• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.178-186
• /
• 2004

The aim of this study was to investigate the skin-whitening effect of okyong-san and to develop new drug delivery carrier The extracts of okyong-san were found to have the whitening effect and Eudragit$\^$ⓡ/ L 100-55 (EUD) coated solid lipid nanoparticle (E-SLN) was prepared by solvent evaporation method and melt dispersion technique. As a result, E-SLN have a 144-170 nm of particle size, spherical shape, and 33-41% encapsulation efficiency, After release test in vitro, release profile of E-SLN depended on pH and temperature. Lastly, closed patch test and skin-whitening test was peformed clinically. In conclusion, test sample had non-stimulation and high % whiteness. The results suggest that okyong-san and E-SLN is useful as cosmeceuticals for whitening cosmetics.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.296-304
• /
• 1992

Porous polyurethane membrane was prepared by the phase inversion process with variable permeability in response to pH and solvent composition. Hydrophilic polymers were grafted on the surface of the symmetric porous membrane. Porous polyurethane membrane was obtained in DMSO/methanol. It was subsequently grafted with acrylamide on the surface with ceric ammonium nitrate(CAN) as a initiator, followed by the hydrolysis to obtain poly(acrylic acid-g-urethane) (PAA-g-PU) membrane. The change in permeability of vitamine $B_2$(riboflavin) was investigated through PAA-g-PU. For PAA-g-PU membrane, permeability increased with the decrease in pH, and with an increase in solvent content in sink solution.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
• /
• v.17 no.8
• /
• pp.633-642
• /
• 2008

It's important to measure quantitative properties about thermal-nano behavior of polymer for producing high quality components using Nanoimprint lithography process. Nanoscale indents can be used to make the cells for molecular electronics and drug delivery, slots for integration into nanodevices, and defects for tailoring the structure and properties. In this study, formability of polymethylmetacrylate(PMMA) and polycarbonate(PC) were characterized Polymer has extreme variation in thermo mechanical variation during forming high temperature. Because of heating the polymer, it becomes softer than at room temperature. In this case it is particularly important to study high temperature-induced mechanical properties of polymer. Nanoindenter XP(MTS) was used to measure thermo mechanical properties of PMMA and PC. Polymer was heated by using the heating stage on NanoXP. At CSM(Continuous Stiffness Method) mode test, heating temperature was $110^{\circ}C,120^{\circ}C,130^{\circ}C,140^{\circ}C$ and $150^{\circ}C$ for PMMA, $140^{\circ}C,150^{\circ}C,160^{\circ}C,170^{\circ}C$ and $180^{\circ}C$ for PC, respectively. Maximum indentation depth was 2000nm. At basic mode test, heating temperature was $90^{\circ}C$ and $110^{\circ}C$ for PMMA, $140^{\circ}C,160^{\circ}C$ for PC. Maximum load was 10mN, 20mN and 40mN. Also indented pattern was observed by using SEM and AFM. Mechanical properties of PMMA and PC decreased when temperature increased. Decrease of mechanical properties from PMMA went down rapidly than that of PC.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.1405-1410
• /
• 2005

Asthma is recognized today as an inflammatory disease of the lung characterized by acute non-specific airway hypersensitiveness in association with chronic pulmonary inflammation. Gamijihwang-tang(GJT), a fortified prescription of YMJHT, is applied for the treatments of chronic coughing and asthma, and post-delivery coughing and asthma in the gynecology. Also in the clinical practice, GJT is known to be very effective for controlling coughing and asthma as a cold sequoia. In this study, we investigated the effects of GJT on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) production, and on the level of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and Cyclooxygenase-2 expression in murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. We found that GJT inhibited LPS-induced NO and $PGE_2$ production in a dose dependent manner. Furthermore, GJT inhibited the expression of LPS-induced iNOS and COX-2 protein and mRNA expression in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Treatment with GJT of RAW 264.7 cells transfected with a reporter construct indicated a reduced level of LPS-induced nuclear factor-KB (NF-kB) activity and effectively lowered NF-kB binding as measured by transient transfection assay. These results suggest that the main inhibitory mechanism of the GJT may be the reduction of iNOS and COX-2 gene expression through blocking of NF-kB activation.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.85-90
• /
• 2010

Docetaxel-loaded liposomes were prepared by emulsion-solvent evaporation method, then coated with chitosan at room temperature and lyophilized. This system was designed in order to improve solubility and stability of docetaxel in the GI tract for oral drug delivery. The solubilizing effect of some frequently used solubilizers and/or liposome was determined. Among the results docetaxel-loaded liposomes prepared with 0.5% TPGS as a solubilizer showed 100-fold higher solubility than docetaxel. In a stability test, mean particle size of different liposome formulations was measured by a particle size analyzer in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). The particle size of uncoated liposomes was significantly increased compared with that of chitosan-coated liposomes in SGF, however, there was no significant difference between coated and uncoated liposome in SIF. It is evident that chitosan-coated liposomes were more stable in GI conditions. The release characteristics of docetaxel-loaded liposomes were also investigated in three buffer solutions (pH 1.2, 4.0, 6.8). Docetaxel release did not occur in pH 1.2 for 4 hrs. However, in pH 4.0 and 6.8 conditions, docetaxel was gradually released over 24 hrs as a sustained release. It seems that aggregation and precipitation of particles by electrostatic interaction might protect docetaxel from being released. In Conclusion, the results from this study show that the chitosan-coated liposomes may be useful in enhancing solubility and GI stability of docetaxel.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.2958-2965
• /
• 2015

