• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.539-546
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• 2013

Amino group-terminated poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm-$NH_2$) was synthesized via a radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) using 2-aminoethanethiol hydrochloride (AESH) as a chain transfer agent. The molecular weight of the PNIPAAm-$NH_2$ was controlled by changing the concentration of AESH. The LCST of the aqueous solution of PNIPAAm-$NH_2$ increased slightly with increasing the AESH concentration. Alginate-g-PNIPAAm copolymer was synthesized by grafting PNIPAAm-$NH_2$ onto sodium alginate using N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide. The formation of the grafted copolymers was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy, solubility in water, and SEM-EDS. Alginate-g-PNIPAAm also exhibited swelling-deswelling behavior. However, it showed a LCST at a slightly increased temperature compared to PNIPAAm. The swelling ratio of the alginate-g-PNIPAAm hydrogel increased with the increase of the grafted PNIPAAm content.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.107-114
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• 2004

External lyogels containing prostaglandin $E_1$ ethyl ester $(PGE_1-EE)$, a prodrug of prostaglandin $E_1\;(PGE_1)$ as a therapeutic agent for erectile dysfunction, were formulated to overcome the aqueous instability and enhance the percutaneous absorption. Lyogels of $PGE_1-EE$ were prepared with ethanol (EtOH)/proplyene glycol (PG) cosolvent system as a vehicle, cineol as an enhancer, and hydroxypropylcellusose as a gelling agent. In vitro percutaneous absorption studies were performed to determine the rate of $PGE_1$ absorption through rat or hairless mouse skin. The permeability of $PGE_1-EE$ lyogel with enhancer was 16-fold greater than that of lyogel without enhancer. Cosolvent produced 9-fold increase in percutaneous absorption. Pharmacodynamic effects of lyogels were evaluated in mature male cats in terms of intracavernosal pressure (ICP). Lyogels containing 0.1 % of $PGE_1-EE$ showed higher ICP compared to intraurethral preparation of $PGE_1$ (1 %) and enhancer-free control lyogel. The shelf-life $(t_{10%})$ of lyogel at refrigerated condition $(4^{\circ}C)$ was calculated as 928 days, which is 4.2 times longer than that of control hydrogel. As a result, $PGE_1-EE$ was formulated successfully to a lyogel system with a selective enhancer and cosolvent system for the topical delivery of $PGE_1$.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.518-521
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• 2005

Biodegradable polymers and hydrogels have been increasingly applied in a variety of biomedical applications including current drug delivery system and tissue engineering field. ${\alpha},\;{\beta}-Poly$(N-2-hydroxyethyl-DL-aspart-amide), PHEA. is one of poly(amino acids) with hydroxyethyl pendants, which is hewn to be biodegradable and potentially biocompatible. So that, the utilization and various chemical modifications of PHEA have been attempted for useful biomedical applications. In this wort chemical gels based on PHEA were prepared by crosslinking with diisocyanate compound in DMF in the presence of catalyst. Here, the PHEA was prepared from polysuccinimde, the thermal polycondensation product of aspartic acid, via ring-opening reaction with ethanolamine. The preparation of gels and their swelling behavior, depending on the different medium and pH, were investigated. Also the morphology by SEM and simple hydrolytic degradation were observed.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.223-227
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• 2011

Stimuli-responsive polymers have been investigated as the materials playing the critical roles in various applications. Thermoresponsive graft copolymers, poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)-g-hyaluronic acid (PNIPAAm-g-HA) and elastin-like peptide-g-hyaluronic acid (ELP-g-HA), were synthesized by coupling carboxylic polymers (PNIPAAm-COOH or ELP) to biocompatible HA through amide linkages. Thermoresponsive behavior was observed in both the copolymers, and the results of turbidity measurement were consistent with the results of rheological examination. Among the two copolymers, the ELP graft copolymer shows less cooperative LCST transition than the PNIPAAm case. As the content of graft chains of PNIPAAm and ELP increases, viscosity increases, and the increase was larger in PNIPAAm case at a graft content. These results shows us that the introduction of grafts provides thermosensitivity to biocompatible HA, whose characteristics can be engineered.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.717-721
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• 2013

