public interest on such a wonderful property of materials. This article is a second part of healing materials dealing with inorganic engineering materials such as metals, ceramics, and concrete. The healing mechanisms developed for the inorganic materials are to be discussed with the future prospect.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.170-187
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• 2010

Much interest on the thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) has recently been attracted in commercial fields as well as scientific and applied researches. The TPEs have their own characteristic area especially in relation with block copolymers as well as many other polymeric materials, since they show interesting features displayed by the conventional vulcanized rubber, and at the same time, by the thermoplastics. In addition, they are characterized by a set of interesting properties inherent to block and graft copolymers, variety of blends and vulcanized materials. The importance of TPE as organic materials can be evaluated by the number of published reports (papers, patents, technical reports, etc). The input of the concept 'thermoplastic elastomer' to SciFinderScholar yields 18,508 results between 1939 and July 10, 2010, and the number increased exponentially after the mid of 1990. For the suitable introduction of the TPE, historic, scientific, technical and commercial considerations should be taken into account. This review article starts with a brief discussion on historical considerations, followed by a introduction of the main preparations and analytical techniques utilized in chemical, structural, and morphological studies. The properties, processing tools, the position among organic materials, and applications of TPEs are also briefly reviewed. Finally, the most probable trends of their future development are discussed in a short final remarks.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.199-208
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• 2000

The recent development of biodegradable polymers for drug delivery system (DDS) has been investigated. The biodegradable polymers for DDS are mainly discussed in two categories: one category is natural biodegradable polymers such as polysaccharides, modified celluloses, poly(${\alpha}$-amino acid)s, modified proteins, and microbial biodegradable polymers; the other is synthetic biodegradable polymers such as poly(ester)s, poly(ortho ester)s, poly(phosphazene)s, poly(anhydride)s, poly(alkyl cyanoacrylate)s, and multiblock copolymers. The bioconjugate polymeric drug delivery systems have been also proposed for the design of biocompatible polymeric controlled drug delivery.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1483-1490
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• 2017

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by the citrate reduction process and, with the assistance of n-hydroxysuccinimide and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide, were successfully loaded with the macromolecular drug vancomycin (VAM) to form AgNP-VAM bioconjugates. The synthesized AgNPs, VAM, and AgNP-VAM conjugate were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, zeta potential analysis, confocal microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The effect of loading VAM onto AgNPs was investigated by testing the internalization of the bioconjugate into Mycobacterium smegmatis. After treatment with the AgNP-VAM conjugate, the bacterial cells showed a significant decrease in UV absorption, indicating that loading of the VAM on AgNPs had vastly improved the drug's internalization compared with that of AgNPs. All the experimental assessments showed that, compared with free AgNPs and VAM, enhanced internalization had been successfully achieved with the AgNP-VAM conjugate, thus leading to significantly better delivery of the macromolecular drug into the M. smegmatis cell. The current research provides a new potential drug delivery system for the treatment of mycobacterial infections.