The PLGA(Poly lactide-co-glycolide) Copolymer have been actively applied to the medical implant material as biomaterials. PLGA membrane was able to alveoloplasty with osteotomy for favorable degradation characteristics and possibilities for sustained drug delivery. In this study, PLGA membrane was prepared using phase inversion method, and examined to optical method analysis(NMR, IR), mechanical property measurement (tearing strength) and thermal characteristic analysis(DSC). In addition, the biodegradation characteristics of the PLGA membrane filled with a PBS(Phosphate Buffered Solution) of the water bath ($60^{\circ}C$) according to the degree of surface degradation in the degradation time, the pH change of the solution and change of the mass of the membrane were measured.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.399-405
• /
• 2001

Urushiol, a natural pro-electrophilic quinone compound, has potential structural characteristics as antitumor chemotherapeutic agents. However, urushiol's use as an antitumor drug has some problems, because it is hardly miscible with an aqueous solution. Purified urushiol is highly viscous and soluble only in strong solvents. for this study, we prepared an urushiol-ethanol micro-emulsion with a unimodal size distribution by high-speed homogenization. This generated effective delivery of urushiol to its action wites, so that we could investigate its cytotoxic activity against cancer cells. Using a colony-forming assay, we were able to show that urushiol selectively inhibited the growth of the ovarian cancer cells PA-1 and 2774 at a concentration of $10^{-6}$, whereas it had only a negligible effect on normal CHO cells at the same concentration. The data suggest that urushiol may have potential as an effective antitumor agent in the treatment of ovarian cancer. In addition, we addressed the question of whether the specific cytotoxic effect of urushiol is linked to apoptosis, by DNA fragmentation and DAPI staining assays. The inhibitory effects of urushiol on the growth of ovarian cancer cells was found to be associated with DNA fragmentation and the fragmented nuclei formation, both of which represent markers for the induction of apoptosis. Therefore, the results suggested that urushiol affected its profound cytotoxicity by triggering apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.35-40
• /
• 2018

Objective: The role of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), CREB (cAMP response element binding) and VGF neuropeptide has been proved in antidepressant activity of long term saffron administration in the rat hippocampus. In this study we evaluated the role of these proteins in antidepressant activity of saffron in long term administration in the rat cerebellum. Methods: Saffron aqueous extract (40 and 80 mg/kg/day) and imipramine (10 mg/kg/day) were administered intraperitoneally for 21 days to rats. At the end of experiment, animals were sacrificed and cerebellums were separated. The protein levels of BDNF, VGF, CREB and P- CREB in the rat cerebellum were evaluated using western blot analysis. Results: Saffron aqueous extract (80mg/kg/day) caused significant increase in protein level of P-CREB in long term treatment in the rat cerebellum. The increases in the protein levels of VGF, CREB and BDNF were not significant. Conclusion: In summary, our results showed that antidepressant effect of saffron in rat cerebellum might be due to the enhanced phosphorylation of CREB.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.61-69
• /
• 2018

Objective: In this study, the effects of saffron stigma against subacute diazinon (DZN) toxicity on enzymes levels, biochemical, hematological, histopathological and genotoxicity indices were studied in rats. Methods: Vitamin E (200 IU/kg) and the aqueous extract of saffron (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) were injected intraperitoneally three times per week alone or with DZN (20 mg/kg/day, orally) for 4 weeks. The hematological and biochemical parameters were evaluated at the end of 4 weeks. Results: Reticulocytes counts, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phosphokinase, CPK-MB, gama glutamyl transferase (GGT), uric acid and micronucleus indices were increased significantly but total protein and RBC cholinesterase activity were decreased in the DZN-treated group. Saffron prevented the effect of DZN on GGT (50 mg/kg), LDH, CPK and CPK-MB (100 and 200 mg/kg) levels. An increased uric acid and reduced protein levels by DZN were prevented by vitamin E and some doses of saffron. A significant reduction was observed in platelets, RBC, hemoglobin and hematocrit indices in the DZN group. Saffron and vitamin E prevented this reduction. Vitamin E and saffron did not reduce the effect of DZN on RBC cholinesterase activity. The extract and vitamin E could not prevent DZN genotoxicity in the micronucleus assay. Other biochemical parameters and pathological evaluation did not show any abnormality in tissues of all groups. Conclusion: This study shows that vitamin E and saffron reduce DZN induced hematological and biochemical toxicity. However, they do not prevent the genotoxicity induced by DZN.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.179-184
• /
• 2007

This study introduces the characteristics and some applications of repetitive polypeptides, especially to the biomaterial, tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery system, and DNA separation systems. Since some fibrous proteins, which consist of repeating peptide monomers, have been reported that their physical properties are changed dramatically by means of temperature alteration or pH shifting. For that reason, fibrous protein-mimetic polypeptides, which are produced by the recombinant technology, can be applied to the diverse biological fields. Repetitive polypeptides can also be used in the bioseparation area such as DNA sequencing, because they make DNA separation possible in free-solution electrophoresis by conjugating DNA fragments to them. Moreover, artificial synthesis of repetitive polypeptides helps to demonstrate the correlations between mechanical properties and structures of natural protein polymer, which have been proven that repetitive domains are affected by the sequence of the repeating domains and the number of repeating subunits. Repetitive polypeptides can be biologically synthesized using some special cloning methods, which are represented here. Recursive directional ligation (RDL) and controlled cloning method (CCM) have been proposed as excellent cloning methods in that we can control the number of repetition in the multimerization of polypeptides and the components of repetitive polypeptides by either method.