Changrok Choi

Fabrication and characterization of plasma-polymerized poly(ethylene glycol) film with superior biocompatibility.

A newly fabricated plasma-polymerized poly(ethylene glycol) (PP-PEG) film shows extremely low toxicity, low fouling, good durability, and chemical similarity to typical PEG polymers, enabling live cell patterning as well as various bioapplications using bioincompatible materials. The PP-PEG film can be overlaid on any materials via the capacitively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (CCP-CVD) method using nontoxic PEG200 as a precursor. The biocompatibility of the PP-PEG-coated surface is confirmed by whole blood flow experiments where no thrombi and less serum protein adsorption are observed when compared with bare glass, polyethylene (PE), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surfaces. Furthermore, unlike bare PE films, less fibrosis and inflammation are observed when the PP-PEG-coated PE film is implanted into subcutaneous pockets of mice groin areas. The cell-repellent property of PP-PEG is also verified via patterning of mammalian cells, such as fibroblasts and hippocampal neurons. These results show that our PP-PEG film, generated by the CCP-CVD method, is a biocompatible material that can be considered for broad applications in biomedical and functional materials fields.

Surface characterization of plasma-polymerized cyclohexane thin film

A plasma-polymerized cyclohexane (PPCHex) thin film was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry along with a principal component analysis (PCA). The PPCHex thin film was deposited onto a silicon substrate by using an inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition method and cyclohexane as a precursor. The chemical composition of the PPCHex surface was controlled in a reproducible manner as a function of substrate bias plasma power. A PCA of the TOF-SIMS data also gave systematic insight into the surface chemical compositions and molecular cross-linking on plasma-polymerized thin films as a function of substrate bias plasma power. PPCHex thin film made at 100W plasma power had the least amount of oxygen functional groups such as the C–O–H form on the surface than the one made at 10W plasma power.

Sensitivity enhancement of carbon nanotube based ammonium ion sensors through surface modification by using oxygen plasma treatment

We have shown that the sensitivity of carbon nanotube (CNT) based sensors can be enhanced as high as 74 times through surface modification by using the inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition method with oxygen. The plasma treatment power was maintained as low as 10 W within 20 s, and the oxygen plasma was generated far away from the sensors to minimize the plasma damage. From X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, we found that the concentration of oxygen increased with the plasma treatment time, which implies that oxygen functional groups or defect sites were generated on the CNT surface.

Validation of an analytical LC-MS/MS method in human plasma for the pharmacokinetic study of atomoxetine

This study aimed to validate a sensitive and reliable analytical method for the pharmacokinetic study of atomoxetine in human plasma by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. Metoprolol was used as an internal standard. After liquid-liquid extraction with methyl t-butyl ether, the supernatant was evaporated. The residue was then reconstituted and an aliquot was injected into the high performance liquid chromatographic system. Separation was performed on a Phenomenex Luna C18 column (2.0 mm × 100 mm, 3 μm particles) with a mobile phase of 10 mM ammonium formate buffer: methanol = 10: 90 (v/v). Tandem mass spectrometry was performed in the electrospray ionization positive ion mode using the multiple reaction monitoring mode for quantification. The mass transition pairs of m/z 256 → 44 for atomoxetine and m/z 268 → 116 for the internal standard were used. The flow rate of the mobile phase was 0.25 mL/min and the retention times of atomoxetine and the internal standard were found to be 1.0 and 0.9 min, respectively. The calibration curve for atomoxetine was linear in the concentration range of 1–750 ng/mL (r2 = 0.9992) with a lower limit of quantification of 1 ng/mL. The mean accuracy for atomoxetine was 93–102%. The coefficients of variation (precision) in the intra- and inter-day validation for atomoxetine were 4.0–6.8 and 1.1–9.6%, respectively. The pharmacokinetic parameters of atomoxetine were evaluated after administration of a 40-mg single oral dose to twelve healthy male volunteers. The mean AUC0–24 h, Cmax, Tmax and T1/2 for atomoxetine were 1.9 ± 0.8 μg h/mL, 0.34 ± 0.11 μg/mL, 1.0 ± 0.5 h and 3.9 ± 1.3 h, respectively.