• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.101-107
• /
• 2002

Three species of Chenopodiaceae, i.e. Suaeda japonica, Salicomia herbacea, Beta vulgaris var. cicla, were investigated to compare the physiological characteristics through inoic balances and osmoregulations under different environmental salt gradients. Plats were harvested in two weeks from treatments with salt gradients (0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 mM NaCl) and mineral nutrition gradients(1/1, 1/5, 1/10 dilutions of Hoagland solution). Plants were analyzed for growth responses, ionic balances, osmolalities, conductivities, glycinebetaine and proline contents quantitatively. Three plants of Chenopodiaceae accumulated slats into tissues unlike some salt sensitive species, and showed unique adaptation patterns to overcome saline environments, i.e. strong growth stimulation for Salicomia herbacea, growth negative tolerance for Suaeda japonica, and growth positive tolerance for Beta vulgaris var. cicla. The absorption of inorganic Ca/sup 2+/ ions was inhibited remarkably due to the excess uptake of Na+ with increasing salinity. The K+ content in plants was significantly reduced with increasing salinity. Total nitrogen content was reduced as mineral nutritions and salinity increased. Conductivity and osmolality increased with increasing salinity regardless of mineral nutritions. The ranges of glycinebetaine and proline contents were 0.2∼2.5 μM/g plant water and 0.1∼0.6μM/g plant water, respectively.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.133-139
• /
• 2017

This study investigated the effects of NaCl and jasmonic acid (JA) on the growth and physiological responses of spearmint (Mentha spicata L.). Spearmint was hydroponically grown for 3 weeks in modified Hoagland solution containing 0 (untreated control), JA ($20{\mu}M$ JA pretreatment), NaCl (50 mM NaCl treatment) and JA + NaCl ($20{\mu}M$ JA pretreatment + 50 mM NaCl treatment). Growth characteristics, chlorophyll, vitamin C, proline contents, DPPH scavenging activity and inorganic ion contents were evaluated. As a results, there were significant decreases in the plant height, leaf length, leaf width, and fresh weight of plants, treated with NaCl compared with control. On the other hand, the dry matters of shoot and root treated with JA + NaCl combination were better than control or NaCl treatment. Chlorophyll a and b contents in JA treatment was the highest. Vitamin C, antioxidant activity, and proline content in shoot were increased in NaCl treatment which showed low level of growth rate. The K/Na ratio, which is known to indirectly reflect the balance of ion uptake, was higher in a single treatment of JA than the control group, while lower in salt treatment (NaCl and JA + NaCl) because of high $Na^+$ absorption. In conclusion, these results showed that moderate stress treatment such as low level salt treatment and plant growth regulator jasmonic acid (JA) application would be potential strategies to improve the quality of spearmint by inducing the accumulation of secondary metabolites containing high antioxidant activity and essential oil.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.173-180
• /
• 2009

In order to develop a novel polymer electrolyte membrane for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), styrene monomer was graft-polymerized into poly(tetrafluoroethylene perfluoropropyl vinyl ether) (PFA) film followed by a sulfonation reaction. The graft polymerization was prepared by the $\Upsilon$-ray radiation-grafting method. Subsequently, sulfonation of the radiation-grafted film was carried out in a chlorosulfonic acid/1,2-dichloroethane (2 v/v%) solution. The chemical, physical, electrochemical and morphological properties of the radiation-grafted membranes (PFA-g-PSSA) were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The water uptake, ionic conductivity, and methanol permeability of the PFA-g-PSSA membrane were also measured. The cell performances of MEA prepared with the PFA-g-PSSA membranes were evaluated and the cell resistances were measured by an impedance analyzer. The MEA using PFA-g-PSSA membranes showed superior performance for DMFCs in comparison with the commercial Nafion 112 membrane.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.177-183
• /
• 2008

