• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5605-5611
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• 2012

Background: In the last two decades, pioneering research on anti-tumour activity of saffron has shed light on the role of crocetin, picrocrocin and safranal, as broad spectrum anti-neoplastic agents. However, the exact mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. Identification and characterization of the targets of bioactive constituents will play an imperative role in demystifying the complex anti-neoplastic machinery. Methods: In the quest of potential target identification, a dual virtual screening approach utilizing two inverse screening systems, one predicated on idTarget and the other on PharmMapper was here employed. A set of target proteins associated with multiple forms of cancer and ranked by Fit Score and Binding energy were obtained from the two independent inverse screening platforms. The validity of the results was checked by meticulously analyzing the post-docking binding pose of the picrocrocin with Hsp90 alpha in AutoDock. Results: The docking pose reveals that electrostatic and hydrogen bonds play the key role in inter-molecular interactions in ligand binding. Picrocrocin binds to the Hsp90 alpha with a definite orientation appropriate for nucleophilic attacks by several electrical residues inside the Hsp90-alpha ATPase catalytic site. Conclusion: This study reveals functional information about the anti-tumor mechanism of saffron bioactive constituents. Also, a tractable set of anti-neoplastic targets for saffron has been generated in this study which can be further authenticated by in vivo and in vitro experiments.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.437-445
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• 2016

This paper discussed the effect of ammonia concentration adsorbed on fly ash for the ammonia emission as AAFA (Ammonia Adsorbed Fly Ash) produced from coal fired plants due to operation of NOx reduction technologies was landfilled with distilled or sea water at closed and open systems, respectively. Ammonia bisulfate and sulfates adsorbed on fly ash is highly water soluble. The pH of ammonium bisulfate and sulfate solution had significant effect on ammonia odor emission. The effect of temperature on ammonia odor emission from mixture was less than pH, the rate of ammonia emission increased with increased temperature when the pH conditions were kept at constant. Since AAFA increases the pH of solution substantially, $NH_3$ in the ash can release the ammonia order unless it is present at low concentration. $NH_4{^+}$ ion is unstable in fly ash and water mixtures of high pH at open system, which is changed to nitrite or nitrate and then released as ammonia gas. The proper conditions for < 20 ppm of ammonia concentration released from the AAFAs landfilled in ash pond were explored using an open system with sea water. It was therefore proposed that optimal operation to collect AAFA of less than 168 ppm ammonia at the electrostatic precipitator were controlled to ammonia slip with less than 5 ppm at SCR/SNCR installations, and, ammonia odor released from mixture of fly ash of 168 ppm ammonia with sea water under open system has about 20 ppm.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.51.2-51.2
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• 2015

Understanding interfacial phenomena has been one of the main research issues not only in semiconductors but only in life sciences. I have been trying to meet the atomic scale surface and interface analysis challenges from semiconductor industries and furthermore to extend the application scope to biomedical areas. Optical imaing has been most widely and successfully used for biomedical imaging but complementary ion beam imaging techniques based on mass spectrometry and ion scattering can provide more detailed molecular specific and nanoscale information In this presentation, I will review the 27 years history of medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) development at KRISS and DGIST for nanoanalysis. A electrostatic MEIS system constructed at KRISS after the FOM, Netherland design had been successfully applied for the gate oxide analysis and quantitative surface analysis. Recenlty, we developed time-of-flight (TOF) MEIS system, for the first time in the world. With TOF-MEIS, we reported quantitative compositional profiling with single atomic layer resolution for 0.5~3 nm CdSe/ZnS conjugated QDs and ultra shallow junctions and FINFET's of As implanted Si. With this new TOF-MEIS nano analysis technique, details of nano-structured materials could be measured quantitatively. Progresses in TOF-MEIS analysis in various nano & bio technology will be discussed. For last 10 years, I have been trying to develop multimodal nanobio imaging techniques for cardiovascular and brain tissues. Firstly, in atherosclerotic plaque imaging, using, coherent anti-stokes raman scattering (CARS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) multimodal analysis showed that increased cholesterol palmitate may contribute to the formation of a necrotic core by increasing cell death. Secondly, surface plasmon resonance imaging ellipsometry (SPRIE) was developed for cell biointerface imaging of cell adhesion, migration, and infiltration dynamics for HUVEC, CASMC, and T cells. Thirdly, we developed an ambient mass spectrometric imaging system for live cells and tissues. Preliminary results on mouse brain hippocampus and hypotahlamus will be presented. In conclusions, multimodal optical and mass spectrometric imaging privides overall structural and morphological information with complementary molecular specific information, which can be a useful methodology for biomedical studies. Future challenges in optical and mass spectrometric imaging for new biomedical applications will be discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.440-446
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• 2006

ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by laser ablation of the ZnO powder dispersed in deionized water and surfactant solutions, and characterized using UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer and Transmission electron microscopy(TEM). ZnO nanoparticles produced show the pure ZnO crystal state without mixed state with Zn(OH)2 or Zn, and have the band gap energy of 3.35 eV, which is comparable to that of bulk ZnO. While ZnO nanoparticles prepared in SDS solution have the average diameter of 28nm with near spherical shape, those prepared in CTAB solution have the average size of 40 nm with mainly rod-like shape. ZnO colloidal solution of CTAB is more stable than that of SDS. These difference according to surfactants can be explained by difference of electrostatic interaction between surface charge of ZnO and surfactant molecules and by solvation effect in solution.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1261-1271
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• 2020

Cytochrome c_L (Cytc_L) is an essential protein in the process of methanol oxidation in methylotrophs. It receives an electron from the pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) cofactor of methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) to produce formaldehyde. The direct electron transfer mechanism between Cytc_L and MDH remains unknown due to the lack of structural information. To help gain a better understanding of the mechanism, we determined the first crystal structure of heme c containing Cytc_L from the aquatic methylotrophic bacterium Methylophaga aminisulfidivorans MP^T at 2.13 Å resolution. The crystal structure of Ma-Cytc_L revealed its unique features compared to those of the terrestrial homologues. Apart from Fe in heme, three additional metal ion binding sites for Na⁺, Ca⁺, and Fe²⁺ were found, wherein the ions mostly formed coordination bonds with the amino acid residues on the loop (G93-Y111) that interacts with heme. Therefore, these ions seemed to enhance the stability of heme insertion by increasing the loop's steadiness. The basic N-terminal end, together with helix α4 and loop (G126 to Y136), contributed positive charge to the region. In contrast, the acidic C-terminal end provided a negatively charged surface, yielding several electrostatic contact points with partner proteins for electron transfer. These exceptional features of Ma-Cytc_L, along with the structural information of MDH, led us to hypothesize the need for an adapter protein bridging MDH to Cytc_L within appropriate proximity for electron transfer. With this knowledge in mind, the methanol oxidation complex reconstitution in vitro could be utilized to produce metabolic intermediates at the industry level.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.538-543
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• 2014

It is investigated that that the physical properties of Glutathione layer formed on gold surfaces may make an effect on the distribution of either gold particle adsorbed to the $ZrO_2$ surface or vice versa with the adjustment of the electrostatic interactions. For the investigation, the atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to measure the surface forces between the surfaces as a function of the salt concentration and pH value. The forces were quantitatively analyzed with the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory to estimate the surface potential and charge density of the surfaces for each condition of salt concentration and pH value. The estimated-value dependence on the salt concentration was described with the law of mass action, and the pH dependence was explained with the ionizable groups on the surface. The salt concentration dependence of the surface properties, found from the measurement at pH 4 and 8, was consistent with the prediction from the law. It was found that the Glutathione layer had higher values for the surface charge densities and potentials than the zirconium dioxide surfaces at pH 4 and 8, which may be attributed to the ionized-functional-groups of the Glutathione layer.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.1678-1683
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• 2003

DBD(Dielectric Barrier Discharge) plasma in air is well established for the production of large quantities of ozone and is more recently being applied to aftertreatment processes for HAPs(Hazardous Air Pollutants). Although DBD high electron density and energy, its potential use as nano and sub-micron sized particle charging are not well known. Aim of this work is to determine design and operating parameters of a two-stage ESP with DBD. DBD and ESP are used as particle charger and precipitator, respectively. We measured particle precipitation efficiency of two-stage ESP and estimated ozone decomposition of both pelletized $MnO_2$ catalyst and pelletized activated carbon. To examine the particle precipitation efficiency, nano and sub-micron sized particles were generated by a tube furnace and an atomizer. AC voltage of $7{\sim}10$ kV(rms) and 60 Hz is used as DBD plasma source. DC -8 kV is applied to the ESP for particle precipitation. The overall particle collection efficiency for the two-stage ESP with DBD is over 85 % under 0.64 m/s face velocity. Ozone decomposition efficiency with pelletized $MnO_2$ catalyst or pelletized activated carbon packed bed is over 90 % when the face velocity is under 0.4 m/s in dry air.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.802-809
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• 2000

