• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.256-262
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• 2012

Hyaluronic acid(HA) hydrogels were synthesized by immersing HA microbeads in phosphate buffered saline solutions having different pH levels to assess the effect of pH on the swelling ratio of HA hydrogels for smart drug delivery systems. No beads were formed when the HA solution(below pH 9) was crosslinked with divinyl sulfone(DVS) because DVS is a basic solution. The variation regarding the size of the microbead was not significant, suggesting that the bead size is not a function of pH(10 ~ 14). However, the pore size of the microbeads decreased with increasing pH from 10 to 14, leading to the surface smoothness and dense network as a result of higher crosslinking. The swelling ratio of hydrogels increased when the pH rose from 2(acidic) to 6(neutral). Afterwards, it decreased with further increasing pH(basic). The lower swelling ratio may be due to the lack of ionization of the carboxyl groups. On the other hand, a higher swelling ratio is likely due to the increased electrostatic repulsions between negatively charged carboxyl groups on different chains. Experimental results suggested that pH-responsive HA hydrogels can be applicable to the controlled drug delivery systems.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.105-116
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• 2014

Synthesis of interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) of chitosan-gelatin (Cs-Ge) (as a primary network) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) monomer (as the secondary network) was carried out with different ratio. Its structure was characterized by FT-IR, which indicated that the IPN was formed. The memberanes were studied by swelling, weight loss with time. The interior morphology of the IPN hydrogels was revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM); the IPN hydrogels showed a interpenetrated network of NIPAAm/chitosan has layers with more minute stoma and canals compared to interpenetrated network of NIPAAm/gelatin. Lower critical solution temperature (LCST), equilibrium swelling ratio (ESR) and deswelling kinetics were measured. The DSC results noticed that LCST of IPN hydrogels with different ratio of Cs/Ge/PNIPAAm are around $33{\pm}2^{\circ}C$. The ESR obtained results showed that with a ratio of Cs/Ge/NIPAAm: 1/1/6, the swelling ratio increased drastically from room temperature to $36^{\circ}C$ but with a ratio of Cs/Ge/PNIPAAm: 1/3/6, decrease significantly at the same condition. Therefore the hydrogels have been changed from a hydrophilic structure to a hydrophobic structure. Furthermore with an increase in temperature from room to the LCST, the ESR of IPN with higher concentration of (PNIPAAm) and (Ge) decreases but de-swelling kinetics of them are faster. Due to the suitable and different kinetics of de-swelling and the equilibrium swelling ratio (ESR) in various proportions, and because of the morphology inside the mass which confirms other tests, these hydrogels are very appropriate as a smart thermosensitive hydrogels with rapid response.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1025-1031
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• 2009

Several kinds of biodegradable hydrogels were prepared via in situ photopolymerization of Pluronic F127/poly($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) macromer and acrylic acid (AA) comonomer in aqueous medium. The swelling kinetics measurements showed that the resultant hydrogels exhibited both thermo- and pH-sensitive behaviors, and that this stimuli-responsiveness underwent a fast reversible process. With increasing pH of the local buffer solutions, the pH sensitivity of the hydrogels was increased, while the temperature sensitivity was decreased. In vitro hydrolytic degradation in the buffer solution (pH 7.4, $37^{\circ}C$), the degradation rate of the hydrogels was greatly improved due to the introduction of the AA comonomer. The in vitro release profiles of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in-situ embedded into the hydrogels were also investigated: the release mechanism of BSA based on the Peppas equation was followed Case II diffusion. Such biodegradable dual-sensitive hydrogel materials may have more advantages as a potentially interesting platform for smart drug delivery carriers and tissue engineering scaffolds.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.47-59
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• 2015

A bioactive and multifunctional elastin-like polymer (ELP) was produced by genetic engineering techniques to develop new artificial matrices with the ability to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM). The basic composition of this ELP is a thermo- and pH-sensitive elastin pentapeptide which has been enriched with RGD-containing domains, the RGD loop of fibronectin, for recognition by integrin receptors on their sequence to promote efficient cell attachment. Hydrogels of this RGD-containing polymer were obtained by crosslinking with hexamethylene diisocyanate, a lysine-targeted crosslinker. These materials retain the "smart" nature and temperature-responsive character, and the desired mechanical behavior of the elastin-like polymer family. The influence of the degree of crosslinking on the morphology and properties of the matrices were tested by calorimetric techniques and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Their mechanical behavior was studied by dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA). These results show the potential of these materials in biomedical applications, especially in the development of smart systems for tissue engineering.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.185-198
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• 2011

The promise of biomimetic smart structures that can function as sensors and actuators in biomedicine is enormous. Technological development in the field of stimuli-responsive shape memory polymers have opened up a new avenue of applications for polymer-based synthetic actuators. Such synthetic actuators mimic various attributes of living organisms including responsiveness to stimuli, shape memory, selectivity, motility, and organization. This article briefly reviews various stimuli-responsive shape memory polymers and their application as bioactuators. Although the technological advancements have prototyped the potential applications of these smart materials, their widespread commercialization depends on many factors such as sensitivity, versatility, moldability, robustness, and cost.

