• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.155-165
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• 2006

The present article describes the experimental and theoretical observations on the formation of holographic, polymer-dispersed, liquid crystals and electrically switchable, photonic crystals. A phase diagram of the starting mixture of nematic liquid crystal and photo-reactive triacrylate monomer was established by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and cloud point measurement. Photolithographic patterns were imprinted on the starting mixture of LC/triacrylate via multi-beam interference. A similar study was extended to a dendrimer/photocurative mixture as well as to a single component system (tetra-acrylate). Theoretical modeling and numerical simulation were carried out based on the combination of Flory-Huggins free energy of mixing and Maier-Saupe free energy of nematic ordering. The combined free energy densities were incorporated into the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (Model C) equations coupled with the photopolymerization rate equation to elucidate the spatio-temporal structure growth. The 2-D photonic structures thus simulated were consistent with the experimental observations. Furthermore, 3-D simulation was performed to guide the fabrication of assorted photonic crystals under various beam-geometries. Electro-optical performance such as diffraction efficiency was evaluated during the pattern photopolymerization process and also as a function of driving voltage.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.547-552
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• 2007

Water soluble polymer, poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) was chosen to conjugate with 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-(succinyl) (N-succinyl DPPE) to make a new drug delivery system. PVP with an amine group (amino-PVP) was polymerized by free radical polymerization. The amine group of amino-PVP was conjugated with the carboxylic group of N-succinyl DPPE. The resultant conjugate could form nanoparticles in the aqueous solution; these nanoparticles were termed a lipid-polymer system. The critical aggregation concentration was measured with pyrene to give a value of $1{\times}10^{-3}g/L$. The particle size of the lipid-polymer system, as measured by DLS, AFM and TEM, was about 70 nm. Lipophilic component in the inner part of the lipid-polymer system could derive the physical interaction with hydrophobic drugs. Griseofulvin was used as a model drug in this study. The loading efficiency and release profile of the drug were measured by HPLC. The loading efficiency was about 54%. The release behavior was sustained for a prolonged time of 12 days. The proposed lipid-polymer system with biodegradable and biocompatible properties has promising potential as a passive-targeting drug delivery carrier because of its small particle size.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.788-793
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• 2006

Bacterial DNA containing immunostimulatory CpG motifs can stimulate antigen-presenting cells to express co-stimulatory molecules and to produce various cytokines in vivo and in vitro. In this study, we fragmented macromolecular E.coli genomic DNA with DNase I, and analyzed the ability of the resulting DNA fragments to induce the NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and humoral immune response. Furthermore, using computational analysis and luciferase assay for synthetic ODNs based on the sequence of the immunostimulatory DNA fragments (DF-ODNs), an active component of DF-ODNs sequences was investigated. Experimental results demonstrated that DF-ODN is optimal for the NF-${\kappa}B$-responsive promoter activation in the mouse macrophage cell line and the humoral immune response in vivo. In agreement with the activity of the DF-ODNs processed by DNase I, a synthetic ODN based on the DF-ODN sequences is potent at inducing IL-12 mRNA expression in primary dendritic cells. These results suggest that the discovery and characterization of a highly active natural CpG-ODN may be achieved by the analyses of bacterial DNA fragments generated by a nuclease activity.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.189-193
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• 2003

pH- and temperature-sensitive bifunctional hydrogels composed of N-isopropylacrylamide (NiPAAm) and a sulfadimethoxine monomer (SDM) derived from sulfadimethoxine were prepared. These hydrogels exhibit simultaneous pH- and temperature-induced volume-phase transitions. The pH-induced volume-phase transition behavior is produced by the ionization/deionization of SDM and is very sharp. In the high pH region, the ionization of SDM induces swelling of the hydrogels. In the low pH region, the deionization of SDM induces deswelling of the hydrogels. The temperature-induced volume-phase transition behavior of the bifunctional hydrogels exhibits negative thermosensitivity because of the NiPAAm component. The hydrogels swell even at low pH as the temperature decreases. The hydrogels swell at low temperature and high pH, and deswell at high temperature and low pH. The volume of the hydrogels dependl on the balance of the swelling and deswelling produced by the two competing stimuli, pH and temperature.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.19-29
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• 2005

Polymer composites based on a thermotropic liquid-crystalline polymer (TLCP) and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) were prepared using a melt blending process. Polymer composites consisting of bulk cheap polyester with a small quantity of expensive TLCP are of interest from a commercial perspective. The interactions between the PBT chains and the flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) units in the TLCP phase resulted in an improvement in the compatibility of PBT/TLCP composites. TLCP droplets deformed and fragmented into smaller droplets in the PBT/TLCP composites, which resulted in TLCP fibrillation through the effective deformation of the TLCP droplets. The nucleation activities of the PBT/TLCP composites increased by adding even a small amount of the TLCP component.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.446-456
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• 2008

