• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.920-925
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• 2020

In India, nanotechnology has been used in therapeutic applications for several millennia. One example of a traditional nanomedicine is Rajath Bhasma (also called calcined silver ash), which is used as an antimicrobial and for the treatment of various ailments and conditions such as memory loss, eye diseases, and dehydration. In this study, we aimed to characterize the physical composition and morphology of Rajath Bhasma and its suitability for use as a non-toxic antimicrobial agent. First, Rajath Bhasma was physically characterized via i) Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to analyze the surface functional groups, ii) scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to observe the morphology and elemental composition, and iii) X-ray diffraction to determine the crystalline phases. Thereafter, functional characterization was performed through toxicity screening using zebrafish embryos and through antimicrobial activity assessment against gram-positive (Staphylococcus epidermidis) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria. Rajath Bhasma was found to harbor alkene, hydroxyl, aldehyde, and amide functional groups originating from biological components on its surface. The main component of Rajath Bhasma is silver, with particle size of 170-210 nm, and existing in the form of spherical aggregates with pure crystalline silver structures. Furthermore, Rajath Bhasma did not exert toxic effects on zebrafish embryos at concentrations below 5 ㎍/ml and exhibited effective antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The present results indicate that Rajath Bhasma is a potentially effective antimicrobial agent without toxicity when used at concentrations below 5 ㎍/ml.

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.199-202
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• 2002

The synthesis of materials with controlled composition and architectures continues to be a focus of considerable current research. Dendritic multiarm polymers such as dendrimer, hyperbranched polymer, and star polymers are three dimensional macromolecules, in which a large number of linear arms of similar molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution emanate from a central core. (omitted)

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Sericultural Science Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.55-55
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• 2003

Recently, domestic silk fibroin (SF) hydrolysates have been studied intensively by several researchers. The functional properties of domestic SF hydrolysates depended on the hydrolysis method and the molecular weight of SF. However, the functional characteristics of wild SF hydrolysates have yet to reported. (omitted)

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.108-111
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• 2003

In recent years the interest in research and development of functional dye and $\pi$-conjugated polymer contains functional moiety has been larger. there has been many research papers concerning new synthetic method and mechanism of polymer containing quinoxlaine as a funtional moiety. Because of 1,4-position nitrogen atoms, quinoxalines have electron-accepting properties$^{1.4}$ . (omitted)

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.307-316
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• 2022

Yeasts play an important role in spontaneous fermentation of traditional alcoholic beverages. Our previous study revealed that a mixed-consortia of both Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts were responsible for fermentation of khadi, a popular, non-standardized traditional beverage with an immense potential for commercialization in Botswana. Functional characterization of isolated fermenting yeasts from mixed consortia is an indispensable step towards the selection of potential starter cultures for commercialization of khadi. In this study, we report the characterization of 13 khadi isolates for the presence of brewing-relevant phenotypes such as their fermentative capacity, ability to utilize a range of carbon sources and their ability to withstand brewing-associated stresses, as a principal step towards selection of starter cultures. Khadi isolates such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomycodes ludwigii and Candida ethanolica showed good brewing credentials but Lachancea fermentati emerged as the isolate with the best brewing attributes with a potential as a starter culture. However, we were then prompted to investigate the potential of L. fermentati to influence the fruity aromatic flavor, characteristic of khadi. The aroma components of 18 khadi samples were extracted using headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and identified using a GC-MS. We detected esters as the majority of volatile compounds in khadi, typical of the aromatic signature of both khadi and L. fermentati associated fermentations. This work shows that L. fermentati has potential for commercial production of khadi.

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.87-87
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• 2003

Three kinds of acrylic polymers containing silk protein were synthesized, which are (1) blending of silk fibroin (SF) fiber and polyacrylonitrile (PAN); (2) graft-copolymer of PAN onto SFs; (3) random-copolymer synthesized by copolymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) and silk fibroin peptide (SFP) with vinyl groups, and their solubility, thermal property, and moisture absorption was investigated, respectively. These polymers have difference solubility and attributable to their structure. Their excellent thermal stabilities and better moisture absorptions were indicated.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.587-594
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• 2007

Well defined amphiphilic diblock copolymers of poly(styrene-b-vinylbenzylphosphonic acid) (PS-b-PVBPA) were prepared by controlled radical polymerization technique, two-step hydrolysis reactions using trime-thylsilyl bromide from the corresponding phosphonic ethyl ester. By indirect, backward pH titration of the block copolymer, a good titration curve of a dibasic acid was observed. The IEC values obtained from both backward pH titration and volumetric back titration were almost identical. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) of the phosphonic acid containing block copolymer showed a high thermal stability up to $400^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.29-34
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• 2004

Biosorption technology is recognized as an economically feasible alternative for the removal and/or recovery of metal ions from industrial wastewater sources. However, the structure of biosorbents is quite complex when compared with synthetic ion-exchange resins, which makes it difficult to quantify the ion-binding sites. Accordingly, this report describes a well-defined method to characterize the pK values and numbers of biomass functional groups from potentiometric titration data. When the proposed method was applied to Sargassum polycystum biomass as a model biosorbent, it was found that the biomass contained three types of functional groups. In addition, the carboxyl group (pK=$3.7{\pm}0.09$) was found to be the major binding sites ($2.57{\pm}0.06 mmol/g$) for positively-charged heavy-metal ions.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.243-248
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• 2007

A biochemical characterization of the tannases from Paecilomyces variotii (produced at Unicamp), Aspergillus niger (purchased from Industrial Kerry Bio-Science) and A. niger cnpat 001 (purchased from Embrapa Agroindustrial Tropical-Brazil) was carried out. P variotii is a new strain obtained from the screening of 500 fungi that were tested for their production of tannase. The biochemical properties of this new tannase from P variotii were determined and compared with those of two other tannase preparations. The tannase produced from P. variotii showed optimum activity at pH 6.5. The functional temperature range of the tannases was from $20-70^{\circ}C$, with optima at $70^{\circ}C$ for P. variotii and at $60^{\circ}C$ for the commercially obtained tannase, whereas A. niger cnpat 001 showed optimum activity at $40^{\circ}C$. The effects of 1 mM preparations of cations and anions, inhibitors, surfactants, and chelators on the tannase activity from P. variotii were also studied.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1647-1653
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• 2014

9,10-Bis(bromomethyl)phenanthrene reacted with fullerenes via a Diels-Alder reaction to give phenanthrene-substituted fullerene mono-adducts (PCMA) and bis-adducts (PCBA) as electron acceptors for organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs). The syntheses of the fullerene derivatives were confirmed by $^1H$ $^{13}C$ NMR spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. PCMA and PCBA showed better light absorption in the UV-visible region than $PC_{61}BM$. Their electrochemical properties were measured using cyclic voltammetry. Accordingly, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels of PCMA and PCBA were -3.66 and -3.57 eV, respectively. Photovoltaic cells were fabricated with a ITO/PEDOT:PSS/poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT):acceptor/LiF/Al configuration, where P3HT and PCBA are the electron donors and acceptors, respectively. The polymer solar cell fabricated using the P3HT:PCBA active layer showed a maximum power conversion efficiency of 0.71%.