• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.523-528
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• 2005

Diblock copolymers with different poly($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (PCL) block lengths were synthesized by ringopening polymerization of $\varepsilon$-caprolactone in the presence of monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG-OH, MW 2000) as initiator. The self-aggregation behaviors of the diblock copolymer nanoparticle, prepared by the diafiltration method, were investigated by using $^1H$ NMR, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and fluorescence spectroscopy. The PEG-PCL block copolymers formed the nano-sized self-aggregate in an aqueous environment by intrsa- and/or intermolecular association between hydrophobic PCL chains. The critical aggregation concentrations (cac) of the block copolymer self-aggregate became lower with increasing hydrophobic PCL block length. On the other hand, reverse trends of mean hydrodynamic diameters were measured by DLS owing to the increasing bulkiness of the hydrophobic chains and hydrophobic interaction between the PCL microdomains. The hydrodynamic diameters of the block copolymer nanoparticles, measured by DLS, were in the range of 65-270 nm. Furthermore, the size of the nanoparticles was scarcely affected by the concentration of the block copolymers in the range of 0.125-5 mg/mL owing to the negligible interparticular aggregation between the self-aggregated nanoparticles. Considered with the fairly low cac and nanoparticle stability, the PEG-PCL nanoparticles can be considered a potential candidate for biomedical applications such as drug carrier or imaging agent.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.3615-3620
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• 2013

Two novel copper(II) bromide complexes with pyridine containing Schiff base ligands, $Cu(pmed)Br_2$ and $Cu(pmed)Br_2$ where pmed = N'-((pyridin-2-yl)methylene)ethane-1,2-diamine (pmed) and dpmed = N,N-diethyl-N'-((pyridin-2-yl)methylene)ethane-1,2-diamine (dpmed) were synthesized and characterized using X-ray single crystal structure analysis, optical and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Crystal structural analysis of $Cu(pmed)Br_2$ showed that the copper(II) ion has a distorted square-pyramidal geometry with the trigonality index of ${\tau}=0.35$ and two intermolecular hydrogen bonds, which result in the formation of two dimensional networks in the ab plane. On the other hand, $Cu(pmed)Br_2$ displayed a near square-pyramidal geometry with the value of ${\tau}=0.06$. In both compounds, the NNN Schiff base and one Br atom occupy the basal plane, whereas the fifth apical position is occupied by the other Br atom at a greater Cu-Br apical distance. The reported complexes show $g_{\mid}$ > $g_{\perp}$ > 2.0023 with a $d_{x2-y2}$ ground state and a penta-coordinated square pyramidal geometry. Variable temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements showed that the developed copper(II) complexes follow the Curie-Weiss law, that is there are no magnetic interactions between the copper(II) ions since the Cu--Cu distance is too far for magnetic contact.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.156-163
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• 2003

Background: $\beta$-1,3-glucans are well known to enhance the immune reactions, resulting in antitumor, antibacterial, antiviral, anticoagulatory and wound healing activities. $\beta$-1, 3-glucans have various activities depending on molecular weight, degree of branching, conformation, water-solubility and intermolecular association. However, the $\beta$-1,3-glucan linked backbone structure is essential and $\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl units are required for immuno-potentiating activities. Result: In this study, we tested the immunophamacological activities of soluble $\beta$-1,3-glucans and confirmed the following activities: (1) $IFN-{\gamma}$ production in PBMCs in the presence or the absence of PHA, LPS, or IL-18; (2) induction of various cytokines in the spleen and thymus; (3) adjuvant effect on the antibody production; (4) nitrogen oxide synthesis in macrophages; (5) the cytotoxic and antitumor effects on cell lines and ICR mice. Conclusion: These results strongly suggested that $\beta$-1,3-glucans possessed various immuno-pharmacological activities.