Counterion-specific helix formation and ion-selective transport of alkali metal chlorides (LiCl, NaCl, KCl, CsCl) were investigated for a poly(L-glutamic acid)(PLGA)/poly (vinyl alcohol)(PVA) blend membrane immersed in aqueous ethanol. The counterion specificity for helix formation of PLG alkali metal salts in the membrane was Li>Na>K>Cs. This specificity is ascribed to a contact ion-pair formation between the PLG carboxyl anion and the bound counterion, which depends on the energy balance between the electrostatic interaction and the desolvation. In aqueous ethanol, an appreciable ion-selectivity was observed for the permeability coefficient, i.e. Li$^{+}{\cdot}$Cl$^{-}$) formation between counterion and coion, and the latter to a specific interaction of diffusing counterions with polymer charges.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.166-171
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• 2017

Removal of phosphate from environmental water has become more important to prevent eutrophication. In the present study, sorption behavior of phosphate onto magnesite was investigated under different conditions. The optimum pH of phosphate adsorption was determined to be 6.0. The adsorption capacity was found to decrease with increasing temperature, which indicates that a low temperature was beneficial for phosphate adsorption. The sorption capacity for phosphate was found to be 10.2 mg/g at an initial concentration of 100 mg/L and a dose of 2 g/L. The first order kinetic equation and Freundlich isotherm model fit the data well. Phosphate adsorption on magnesite was explained by electrostatic attraction and weak physical interactions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.183-183
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• 2000

Aigrain에 의해 Helicon이라는 이름이 명명된 이후, helicon은 저온의 금속과 같은 높은 전도도(conductivity)를 갖는 매질이나 강한 자기장이 걸려있는 plasma를 전파해 나가는 저주파 전자기장을 지칭해왔다. 이온화된 개스에서 이러한 전자기장은 전자 공명 주파수(electron cyclotron frequency)와 이온 공명 주파수(ion cyclotron frequency) 사이의 주파수로 전파하며 전리층 (ionosphere)을 통과하며 발생하는 가청 주파수 영역대의 음조가 강하하는 현상에 의해 low-frequency whistler라고도 불린다. Helicon wave plasma는 Boswell에 의해 처음 발생된 후, 높은 이온화율(~100%)로 인해 많은 연구가 이루어져 왔다. 1985년에 Chen은 helicon plasma의 높은 이온화율을 설명하기 위해 Landaudamping을 제시하였다. 이러한 설명은 1997년에 Shamrai에 의해 TG mode가 도입되기 전까지 직접적인 실험결과 없이 helicon plasma 발생의 mechanism으로 받아들여졌다. shamrai의 이론에 의하면 정전기파(electrostatic wave)는 plasma의 표면(surface)에서 강하게 감쇄되어 energy를 전달하게 된다. Cho는 radial density 분포가 외각보다 중심이 높을 경우 TG wave의 power 전달이 중심에서 일어날 수 있음을 계산하였다. Helicon plasma의 특성은 높은 이온화율에 의한 높은 밀도($\geq$1012cm3), 1-2 kW의 rf power에서 상대적으로 낮은 전자 온도( 4eV), $\omega$ci $\omega$LH<$\omega$ $\omega$ce $\omega$pe 영역대의 주파수, 자기장 50-1200 Gauss, 압력 1-10 mTorr로 특정지을 수 있다. 이러한 외부분수들의 조건에 k라 helicon plasma는 여러 종류의 mode로 존재한다. Degeling은 이러한 mode의 변화를 capacitive mode, inductive mode, 그리고 helicon mode(wave mode)의 세가지 부분으로 구분하였다. Helicon plasma가 갖는 높은 이온화율은 여러 가지 응용으로의 가능성을 가지고 있다. 그 예로 plasma processing, plasma wave에 의한 입자 가속, 그리고 가스 레이저 활성 매질 발생 등이 있다. 특히 plasma processing의 경우 helicon plasma는 높은 밀도, 비교적 낮은 자기장, remote operation 등이 가능하다는 점에서 현재 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. 상업용으로도 PMT와 Lucas Signatone Corp.에 서 helicon source가 제작되었다. 또한 높은 해리율을 이용하여 저유전 물질인 SiOF의 증착에서 적용되고 있다. 이 외에도 다수의 연구결과들이 발표되었다.