• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.11-18
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• 2015

Objectives: Systems biology is a novel subject in the field of life science that aims at a systems' level understanding of biological systems. Because of the significant progress in high-throughput technologies and molecular biology, systems biology occupies an important place in research during the post-genome era. Methods: The characteristics of systems biology and its applicability to traditional medicine research have been discussed from three points of view: data and databases, network analysis and inference, and modeling and systems prediction. Results: The existing databases are mostly associated with medicinal herbs and their activities, but new databases reflecting clinical situations and platforms to extract, visualize and analyze data easily need to be constructed. Network pharmacology is a key element of systems biology, so addressing the multi-component, multi-target aspect of pharmacology is important. Studies of network pharmacology highlight the drug target network and network target. Mathematical modeling and simulation are just in their infancy, but mathematical modeling of dynamic biological processes is a central aspect of systems biology. Computational simulations allow structured systems and their functional properties to be understood and the effects of herbal medicines in clinical situations to be predicted. Conclusion: Systems biology based on a holistic approach is a pivotal research methodology for understanding the mechanisms of traditional medicine. If systems biology is to be incorporated into traditional medicine, computational technologies and holistic insights need to be integrated.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.52.2-52.2
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• 2011

Flat form technology for constructing anticancer loaded multi-walled carbon nanotubes (mwCNTs) was introduced in this study. Conventional anticancer drugs, such as MTX (Methotrexate), cisplatin, DOX (Doxorubicin hydrochloride), DAU (Daunorubicin) and EPI (epirubicin) were bio-conjugated with folic acid (FA) for selective targeting tumor cells. Loading efficiencies of the used anticancer drugs on mwCNTs have shown different order of bindings depending on the molecular bind affinity of NH (amine) formation on mwCNTs. MTT assays have shown increased selective target efficiency of FA conjugated mwCNTs on breast cancer cell growth inhibition. All results collectively indicated promising application of mwCNTs as a smart inorganic nanomaterial for selective targeting drug delivery vehicle at tumor tissues.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.9
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• pp.417-428
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• 2022

Herbal medicine, a multi-component treatment, has been extensively practiced for treating various symptoms and diseases. However, its molecular mechanism of action on the human body is unknown, which impedes the development and application of herbal medicine. To address this, recent studies are increasingly adopting systems pharmacology, which interprets pharmacological effects of drugs from consequences of the interaction networks that drugs might have. Most conventional network-based approaches collect associations of herb-compound, compound-target, and target-disease from individual databases, respectively, and construct an integrated network of herb-compound-target-disease to study the complex mechanisms underlying herbal treatment. More recently, rapid advances in high-throughput omics technology have led numerous studies to exploring gene expression profiles induced by herbal treatments to elicit information on direct associations between herbs and genes at the genome-wide scale. In this review, we summarize key databases and computational methods utilized in systems pharmacology for studying herbal medicine. We also highlight recent studies that identify modes of action or novel indications of herbal medicine by harnessing drug-induced transcriptome data.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2011

Recently, Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) has focused on developing quality control guidelines for all commercial products in Korea to enforce regulations, improve the quality control, and protect consumers by developing prevalently used and efficient analytical tools to determine and quantify target compounds. Because the Korean Pharmacopeia (KP) presents microbiological assays for biotin, which is laborious and time-consuming, this study is focused on applying HPLC-UV to detect and quantify biotin in complex drugs and dietary supplements like multi-vitamin. Biotin in complex drugs was extracted from methanol and analyzed using mobile phase with 10 mM potassium phosphate (monobasic, pH=3.0) in distilled water and acetonitrile. Gradient condition was used to successfully detect and quantify biotin within 20 minutes. Validation result for linearity was significant that average $r^2$ was 0.999 (n=3) and its relative standard deviation (RSD) was 0.0578% which was less than 2%. Using this method, quantification of biotin in complex drugs was completed successfully and recovery tests were finished that recovery percentage greater than 95% with relative standard deviation less than 2%.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.288-309
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive and simple method for the simultaneous determination of 59 veterinary drug residues in livestock products for safety management. METHODS AND RESULTS: For sample preparation, we used a modified liquid extraction method, according to which the sample was extracted with 80% acetonitrile followed by incubation at -20℃ for 30 min. After centrifugation, an aliquot of the extract was evaporated to dryness at 40℃ and analyzed using liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry. The method was validated at three concentration levels for beef, pork, chicken, egg, and milk in accordance with the Codex Alimentarius Commission/Guidelines 71-2009. Quantitative analysis was performed using a matrix-matched calibration. As a results, at least 52 (77.6%) out of 66 compounds showed the proper method validation results in terms of both recovery of the target compound and coefficient of variation required by Codex guidelines in livestock products. The limit of quantitation of the method ranged from 0.2 to 1119.6 ng g-1 for all matrices. CONCLUSION(S): This method was accurate, effective, and comprehensive for 59 veterinary drugs determination in livestock products, and can be used to investigate veterinary drugs from different chemical families for safety management in livestock products.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.8-29
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• 2013