• Composites Research
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.8-15
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• 2002

In this work, the effect of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate)(PBS) in difunctional epoxy(21:P) resin was investigated in terms of rheological properties, cure kinetics, thermal stabilities, and mechanical interfacial properties. Rheological properties of the blend system were measured under isothermal condition using a rheometer. Cross-linking activation energies($\textrm{E}_c$) were determined from the Arrhenius equation based on gel time and curing temperature. The $\textrm{E}_c$ was increased in the presence of 10 wt% PBS as compared with neat 2EP. From the DSC results of the blends, the cure activation energies($\textrm{E}_a$) showed a similar behavior with $\textrm{E}_c$ due to the increased intermolecular interaction between 2EP and PBS. The decomposed activation energies($\textrm{E}_t$) for the thermal stability derived from the integral method of Horowitz-Metzger equation, were also increased in 10 wt% PBS. In addition, 20 wt% PBS showed the highest critical stress intensity factor($\textrm{E}_{IC}$). which was explained by increasing the fracture toughness of the 2EP/PBS blend systems.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.99-99
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• 2001

The acid-labile subunit (ALS) associates with insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I or -II and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) to form a 150-kD complex in the circulation. This complex is thought to regulate the serum IGFs by restricting them in the vascular system and promotes their endocrine actions. Little is known about how ALS binds to IGFBP3, which connects the IGFs to ALS. Xenopus oocyte was utilized to study the function of ALS in assembling IGFs into the ternary complexes. Xenopus oocyte was shown to correctly translate in vitro transcribed mRNAs of ALS and IGFBP3. IGFBP3 and ALS mRNAs were injected in mixture and their products were immunoprecipitated by antisera against ALS and IGFBP3. Contrary to the traditional reports that ALS interacts only with IGF-bound IGFBP3, this study shows that ALS is capable of forming a binary complex with IGFBP3 in the absence of IGF. When cross-linked by disuccinimidyl substrate, band representing ALS-IGFBP3 complex was evident on the PAGE. IGFBP3 movement was monitored according to the distribution between the hemispheres. Following a localized translation in the vegetal hemisphere, IGFBP3 was shown to remain in the vegetal half in the presence of ALS. Different from wild type IGFBP3, however, mutant IGFBP3 freely diffused into the animal half despite the presence of ALS. Taken together, this study suggests that ALS may play an important role in sequestering IGFBP3 polypeptides via the intermolecular aggregation. Studies using this heterologous model will lead to a better understanding of the IGFBP3 and ALS assembling into the ternary structure and circulating IGF system.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4347-4352
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• 2013

Aim: To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying triggering of apoptosis by hesperetin using in silico and in vitro methods. Methods: The mechanism of binding of hesperetin with NF-${\kappa}B$ and other apoptotic proteins like BAX, BAD, $BCL_2$ and $BCL_{XL}$ was analysed in silico using Schrodinger suite 2009. In vitro studies were also carried out to evaluate the potency of hesperetin in inducing apoptosis using the human prostate cancer PC-3 cell line. Results: Hesperetin was found to exhibit high-affinity binding resulting from greater intermolecular forces between the ligand and its receptor NF-${\kappa}B$ (-7.48 Glide score). In vitro analysis using MTT assay confirmed that hesperetin reduced cell proliferation ($IC_{50}$ values of 90 and $40{\mu}M$ at 24 and 48h respectively) in PC-3 cells. Hesperetin also downregulated expression of the anti-apoptotic gene $BCL_{XL}$ at both mRNA and protein levels and increased the expression of pro-apoptotic genes like BAD at mRNA level and BAX at mRNA as well as protein levels. Conclusion: The results suggest that hesperetin can induce apoptosis by inhibiting NF-${\kappa}B$.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3495-3501
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• 2014

