• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.57-68
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• 2017

Seven transmembrane receptors (7TMRs), also known as G protein-coupled receptors, are popular targets of drug development, particularly 7TMR systems that are activated by peptide ligands. Although many pharmaceutical drugs have been discovered via conventional bulk analysis techniques the increasing availability of structural and evolutionary data are facilitating change to rational, targeted drug design. This article discusses the appeal of neuropeptide-7TMR systems as drug targets and provides an overview of concepts in the evolution of vertebrate genomes and gene families. Subsequently, methods that use evolutionary concepts and comparative analysis techniques to aid in gene discovery, gene function identification, and novel drug design are provided along with case study examples.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.251-256
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• 2000

Sterically stabilized liposomes (SSL) composed of distearoylphosphatidylcholine, cholesterol, dicetylphosphate and distearoylphosphatiodylethanolamine-N-poly(ethyleneglycol) 2000 (DSPE-PEG 2000) were made by reverse phase evaporation method to prolong biological half-life and decrease toxic side effect of drug. Streptozocin (572), a water-soluble antitumor agent with short half-life, was selected as a model drug. The size of SSL was controlled by polycarbonate extrusion to 100 nm which is adequate size for long circulation in plasma. The release rate of drugs from SSL in PBS was evaluated. And the stability of STZ-containing liposomes against drug leakage into rat plasma was evaluated in order to investigate the interaction of liposome and plasma protein. Incorporation of DSPE-PEG 2000 into conventional liposomes significantly decreased the drug leakage into rat plasma.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.215-219
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• 2016

The problems of tuberculosis and its drug resistance are very severe. Therefore, rapid and accurate drug susceptibility assay is required. Recently, there has been an increased understanding of the genetic mechanism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) drug resistance as well as advancement of molecular technologies. While many gene mutations correlate well with drug resistance, many genes do not show a strong correlation with drug resistance. For this reason, the current study assessed the utility of rpoB mRNA as a target to detect live mycobacteria. In this study, RT-PCR targeting of rpoB mRNA in BCG treated with rifampin was performed. Conventional RT-PCR and real-time PCR targeting rpoB mRNA as well as 85B mRNA was performed to determine whether these two methods could distinguish between viable and non-viable MTB. The levels of rpoB and 85B mRNA detected by RT- PCR were compared in parallel with colony forming unit counts of BCG that were treated with rifampin for different periods of time. The data suggests that that even though both mRNA levels of rpoB and 85B decreased gradually when rifampin-treatment increased, the rpoB mRNA seemed to represent live bacteria better than 85B mRNA. This study clearly indicates that RT-PCR is a good method to monitor viable cell counts in the liquid culture treated with the anti-tuberculosis drug.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.255-255
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• 2002

For rapid and sensitive measurement of antiviral activities, application of a recombinant virus containing firefly luciferase gene was attempted. Recombinant human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) containing luciferase gene driven by HCMV late gene pp28 promoter (HCMV/pp28-luc) was used to test the antiviral activities of three known compounds and the result was compared with results from the conventional plaque assay for measuring the production of infectious viruses. When human fibroblast cells were infected with HCMV/pp28-luc, luciferase activity was observed at 2 days after infection and reached maximum at 6 days after infection, whereas the production of infectious virus was maximal at 4 days after infection. The antiviral activities of ganciclovir, acyclovir, and papaverine were measured in HFF cells infected with HCMV/PP28-luc and the luciferase activity was compared with the infectious virus titers. Luciferase activity decreased as the concentration of ganciclovir or papaverine increased, while there was a slight decrease in luciferase activity with acyclovir. The level of the decrease in Luciferase activity was comparable to the level of decrease in the production of infectious virus. Therefore, the antiviral assay using recombinant virus HCMV/pp28-luc resulted in sensitivity similar to the conventional plaque assay with a significant reduction in assay time.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.83-83
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• 2013

To date, various nanobiotechnologicalapproaches for biosensors and drug development have been explosively studied. Despite of successful demonstrations, the new technologies hardly enjoyed routine applications in practical nanobiomedicine. Here, researchers trained at the interface of basic sciences and engineering are expected to play critical roles. In this tutorial, I will introduce recent studies which harness graphene derivatives for developing bioanalytical platforms to quantitatively analyze various enzyme activities and biomarkers. The systems rely on attractive interaction between graphene oxide and nucleic acids or phospholipids. Recently, one of the graphene-based bioassay system was applied to anti-viral drug screening and potent hit compounds were identified to treat hepatitis C. This study clearly shows that a new nanobio-technology can be routinely implemented in drug discovery, providing many advantages over conventional methods.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.370-375
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• 2005