A recent theoretical approach based on the coupling of both the Flory-Huggins (FH) and the Association Equilibria thermodynamic (AET) theories was modified and adapted to study the miscibility properties of a multi-component system formed by two polymers (a proton-donor and a proton-acceptor) and a proton-acceptor solvent, named copolymer(A)/solvent(B)/polymer(C). Compatibility between polymers was mainly attained by hydrogen-bonding between the hydroxyl group on the phenol unit of the poly(styrene-co-vinyl phenol) (PSVPh) and the carbonyl group of the biodegradable and environmentally friendly poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). However, the self-association of PSVPh and specific interactions between the PSVPh and the H-acceptor group (an ether oxygen atom) of the epichlorohydrin (ECH) solvent were also established in a lower extension, which competed with the polymer-polymer association. All the binary specific interactions and their dependence with the system composition as well as with the copolymer content were evaluated and quantified by means of two excess functions of the Gibbs tree energy, ${\Delta}g_{AB}$ and ${\Delta}g_{AC}$. Experimental results from fluorescence spectroscopy were consistent with the theoretical simulations derived with the model, which could also be applied and extended to predict the miscibility in solution of any polymer blend with specific interactions.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.303-310
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• 2003

The phase behavior of binary blends of dimethylpolycarbonate-tetramethyl polycarbonate (DMPCTMPC) copolycarbonates and styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) copolymers has been examined and then compared with that of DMPC/TMPC/SAN ternary blends having the same chemical components and compositions except that the DMPC and TMPC were present in the form of homopolymers. Both binary and ternary blends were miscible at certain blends compositions, and the miscible blends showed the LCST-type phase behavior or did not phase separated until thermal degradation temperature. The miscible region of binary blends is wider than that of the corresponding ternary blends. Furthermore, the phase-separation temperatures of miscible binary blends are higher than those of miscible ternary blends at the same chemical compositions. To explain the destabilization of polymer mixture with the increase of the number of component, interaction energies of binary pairs involved in these blends were calculated from the phase separation temperatures using lattice-fluid theory and then the phase stability conditions for the polymer mixture was analyzed with volume fluctuation thermodynamics.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.308-313
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• 2008

A simple strategy was developed based on polyelectrolyte/silver nanocomposite to obtain humidity-sensitive membranes. The major component of a humid membrane is the polyTEAMPS/silver nanocomposite obtained by thermal heating the mixture of a polyelectrolyte and silver isopropylcarbamate complex. Humidity sensors prepared from polyTEAMPS/silver (w/w=100/0 and 100/6) nanocomposites had an average impedance of 292, 8.83 and $0.86\;k{\Omega}$, and 5,327, 140 and $0.93\;k{\Omega}$ at 30,60 and 95% relative humidity (RH), respectively. Hysteresis, temperature dependence and response time were also measured. Activation energies and complex impedance spectroscopy of the various components of the polyelectrolyte/silver nanocomposite films were examined for the humidity-sensing membrane.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.431-436
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• 2003

A new photoconducting polymer, diphenyl hydrazone-substituted polysiloxane, was successfully synthesized by the hydrosilylation method and characterized by FT-IR, $^1$H-NMR, and $^{29}$ Si-NMR spectroscopy. The glass transition temperature (T$_{g}$) of the polysiloxane having pendant diphenyl hydrazone was ca. 62 $^{\circ}C$, which enabled a component of a low-T$_{g}$ photorefractive material to be prepared without the addition of any plasticizers. This polysiloxane, with 1 wt% of $C_{60}$ dopant, showed a high photoconductivity (2.8 ${\times}$ 10$^{-12}$ S/cm at 70 V/${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) at 633 nm, which is necessary for fast build-up of the space-charge field. A photorefractive composite was prepared by adding a nonlinear optical chromophore, 2-{3-[2-(dibutylamino)-1-ethenyl]-5,5-dimethyl-2-cyclohexenylidene} malononitrile, into the photoconducting polysiloxane together with $C_{60}$ . This composite shows a large orientation birefringence ($\Delta$n = 2.6 ${\times}$ 10$^{-3}$ at 50 V/${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) and a high diffraction efficiency of 81 % at an electric field of 40 V /${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$.textrm}{m}$.EX>.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.3675-3681
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• 2011

Fusarium oxysporum, an important pathogen that mainly causes vascular or fusarium wilt disease which leads to economic loss. Disruption of gene encoding a heterotrimeric G-protein-${\beta}$-subunit (FGB1), led to decreased intracellular cAMP levels, reduced pathogenicity, colony morphology, and germination. The plant defense protein, Nicotiana alata defensin (NaD1) displays potent antifungal activity against a variety of agronomically important filamentous fungi. In this paper, we performed a molecular modeling and docking studies to find vital amino acids which can interact with various antifungal compounds using Discovery Studio v2.5 and GRAMMX, respectively. The docking results from FGB1-NaD1 and FGB1-antifungal complexes, revealed the vital amino acids such as His64, Trp65, Ser194, Leu195, Gln237, Phe238, Val324 and Asn326, and suggested that the anidulafungin is a the good antifungal compound.The predicted interaction can greatly assist in understanding structural insights for studying the pathogen and host-component interactions.