A novel crystal, the mono-protonated metformin acetate (1), was obtained and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. It was found that one of the imino group in the metformin cation was protonated along with the proton transfer from the secondary amino group to the other imino group. Its crystal structure was then compared with the previously reported diprotonated metformin oxalate (2). The difference between them is that the mono-protonated metformin cations can be linked by hydrogen bonding to form dimers while the diprotonated metformin cations cannot. Both of them are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds to assemble a 3-D supermolecular structure. The four potential tautomer of the mono-protonated metformin cation (tautomers 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d) were optimized and their single point energies were calculated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) B3LYP method based on the Polarized Continuum Model (PCM) in water, which shows that the most likely existed tautomer in human cells is the same in the crystal structure. Based on the optimized structure, their Wiberg bond orders, Natural Population Analysis (NPA) atomic charges, molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) maps were calculated to analyze their electronic structures, which were then compared with the corresponding values of the diprotonated metformin cation (cation 2) and the neutral metformin (compound 3). Finally, the possible tautomeric mechanism of the mono-protonated metformin cation was discussed based on the observed phenomena.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3590-3594
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• 2014

Blue phosphorescent $(dfpypy)_2Ir(mppy)$, where dfpypy = 2',6'-difluoro-2,3'-bipyridine and mppy = 5-methyl-2-phenylpyridine, has been synthesized by newly developed effective method and its solid state structure and photoluminescent properties are investigated. The glass-transition and decomposition temperature of the compound appear at $160^{\circ}C$ and $360^{\circ}C$, respectively. In a crystal packing structure, there are two kinds of intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding ($C-H{\cdots}F$) and edge-to-face $C-H{\cdots}{\pi}(py)$ interaction. This compound emits bright blue phosphorescence with ${\lambda}_{max}=472nm$ and quantum efficiencies of 0.23 and 0.32 in fluid and the solid state. The emission band of the compound is red-shifted by 40 nm relative to homoleptic congener, $Ir(dfpypy)_3$. The ancillary ligand in $(dfpypy)_2Ir(mppy)$ has been found to significantly destabilize HOMO energy, compared to $Ir(dfpypy)_3$, $(dfpypy)_2Ir(acac)$ and $(dfpypy)_2Ir(dpm)$, without significantly changing LUMO energy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 1999.07a
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• pp.203-203
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• 1999

Mass spectrometry technique provides the molecular weight distribution, data on the sequence of repeat units, polymer additives, and impurities, and structural information. time-of-Flight secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) has been used for structural characterization of various polymers1-2. the masses of repeat units and terminal groups and molecular weight distributions of polymers have been determined from their TOF-SIMS spectra. TOF-SMIS provides good sensitivity and structural specificity for high mass ions so that intact oligomers and large polymer fragments are observed. In this study, we investigated the detailed structural information on the oligomers and fragment ions of branched poly(1,3-butylene adipate) and branched poly[di(ethylene glycol) adipate] and the transesterification products of branched polyesters with trifluoroacetic acid or chloro difluoroacetic acid. Branched polyesters were chosen because they are important polymers but difficult to characterize; thus branched polyesters provide challanging test for TOF-SIMS. TOF-SIMS spectra of polyesters are obtained from thin polymer films cast from solution on a silver substrate. A good solvent for a polumer solution disrupts intermolecular forces between polymer chains but leaves the polumer intact. Transesterification reactions are potentially useful for characterization of high molecular weight and intractable polyesters. Transesterification products of polyesters and trifluoroacetic acid or an integral number of polyester repeat units and an additional diol. The progress of such reactions was monitored using peak intensities of reactants and products in TOF-SIMS spectra. The increasing abundance of tagged ions indicates that the reaction has progressed with time.

• Composites Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.13-18
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• 2010

One of the biggest challenges in the nano-field is how to effectively disperse nano-scale particles, especially CNTs, which are strongly agglomerated by intermolecular van der Waals forces. This study suggests a new method, discharge flocking, in order to disperse nano-scale particles effectively, which combines corona discharge phenomenon and a traditional electrostatic flocking process. In order to evaluate the discharge flocking process, composite specimens were fabricated by the process and RFI(resin film infusion) process, and then the mechanical and electrical properties of the specimens were measured and compared. Moreover, the evaluation of gas discharge effect on the CNTs and epoxy was performed to compare the mechanical and electrical properties of the composite specimens including the plasma treated CNTs. The experimental results showed that the electrical and mechanical properties of the specimens fabricated by the discharge flocking process were similar to those of the RFI process. In addition, plasma treated CNTs were not affected by gas discharge during the discharge flocking process.