Ginseng is one of the most widely used herbal medicines in human. Central nervous system (CNS) diseases are most widely investigated diseases among all others in respect to the ginseng's therapeutic effects. These include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cerebral ischemia, depression, and many other neurological disorders including neurodevelopmental disorders. Not only the various types of diseases but also the diverse array of target pathways or molecules ginseng exerts its effect on. These range, for example, from neuroprotection to the regulation of synaptic plasticity and from regulation of neuroinflammatory processes to the regulation of neurotransmitter release, too many to mention. In general, ginseng and even a single compound of ginsenoside produce its effects on multiple sites of action, which make it an ideal candidate to develop multi-target drugs. This is most important in CNS diseases where multiple of etiological and pathological targets working together to regulate the final pathophysiology of diseases. In this review, we tried to provide comprehensive information on the pharmacological and therapeutic effects of ginseng and ginsenosides on neurodegenerative and other neurological diseases. Side by side comparison of the therapeutic effects in various neurological disorders may widen our understanding of the therapeutic potential of ginseng in CNS diseases and the possibility to develop not only symptomatic drugs but also disease modifying reagents based on ginseng.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1386-1392
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• 2018

Cispatin has become one of the most widely used anticancer drugs for decades. One of the drawback of cisplatin (II) complex is that it not only targets cancerous cells but also normal cells causing several serious side effects in patients. We have synthesized Pt(IV) complex that are needed to have the ability to kill target cells selectively in a short time before drug resistance develops. By introducing PDK inhibitor, butyric acid and valproic acid, on Pt complex, two fusion anti-cancer agents 3 and 4 have been synthesized and characterized their structures by nmr and mass spectrometer. MTT assay was performed with $Pt(IV)-Bu_2$ 3 and $Pt(IV)-Val_2$ 4 against MCF-7 cell line. As a result, cisplatin, Pt(IV) complexes 3 and 4 were treated, cell viabilities at $50{\mu}M$ cencentration were decreased to 39%, 54% and 84% respectively.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6343-6347
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• 2014

Multi-target drug design, in which drugs are designed as single molecules to simultaneously modulate multiple physiological targets, is an important strategy in the field of drug discovery. QT-011, a tamibarotene-furoxan derivative, was here prepared and proposed to exert synergistic effects on antileukemia by releasing nitric oxide and tamibarotene. Compared with tamibarotene itself, QT-011 displayed stronger antiproliferative effects on U937 and HL-60 cells and was more effective evaluated in a nude mice U937 xenograft model in vivo. In addition, QT-011 could release nitric oxide which might contribute to the antiproliferative activity. Autodocking assays showed that QT-011 fits well with the hydrophobic pocket of retinoic acid receptors. Taken together, these results suggest that QT-011 might be a highly effective derivative of tamibarotene and a potential candidate compound as antileukemia agent.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.203-206
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• 2018

Objectives: There is an increasing number of complex diseases that are progressively more difficult to be controlled using the conventional "single compound, single target" approach as demonstrated in our current modern drug development. TCM might be the new cornerstone of treatment alternative when the current treatment option is no longer as effective or that we have exhausted it as an option. Orthogonal stimulus-response compatibility group study is one of the most frequently employed formulas to produce optimal herbal combination for treatment of multi-syndromic diseases. This approach could solve the relatively low efficacy single drug therapy usage and chronic adverse effects caused by long terms administration of drugs that has been reported in the field of pharmacology and medicine Methods: The present review was based on the Science Direct database search for those related to the TCM and the development of antihypertensive TCM herbal combination using orthogonal stimulus-response compatibility group studies approach. Results: Recent studies have demonstrated that the orthogonal stimulus-response compatibility group study approach was most frequently used to formulate TCM herbal combination based on the TCM principles upon the selection of herbs, and the resulting formulated TCM formula exhibited desired outcomes in treating one of global concerned complex multi-syndromic diseases, the hypertension. These promising therapeutic effects were claimed to have been attributed by the holistic signaling mechanism pathways employed by the crude combination of herbs. Conclusion: The present review could serve as a guide and prove the feasibility of TCM principles to be used for future pharmacological drug research development.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.816-823
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• 2022

The rapid spread of superbugs leads to the escalation of infectious diseases, which threatens public health. Endolysins derived from bacteriophages are spotlighted as promising alternative antibiotics against multi-drug resistant bacteria. In this study, we isolated and characterized the novel Salmonella typhimurium phage PBST08. Bioinformatics analysis of the PBST08 genome revealed putative endolysin ST01 with a lysozyme-like domain. Since the lytic activity of the purified ST01 was minor, probably owing to the outer membrane, which blocks accessibility to peptidoglycan, antimicrobial peptide cecropin A (CecA) was fused to the N-terminus of ST01 to disrupt the outer membrane. The resulting CecA::ST01 has been shown to have increased bactericidal activity against gram-negative pathogens including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacter cloacae and the most affected target was A. baumannii. In the presence of 0.25 µM CecA::ST01, A. baumannii ATCC 17978 strain was completely killed and CCARM 12026 strain was wiped out by 0.5 µM CecA::ST01, which is a clinical isolate of A. baumannii and resistant to multiple drugs including carbapenem. Moreover, the larvae of Galleria mellonella could be rescued up to 58% or 49% by the administration of CecA::ST01 upon infection by A. baumannii 17978 or CCARM 12026 strain. Finally, the antibacterial activity of CecA::ST01 was verified using 31 strains of five gram-negative pathogens by evaluation of minimal inhibitory concentration. Thus, the results indicate that a fusion of antimicrobial peptide to endolysin can enhance antibacterial activity and the spectrum of endolysin where multi-drug resistant gram-negative pathogens can be efficiently controlled.