• Carbon letters
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• v.22
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• pp.1-13
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• 2017

Porous materials play a vital role in science and technology. The ability to control their pore structures at the atomic, molecular, and nanometer scales enable interactions with atoms, ions and molecules to occur throughout the bulk of the material, for practical applications. Three-dimensional (3D) porous carbon-based materials (e.g., graphene aerogels/hydrogels, sponges and foams) made of graphene or graphene oxide-based networks have attracted considerable attention because they offer low density, high porosity, large surface area, excellent electrical conductivity and stable mechanical properties. Water pollution and associated environmental issues have become a hot topic in recent years. Rapid industrialization has led to a massive increase in the amount of wastewater that industries discharge into the environment. Water pollution is caused by oil spills, heavy metals, dyes, and organic compounds released by industry, as well as via unpredictable accidents. In addition, water pollution is also caused by radionuclides released by nuclear disasters or leakage. This review presents an overview of the state-of-the-art synthesis methodologies of 3D porous graphene materials and highlights their synthesis for environmental applications. The various synthetic methods used to prepare these 3D materials are discussed, particularly template-free self-assembly methods, and template-directed methods. Some key results are summarized, where 3D graphene materials have been used for the adsorption of dyes, heavy metals, and radioactive materials from polluted environments.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.279-279
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• 2010

Smart gels have recently associated with photonic crystals to form photonic gels. Since these photonic gels are capable of reversibly converting the volume change of gels induced in response to external chemical or electric stimuli into characteristic optical signals, they have been considered not only as a good platform for label-free chemical or biological detection, actuators or optical switches but also as a good model system to investigate gel swelling behaviour. Recently, we reported block copolymer photonic gels self-assembled from polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) block copolymers, and demonstrated that selective swelling of lamellar structure allows extremely large tunability of the photonic stop band from UV region to IR region ($\lambda$ peak=350~1,600 nm). Herein we report block copolymer photonic gels which exhibit strong tunable optical hysteresis and their applications. As nonlinear responses in swelling of hydrogels were often observed, photonic gels exhibit optical hysteresis with change of external pH. We demonstrate such optical hysteresis can be precisely programmed by controlling ion-pairing affinity. We anticipate that photonic gels with carefully tunned optical hysteresis are applicable to optical memory devices.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.262-268
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• 2013

pH-sensitive P(MAA-co-PEGMA) hydrogel particles were prepared and their feasibility as smart delivery carriers for cosmetic ingredients was evaluated. P(MAA-co-PEGMA) hydrogel particles having an average size of approx. $2{\mu}m$ were synthesized via dispersion photopolymerization. There was a drastic change in the swelling ratio of P(MAA-co-PEGMA) particles at a pH of around 5 due to the ionization of MAA in the hydrogel and as the amount of MAA in the hydrogel increased, the swelling ratio increased at a pH above 5. The P(MAA-co-PEGMA) hydrogel particles showed a pH-sensitive release behavior. Thus, at pH 4 almost none of the albumin permeated through the skin while at pH 6 relatively high skin permeability was obtained. The albumin loaded in the P(MAA-co-PEGMA) hydrogel particles was hardly degraded in the presence of pepsin and its stability was maintained.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.19-32
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• 2012

Pharmaceutical use accounts for a great part of articles and papers on crosslinking of polymers. Crosslinking of polymers used for tissue engineering and drug delivery respects non-cytotoxicity and in situ gelling. The crosslinking of polymers is aimed not only at the improvement of modulus, chemical resistance, and thermal resistance, but also at endowing them with such functions as metal adsorption, antifouling, and ion exchange via crosslinked segments. Smart polymers responding to environmental change, and cosslinking mediated by light, enzyme, natural compound and in aqueous medium in consideration of environment are being studied. Developing new polymeric materials is essential along with the pharmaceutics aiming at the longevity of 120 years old. Functionalization and property adjustment of polymers through crosslinking will be done more delicately. Hydrogels will be focused on injectable and in situ gel forming. In the coating industry crosslinking system with low non-toxicity and low energy consumption will be developed in consideration of workers and environment.