• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.633-647
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• 2014

Biopolymers, polymers produced by living organisms, are used in various fields (e.g., medical, food, cosmetic, medicine) due to their beneficial properties. Recently, biopolymers have been used for control of soil erosion, stabilization of aggregate, and to enhance drilling. However, the inter-particle behavior of such polymers on soil behavior are poorly understood. In this study, an artificial biopolymer (${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan) was used as an engineered soil additive for Korean residual soil (i.e., hwangtoh). The geotechnical behavior of the Korean residual soil, after treatment with ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan, were measured through a series of laboratory approaches and then analyzed. As the biopolymer content in soil increased, so did its compactibility, Atterberg limits, plasticity index, swelling index, and shear modulus. However, the treatment had no effect on the compressional stiffness of the residual soil, and the polymer induced bio-clogging of the soil's pore spaces while resulting in a decrease in hydraulic conductivity.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.167-172
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• 1997

Novel measurement method has been performed for the noninvasive study of the swelling effect detected in hydrophilic polymers using Magnetic Resonance Microscopy. iN NMR images were acquired to measure geometric changes due to the swelling effect occurred in the polymer specimens. In addition to the geometric changes, the water ingress process was visualized noninvgsively. The measurement method performed .in the present study utilized some of NMR's valuable properties, both noninvasiveness and parameter selectivity. It is believed that the method used in the present study may be applicable to the study of biopolymers in which noninvasiveness is particularly important.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.16-16
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• 1996

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.5-13
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• 2023

Cement-based reinforcement materials, which are representative slope reinforcement materials, can cause contamination of ground and groundwater when ground injection or surface application is applied. Accordingly, slope reinforcement materials using eco-friendly biopolymers are attracting attention as a means of replacing existing materials, but the biopolymers currently used are easily dissolved when exposed to groundwater or rainfall environments, reducing strength. In order to solve this problem, the cross-linking of protein between sodium casein and Transglutaminase (TGase, C₂₀H₁₆N₄O₂S₂) was used to increase the water resistance of biopolymers, and a rainfall slope test was conducted to evaluate their usability and applicability as a slope reinforcing material. In the case of reinforcement with only sodium casein, the precipitation dissolved sodium casein, and the slope was completely destroyed in 1 hour. On the other hand, it was observed that the slope reinforced by adding a small amount of TGase (0.5%) do not collapse even after 80 hours of rainfall duration due to increased water resistance. Strength and water resistance increases due to the addition of a small amount of TGase, and its applicability as an eco-friendly reinforcement is confirmed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.85-85
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• 2005

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.36-39
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• 2009

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.65-73
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• 2007

Chitosan, fibroin, and hydroxyapatite are natural biopolymers and bioceramics that are biocompatible, biodegradable, and resorb able for biomedical applications. The highly porous, chitosan-based, bioceramic hybrid composite, chitosanlfibroin-hydroxyapatite composite, was prepared by a novel method using thermally induced phase separation. The composite had a porosity of more than 94% and exhibited two continuous and different morphologies: an irregularly isotropic pore structure on the surface and a regularly anisotropic multilayered structure in the interior. In addition, the composite was composed of an interconnected open pore structure with a pore size below a few hundred microns. The chemical composition, pore morphology, microstructure, fluid absorptivity, protein permeability, and mechanical strength were investigated according to the composition rate of bioceramics to biopolymers for use in tissue engineering. The incorporation of hydroxyapatite improved the fluid absorptivity, protein permeability, and tenacity of the composite while maintaining high porosity and a suitable microstructure.

• Mycobiology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 2008

Hypoglycemic effects of exo-biopolymers (EBP) produced by submerged mycelial cultures of Coriolus versicolor, Cordyceps sinensis, Paecilomyces japonica, Armillariella mellea, and Fomes fomentarius were investigated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The rats from each experimental group were orally administered with EBPs (100 mg/kg BW) daily for 2 weeks. Though the hypoglycemic effect was achieved in all the cases, however, C. versicolor EBP proved as the most potent one. The administration of the C. versicolor EBP substantially reduced (29.9%) the plasma glucose level as compared to the saline administered group (control). It also reduced the plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels by 9.22, 23.83, 16.93, and 27.31%, respectively. The sugar and amino acid compositions of this EBP were also analyzed in detail.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 2008

Recent advancements in the electrospinning method enable the production of ultrafine solid and continuous fibers with diameters ranging from a few nanometers to a few hundred nanometers with controlled surface and morphological features. A wide range of biopolymers can be electrospun into mats with a specific fiber arrangement and structural integrity. These features of nanofiber mats are morphologically similar to the extracellular matrix of natural tissues, which are characterized by a wide pore diameter distribution, a high porosity, effective mechanical properties, and specific biochemical properties. This has resulted in various kinds of applications for polymer nanofibers in the field of biomedicine and biotechnology. The current emphasis of research is on exploiting these properties and focusing on determining the appropriate conditions for electrospinning various biopolymers for biomedical applications, including scaffolds used in tissue engineering, wound dressing, drug delivery, artificial organs, and vascular grafts, and for protective shields in specialty fabrics. This paper reviews the research on biomedical applications of electrospun nanofibers.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.390-396
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• 2018

This study investigated the transformation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in a free-water surface flow constructed wetland. Pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) coupled with preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC) was used to analyze the compositions of biopolymers (polysaccharides, amino sugars, proteins, polyhydroxy aromatics, lipids and lignin) in DOM according to the molecular size at three sampling points of the water flow: inflow, midflow, and outflow. The prep-HPLC results verified the decomposition of DOM through the decrease in the number of peaks from three to one in the chromatograms of the sampling points. The Py-GC/MS results for the degradable peaks indicated that biopolymers relating to polysaccharides and proteins gradually biodegraded with the water flow. On the other hand, the recalcitrant organic fraction (the remaining peak) in the outflow showed a relatively high concentration of aromatic compounds. Therefore, the ecological processes in the constructed wetland caused DOM to become more aromatic and homogeneous. This indicated that the constructed wetland can be an effective buffer area for releasing biochemically stable DOM, which has less influence on biological water quality indicators, e.g., biochemical oxygen demand, into an aquatic ecosystem.