Sodium is known to reduce a plant growth and yields. However, the relationships between physiological response of seedling and salinity stress caused by growing media are not well understood yet. We conducted experiments to investigate change of some parameters including Na, EC, moisture content in media under different air temperature ($15^{\circ}C$, $25^{\circ}C$), and the response of fruit-vegetables such as cucumber, oriental melon on saline conditions originated from horticultural substrate. Volumetric moisture content of media at $15^{\circ}C$ was 70%, but at $25^{\circ}C$ was decreased by 45% within 22 hrs, showing below optimal matric potential, approximately. During reaction time, the increase of Na concentration was significantly greater in saline substrate than in control. The decrease rate of Na concentration according to supplying irrigation water was higher in saline substrate than in control. $CO_2$ assimilation rate and transpiration rate of Korea melon grown in low temperature were decreased with a Na/cation ratio in hydroponic solution. Water saturation deficit was also increased significantly at $15^{\circ}C$ as compare to $25^{\circ}C$. Saline stress during nursery stage induced a reduction of seedling quality, growth and cucumber yield. The results suggest that the relationship between uncontrolled Na uptake of seedling from saline substrate and meteological condition is responsible for saline stress.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.621-627
• /
• 2013

In order to apply eco-friendly poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) into barrier packaging materials, six different PPC/exfoliated graphite (EFG) nanocomposite films with different EFG were successfully prepared by a solution blending method. Their water sorption behavior was gravimetrically investigated as a function of the EFG content and interpreted with respect to their chemical structure and morphology. The water sorption isotherms were reasonably well fitted by Fickian diffusion model, regardless of morphological heterogeneities. With increasing the EFG content, the diffusion coefficient and water uptake decreased from $12.5{\times}10^{-10}cm^2sec^{-1}$ to $7.2{\times}10^{-10}cm^2sec^{-1}$ and from 8.9 wt% to 4.2 wt%, respectively, which indicates that the moisture resistance capacity of PPC was greatly enhanced by incorporating EFG into PPC. The enhanced water barrier property of the PPC/EFG nanocomposite films with the high aspect ratio EFG makes them potential candidates for versatile packaging applications. However, to maximize the performance of the nanocomposite films, further researches are required to increase the compatibility of EFG in the PPC matrix.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.356-360
• /
• 2000

In order to utilize the processing wastes of squid, chitosan was prepared by intermittent deacetylation treatment of ${\beta}-chitin$ richly contained in the pen of squid, and then their characteristics of chitosan and N-acetylchitosan film were studied. The acetylation time of N-acetylchitosan film-1 (N-ACE-1) manufactured from chitosan solution by treating with acetic anhydride was about 12 hrs. In SEM photomicrographs, the surface of chitosan film was regularly arranged netlike, and that of N-acetylchitosan film-2 (N-ACE-2) was rough like snowflake and larger than chitosan film. The chitosan film (thickness 0.02 mm, time 60 min) had the highest tensile strength ($1,240 kg/cm^2$) and elongation ($58.25{\%}$), N-ACP-1 (thickness 0.02 mm, time 60 min) had the highest water permeability ($539 g/m^2{\cdot}24 hrs$), oxygen permeability ($20,000 cm^3/m^2{\cdot}24 hrs{\cdot}atm$) and water uptake ($350{\%}$) among the tested films.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.676-681
• /
• 2014

Licorice, widely used as a herbal medicine, has flavonoids such as liquiritin and its aglycone, liquiritigenin that show anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Licorice flavonoid-loaded cellulose hydrogels were prepared as carriers for skin drug delivery, and their properties were investigated. The porous cellulose hydrogel was made by reacting cellulose with epichlorohydrin as a cross-linking agent in NaOH/urea(1~10%) solutions. Through studies on the rheological properties and water uptake of the hydrogel, a NaOH/urea(6%) solution was established as being optimum for the synthesis of the cellulose hydrogel containing liquiritin and liquiritigenin. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of a cross-section of the prepared hydrogel indicated its porosity. In particular, in skin permeation experiments using a Franz diffusion cell, hydrogel containing the licorice flavonoids showed remarkable transdermal permeation compared to the control group. These results indicate that porous cellulose hydrogel is a potential drug delivery system to enhance the skin permeation of licorice flavonoids.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.51 no.5
• /
• pp.550-555
• /
• 2013

