• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.13 no.3_4
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• pp.87-94
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• 1998

The use of cisplatin is limited by severe side effects such as renal toxicity. Our platinum-base drug discovery is aimed at developing drugs capable of diminishing toxicity and improving antitumor activity. We synthesized new Pt (II) complex analogue [Pt (cis-DACH)(DPPP)]. 2NO$_3$ (PC) containing cis-1,2-diaminocyclohexane as a carrier ligand and 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino) propane as a leaving group. Furthermore, nitrate was added to improved the solubility. In this study, its structure was determined and its antitumor activity against SKOV-3 and NIH-OVCAR-3 human ovarian adenocarcinoma, and in vitro cytotoxicity was determined against primary cultured rabbit kidney proximal tubular and renal cortical cells of human kidney using colorimetric MTT assay. PC demonstrated acceptable antitumor activity against SKOV-3 and NIH-OVCAR-3 human ovarian adenocarcinoma and significant activity as compared with that of cisplatin. The toxicity of PC was found quite less than that of cisplatin using MTT and $^3$H-thymidine uptake tests in rabbit proximal tubular cells and human kidney cortical cells. PC was used for human cortical tissue in 7 weeks hitoculture by the glucose-consumption tests. We determined that the new platinum drug has lower nephrotoxicity than cisplatin. Based on these results, this novel platinum (II) complex compound (PC) represent a valuable lead in the development of a new anticancer chemotherapeutic agent capable of improving antitumor activity and low nephrotoxicity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.28-28
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• 2003

To discover new drugs more quickly and more efficiently, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology firms are increasingly turning to the genomics and the structural proteomics technologies. Structural-proteomics can provide a foundation for this through the determination and analysis for protein structure on a genomics scale. Among many structures determined by CGI, we will present with the representative examples drawn from our work on novel structures or complex structures of the disease-related proteins. The alpha subunit of Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is targeted for degradation under normoxic conditions by an ubiquitin-ligase complex that recognizes a hydroxylated proline residue in HIF, Hydroxylation is catalysed by HIF prolyl 4-hydroxylases (HIFPH) which are Fe(II) and 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) dependent oxygenases. Here, we discuss the first crystal structure of the catalytic domain of HIFPH in complexes, with the Fe(II)/2-OG at 1.8 ${\AA}$. These structures suggest that the L1 region (residues 236-253), which is also conserved in mammals, form a ‘lid’ that closes over the active site. The structural and mutagenesis analyses allow us to provide a focus for understanding cellular responses to hypoxia and a target for the therapeutic manipulation.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.239-247
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• 2018

In recent years, several therapeutic drugs have been rationally designed and synthesized based on the novel knowledge gained from investigating the actions of biologically active chemicals derived from foods, plants, and medicinal herbs. One of the major advantages of these naturalistic chemicals is their ability to interact with multiple targets in the body resulting in a combined beneficial effect. Ginseng is a perennial herb (Araliaceae family), a species within the genus Panax, and a highly valued and popular medicinal plant. Evidence for the medicinal and health benefits of Panax ginseng and its components in preventing neurodegeneration has increased significantly in the past decade. The beneficial effects of P. ginseng on neurodegenerative diseases have been attributed primarily to the antioxidative and immunomodulatory activities of its ginsenoside components. Mechanistic studies on the neuroprotective effects of ginsenosides revealed that they act not only as antioxidants but also as modulators of intracellular neuronal signaling and metabolism, cell survival/death genes, and mitochondrial function. The goal of the present paper is to provide a brief review of recent knowledge and developments concerning the beneficial effects as well as the mechanism of action of P. ginseng and its components in the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.190-198
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• 2016

Xanthine Oxidase is an enzyme, which oxidizes hypoxanthine to xanthine, and xanthine to uric acid. It is widely distributed throughout various organsincluding the liver, gut, lung, kidney, heart, brain and plasma. It is involved in gout pathogenesis. In this study, we have performed Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMSIA) on a series of 2-(indol-5-yl) thiazole derivatives as xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitors to identify the structural variations with their inhibitory activities. Ligand based CoMSIA models were generated based on atom-by-atom matching alignment. In atom-by-atom matching, the bioactive conformation of highly active molecule 11 was generated using systematic search. Compounds were aligned using the bioactive conformation and it is used for model generation. Different CoMSIA models were generated using different alignments and the best model yielded across-validated $q^2$ of 0.698 with five components and non-cross-validated correlation coefficient ($r^2$) of 0.992 with Fisher value as 236.431, and an estimated standard error of 0.068. The predictive ability of the best CoMSIA models was found to be $r{^2}_{pred}$ 0.653. The study revealed the important structural features required for the biological activity of the inhibitors and could provide useful for the designing of novel and potent drugs for the inhibition of Xanthine oxidase.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.504-510
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• 2003