The objective of this study was to develop a new reverse micelle-based microencapsulation technique to load tetracycline hydrochloride into PLGA microspheres. To do so, a reverse micellar system was formulated to dissolve tetracycline hydrochloride and water in ethyl formate with the aid of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. The resultant micellar solution was used to dissolve 0.3 to 0.75 g of PLGA, and microspheres were prepared following a modified solvent quenching technique. As a control experiment, the drug was encapsulated into PLGA microspheres via a conventional methylene chloride-based emulsion procedure. The micro­spheres were then characterized with regard to drug loading efficiency, their size distribution and morphology. The reverse micellar procedure led to the formation of free-flowing, spherical microspheres with the size mode of 88 ~m. When PLGA microspheres were prepared follow­ing the conventional methylene chloride-based procedure, most of tetracycline hydrochloride leached to the aqueous external phase: A maximal loading efficiency observed our experimental conditions was below $5\%$. Their surfaces had numerous pores, while their internal architecture was honey-combed. In sharp contrast, the new reverse micellar encapsulation technique permitted the attainment of a maximal loading efficiency of 63.19 $\pm$$0.64\%$. Also, the microspheres had smooth and pore-free surfaces, and hollow cavities were absent from their internal matrices. The results of this study demonstrated that PLGA microspheres could be successfully prepared following the new reverse micellar encapsulation technique.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.143-146
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• 1998

Acetaminophen (APAP) suppositories with active ingredients, i.e., polyethylene glycol (PEG), Witepsol H-15 (WH), were prepared for hospital use and investigated on their drug release characteristics and pharmacokinetics. WH was employed as oil-soluble base with an aim of reducing fragility and mucosa irritancy that are common drawbacks found in PEG suppositories. Also hollow type suppository was tried as compared with conventional type suppository. Drug release tests revealed that in most formulations, more than $80\%$ of loaded APAP were released within 20 minutes, except for APAP-WH hollow type suppositories. Significant differences in the plasma concentration profile were observed among four type suppositories. $T_{max}$ of APAP-PEG and APAP-WH suppositories were 90 and 60 minutes, respectively, in hollow types. APAP-WH hollow type suppositories demonstrated fast absorption rates of APAP as compared with those of APAP-PEG suppositories. No burst effect was observed from APAP-WH suppository in contrast to APAP conventional type suppository, whereas AUCs of all the suppositories were similar. APAP-WH hollow type suppository may be an useful dosage form for hospital use.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.81-85
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• 2009

Early and accurate detection of drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis can improve both the treatment outcome and public health control of tuberculosis. A number of molecular-based techniques have been developed including ones using probe molecules that target drug resistance-related mutations. Although these techniques are highly specific and sensitive, mixed signals can be obtained when the drug resistant isolates are mixed with drug susceptible isolates. In order to overcome this problem, we developed a new drug susceptibility test (DST) for one of the most effective anti-tuberculosis drug, isoniazid. This technique employed a microplate hybridization assay that quantified signals from each probe molecule, and was evaluated using clinical isolates. The evaluation analysis clearly showed that the microplate hybridization assay was an accurate and rapid method that overcame the limitations of DST based on conventional molecular techniques.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.127-136
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• 1999

In order to eliminate demerits of conventional dosage forms, dipotassium glycyrrhizate was formulated as a slim mucoadhesive film type dosage form. The mucoadhesive drug layer gel containing dipotassium glycyrrhizate was prepared using $Noveon^{\circledR}$ AA-1, hydroxypropylcellulose-M, ethylcellulose N 100 and citric acid, and the protective layer gel by using ethylcellulose N 100, $Eudragit^{\circledR}$ RS and castor oil. The viscosity of drug layer gel of mucoadhesive film was enhanced as the increased amount of $Noveon^{\circledR}$ AA-1 or hydroxypropyl cellulose-M. The drug content was unifonnly $1160{\pm}14.6\;{\mu}g$, and was varied within 3.5%. The optimum film dosage form showed a good fluidity and malleability of drug layer, with 179 g of thickness, pH 5.7, 411 min of in vitro adhesion time and 172 g in gravity adhesive strength. The release time of drug from the mucoadhesive film was significantly shorter but was delayed when polymers such as ethylcellulose was added. From these results, the new mucoadhesive film may be effective for the treatment of aphthous stomatitis.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.3208-3212
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• 2012

Controlled drug delivery systems employing microparticles offer lots of advantages over conventional drug dosage formulations. Microencapsulation technique have been conducted with biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) for its adjustable biodegradability and biocompatibility. In this study, we evaluated two techniques, oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion solvent evaporation and spray drying, for preparation of polymeric microparticles encapsulating a newly synthesized drug, SS-AG20, for the long-term drug delivery of this low-molecular-weight drug with a very short half-life. Drug-loaded microparticles prepared by the solvent evaporation method showed a smoother morphology; however, relatively poor encapsulation efficiency and drastic initial burst were discovered as drawbacks. Spray-dried drug-loaded microparticles had an imperfect surface with pores and distorted portions so that its initial burst was critical (70.05-87.16%) when the preparation was carried out with a 5% polymeric solution. By increasing the concentration of the polymer, the morphology was refined and undesirable initial burst was circumvented (burst was reduced to 35.93-74.85%) while retaining high encapsulation efficiency. Moreover, by encapsulating the drug with various biodegradable polymers using the spray drying method, gradual and sustained drug release, for up to 2 weeks, was achieved.