A hydrogel electrolyte consisting of potassium poly(acrylate) (PAAK) (3 wt%) in 6 M KOH aqueous solution is coated on poly(acrylonitrile) nonwoven separator to examine high-rate characteristics of activated carbon supercapacitor adopting the separator. The hydrogel is homogeneously coated on the surface pores of the nonwoven separator. The electrolyte uptake of the PAAK hydrogel maintains for 24 days higher than 230% and the coated separator shows slightly lower ionic conductivity ($2.9{\times}10^{-2}Scm^{-1}$) than that ($3.6{\times}10^{-2}Scm^{-1}$) of using 6 M KOH only. The activated carbon supercapacitor adopting the coated separator shows a specific capacitance higher than $27Fg^{-1}$ at $1000mVs^{-1}$ and a retention ratio higher than 97% after the 1000th cycle. This is due to strong interfacial contact of coated hydrogel electrolyte between the activated carbon electrode and the nonwoven separator.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.389-397
• /
• 2011

In this study, polymer composite membranes based on sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES) were prepared using a solution casting method with different amount of vermiculite (VMT) content. The dispersion of VMT particles in the SPAES matrix was confirmed by means of a scanning electron microscopy observation. The composite membrane containing less than 1 wt% of VMT has a smooth skin on the top and bottom, which means there is a good dispersion of VMT in the matrix. The water uptake of the composite membranes gradually increases as the temperature increases, and the results confirm that all the adsorbed water is bound water because VMT has a strong water affinity on account of its high cation exchange value. A composite membrane with a VMT content of less than 1 wt% increases the proton conductivity and reduces the methanol permeability. Of all the composite membranes, the membrane SPAES/VMT 1.0 has the best fuel cell performance in terms of membrane selectivity. The performance value of SPAES/VMT 1.0 is double that of Nafion 112, which suggests that SPAES/VMT1.0 could be an excellent candidate for direct methanol fuel cells.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.22 no.12
• /
• pp.1782-1789
• /
• 2012

We have developed a novel type of polymer nanogel loaded with anticancer drug based on bio-derived poly(${\gamma}$-glutamic acid) (${\gamma}$-PGA). ${\gamma}$-PGA is a highly anionic polymer that is synthesized naturally by microbial species, most prominently in various bacilli, and has been shown to have excellent biocompatibility. Thiolated ${\gamma}$-PGA was synthesized by covalent coupling between the carboxyl groups of ${\gamma}$-PGA and the primary amine group of cysteamine. Doxorubicin (Dox)-loaded ${\gamma}$-PGA nanogels were fabricated using the following steps: (1) an ionic nanocomplex was formed between thiolated ${\gamma}$-PGA as the negative charge component, and Dox as the positive charge component; (2) addition of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) induced hydrogen-bond interactions between thiol groups of thiolated ${\gamma}$-PGA and hydroxyl groups of PEG, resulting in the nanocomplex; and (3) disulfide crosslinked ${\gamma}$-PGA nanogels were fabricated by ultrasonication. The average size and surface charge of Dox-loaded disulfide cross-linked ${\gamma}$-PGA nanogels in aqueous solution were $136.3{\pm}37.6$ nm and $-32.5{\pm}5.3$ mV, respectively. The loading amount of Dox was approximately 38.7 ${\mu}g$ per mg of ${\gamma}$-PGA nanogel. The Dox-loaded disulfide cross-linked ${\gamma}$-PGA nanogels showed controlled drug release behavior in the presence of reducing agents, glutathione (GSH) (1-10 mM). Through fluorescence microscopy and FACS, the cellular uptake of ${\gamma}$-PGA nanogels into breast cancer cells (MCF-7) was analyzed. The cytotoxic effect was evaluated using the MTT assay and was determined to be dependent on both the concentration and treatment time of ${\gamma}$-PGA nanogels. The bio-derived ${\gamma}$-PGA nanogels are expected to be a well-designed delivery carrier for controlled drug delivery applications.