The aim of this study is to prepare biodegradable microspheres without the use of surfactants or emulsifiers for a novel sustained delivery carriers of protein drugs. A poly($\varepsilon$-caprolactone)/poly(ethylene glycol)/poly($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (CEC) triblock copolymer was synthesized by the ring-opening of $\varepsilon$-caprolactone with dihydroxy poly (ethylene glycol) to prepare surfactant-free microspheres. When dichloromethane (DCM) or ethyl formate (EF) was used as a solvent, the formation of microspheres did not occur. Although the microspheres could be formed prior to lyophilization under certain conditions, the morphology of microspheres was not maintained during the filtration and lyophilization process. Surfactant-free microspheres were only formed when ethyl acetate (EA) was used as the organic solvent and showed good spherical micro-spheres although the surfaces appeared irregular. The content of the protein in the micro-sphere was lower than expected, probably because of the presence of water channels and pores. The protein release kinetics showed a burst release until 2 days and after that sustained release pattern was showed. Therefore, these observations indicated that the formation of microsphere without the use of surfactant is feasible, and, this the improved process, the protein is readily incorporated in the microsphere.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.73 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2012

Care of patients with sepsis has improved over the last decade. However, in the recent two years, there was no significant progress in the development of a new drug for critically ill patients. In January 2011, it was announced that the worldwide phase 3 randomized trial of a novel anti-Toll-like receptor-4 compound, eritoran tetrasodium, had failed to demonstrate an improvement in the mortality of patients with severe sepsis. In October 2011, Xigris (drotrecogin alfa, a recombinant activated protein C) was withdrawn from the market following the failure of its worldwide trial that had attempted to demonstrate improved outcome. These announcements were disappointing. The recent failure of 2 promising drugs to further reduce mortality suggests that new approaches are needed. A study was published showing that sepsis can be associated to a state of immunosuppression and loss of immune function in human. However, the timing, incidence, and nature of the immunosuppression remain poorly characterized, especially in humans. This emphasizes the need for a better understanding of sepsis as well as new therapeutic strategies. Many clinical experiences of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) treatment for adult acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients, which is caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus, were reported. The use of ECMO in severe respiratory failure, particularly in the treatment of adult ARDS, is occurring more commonly.

• Transactions of the Society of Information Storage Systems
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.17-21
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• 2013

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) allows non-invasive, cross-sectional optical imaging of biological tissue with high spatial resolution and acquisition speed. In principle, it is analogous to ultrasound imaging, but uses near-infrared light instead of ultrasound, measuring the time-delay of back-scattered light from within biological tissue. Compared to ultrasound imaging, it exhibits superior spatial resolution (1~10 um) and high sensitivity. Therefore, OCT has been applied to a wide range of applications such as cellular imaging, ophthalmology and cardiology. Here, we describe a novel application of OCT technology in visualizing microneedles embedded in tissue that is developed to deliver drugs into the dermis without the injection mark in the human skin. Detailed three-dimensional structural images of microneedles and biological tissues were obtained. Examining structural modification of microneedles and tissues during insertion process would enable to evaluate performance of various types of microneedles in situ.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.27
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• pp.7.1-7.7
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• 2012

Objectives: Modafinil is a waking drug prescribed to narcolepsy patients, but its usage among healthy individuals is increasing to enhance their alertness or to mitigate fatigue. This study was conducted to investigate practical use and toxic effects on neuro-immune interaction of modafinil. Methods: This study reviewed the significance of psychoactive drugs, and discussed the benefits and risks of the application of modafinil, which seems to be ideal as an anti-psychotic or anti-fatigue agent. Results: Modafinil is known to have less or no adverse effects than those found in traditional psychostimulants such as amphetamine, methylphenidate or cocaine. It can be applied as an anti-psychotic or anti-fatigue agent. However, the waking mechanism of modafinil is yet to be fully revealed. Recent studies reported that modafinil may be subject to abuse and addiction. In addition prolonged sleeplessness induces stress responses and impairs immune function. Conclusions: Modafinil can be used by anyone, who wishes to work late, stay awake, enhance their cognitive reactions, or brighten their moods. Users may already be under a great level of stress, i.e. cancer patients or soldiers in a battle field. A psychoneuroimmunological approach is thus needed to investigate the multi-functional effects of modafinil.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.470-472
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• 2017

Currently, various studies using chemotherapy, such as surgical treatment, radiation or optical therapy, and chemotherapy, are underway. In addition, expensive chemotherapeutic drugs and large-scale equipment have been developed to improve the accuracy and therapeutic effect. However many side effects caused by misuse of the kind of light source, radiation, and cancer treatment have been observed. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a novel chemotherapeutic method by developing a customized cancer cell proliferation inhibition module based on a microcontroller that is relatively inexpensive, easy to operate, and able to operate in various wavelength light sources.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.254-259
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• 2011

In electrospraying of polymer solutions, metal sample collectors are often ineffective in fully removing solvent from sprayed particles and recovering redispersable sprayed particles. Herein, a novel electro spraying system, where sprayed particles were dispersed into laminar flow of dispersant (coagulation liquid), was designed for the nano-encapsulation of protein drugs. Chitosan and polyacrylic acid were used as the encapsulation materials. Aggregation of particles could be prevented by using this new electrospraying system, and unimodal size distribution was observed at an applied voltage between 4~16 kV and a low flow rate. The effects of the applied voltage on mean particle size were not significant on the other hand.