Biomaterials like silk fibroin (SF) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) have received increasing attention in biomedical applications because of their attractive properties such as hydrophobicity and biocompatibility. In this study, efficient systems consisting of interpenetrating SF/PVA hydrogels were prepared as potential candidate for wound dressing applications. A simple approach consisting of sonication and a freezing-thawing technique was adopted to fabricate the hydrogels. Different blend ratios consisting of SF (100, 75, 50, 25 and 0%) with respect to the weight of PVA were prepared. The produced hydrogels were characterized for physico-chemical investigations using various states of techniques like; FE-SEM, TGA, FTIR and tensile strength. The addition of PVA to SF was proved to be beneficial in terms of reducing the pore size and swelling ratio of hydrogels. The mechanical property of SF had been increased by addition of PVA. These results show that SF/PVA hydrogels may serve as potential candidates for wound dressing application.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.519-524
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was conducted to establish the most effective method of cell therapy by comparing and analyzing the level of wound healing after various cell delivery methods. Methods: Human mesenchymal stem cells were administered using 5 different methods on full thickness skin defects which were deliberately created on the back of 4 - week old mice using a 8 mm punch. Different modes of administration, cell suspension, local injection, collagen GAG matrix seeding, fibrin, and hydrogel mix methods were used. In each experiment group, $4{\times}105$ mesenchymal stem cells were administered according to 5 deferent methods, and were not for the corresponding control group. Results: The wound healing rate was fastest in the local injection group. The wound healing rate was relatively slow in the collagen matrix group, however, the number of blood vessels or VEGF increased most in this group. Conclusion: For rapid wound healing through wound contraction, it is advantageous to administer MSC by the local injection method. For the healing process of a wide area, such as a burn, the seeding of cells to collagen matrix is thought to be effective.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.345-352
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• 2011

The rheological and diffusion properties of blends of agar/guar gum, agar/Phytagel and Phytagel/guar gum were analysed and compared to those properties of agar or Phytagel applied alone at two different gelling concentrations. Moreover, their effects on the shoot multiplication of the apple scion Galaxy and two black locust clones (SF63, SF82) were studied, and their cost benefits over agar were calculated. Elastic hydrogel formation was demonstrated for each blend by rheological measurements, but the gel strength depended on the types and concentrations of the applied gelling agents and blends. Guar gum was able to speed the diffusion in the different blends, and diffusion was independent of gel strength. The rate of shoot multiplication increased (to 8.9 shoots per explant) and the percent of hyperhydrated shoots decreased (to 12%) when the blend of agar/guar gum was used for the shoot multiplication of apple. Similarly, the highest multiplication rates of black locust clones (between 3.9 and 4.1) were obtained on media solidified by blends containing guar gum. The best shoot performance with the lowest percent of hyperhydrated shoots (11-12% in SF63 and 2-23% in SF82) was achieved using agar alone or the agar/guar gum blend. The shoot multiplication was improved of both species and the production cost was reduced by 42% by using the agar/guar gum blend.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.615-618
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• 1998

The zeolite crystals were synthesized by hydrogel process into the pore of activated carbon. The effect of activated carbon in the course of the crystallization of zeolite was investigated. The phenomena of impregnation of zeolite crystals into the pore of the activated carbon were also examined. The results show that in case of the addition of 5% of activated carbon to the aluminosilicate gel including the mole composition of zeolite A, zeolite A was purely synthesized without the existence of other type of zeolite. However, in case of the addition of 20% of activated carbon, zeolite X was purely synthesized. In the pore mouth and internal of activated carbon, zeolite crystals having the size under $1{\mu}m$ was observed. From the results of the pore size and particle size distributions, it was confirmed that the synthetic sample was the composite material impregnated by the zeolite crystals into the pore of activated carbon, not the simple mixture of zeolite and activated carbon.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.558-564
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• 2011

The biocompatibility and biodegradability of poly(amino acid) make them ideal candidates for many bio-related applications. Poly(aspartic acid), PASP, is one of synthetic water-soluble polymers with proteinlike structure, and has been extensively explored for the potential industrial and biomedical applications due to its biodegradable, biocompatible and pH-responsive properties. In this work, amino acid-conjugated PASPs were prepared by aminolysis reaction onto polysuccinimide (PSI) using ${\gamma}$-aminobutylic acid(GABA) and ${\beta}$-alanine methyl ester and a subsequent hydrolysis process. Their chemical gels were prepared by crosslinking reaction with ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE). The hydrogels were investigated for their basic swelling behavior, hydrolytic degradation and morphology. The crosslinked gels showed a responsive swelling behavior, which was dependent on pH and salt concentration in aqueous solution, and relatively fast hydrolytic degradation.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.153-158
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• 2012

In this research, poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc) hydrogels containing zinc oxide particle were prepared by gamma-ray irradiation. PAAc powder was completely dissolved in distilled water at room temperature. Water-insoluble zinc oxide powder were added into the PAAc solution and stirred until totally dissolved. Finally, the mixture was irradiated by gamma-ray irradiation to make crosslinking. The effects of various parameters such as zinc ions' concentration, irradiation doses were varied and investigated in detail. PAAc hydrogels containing zinc oxide particle were characterized by gel content and swelling ratio. Moreover, the antibacterial properties of this material were evaluated by paper diffusion test against the Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria.