Inn Kyu Kang

Nanofabrication of Microbial Polyester by Electrospinning Promotes Cell Attachment

The biodegradable and biocompatible poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), a copolymer of microbial polyester, was fabricated as nanofibrous mats by electrospinning. Image analysis of the electrospun nanofibers fabricated from a 2 wt% 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol solution revealed a unimodal distribution pattern of fiber diameters with an observed average diameter of ca. 185 nm. The fiber diameter of electrospun fabrics could be controlled by adjusting the electrospinning parameters, including the solvent composition, concentration, applied voltage, and tip-to-collector distance. Chondrocytes derived from rabbit ear were cultured on a PHBV cast film and an electrospun PHBV nano-fibrous mat. After incubation for 2 h, the percentages of attached chondrocytes on the surfaces of the flat PHBV film and the PHBV nanofibrous mat were 19.0 and 30.1%, respectively. On the surface of the electrospun PHBV fabric, more chondrocytes were attached and appeared to have a much greater spreaded morphology than did that of the flat PHBV cast film in the early culture stage. The electrospun PHBV nanofabric provides an attractive structure for the attachment and growth of chondrocytes as cell culture surfaces for tissue engineering.

Fabrication of PHBV/Keratin Composite Nanofibrous Mats for Biomedical Applications

Keratin is an important protein used in wound healing and tissue recovery. In this study, keratin was modified chemically with iodoacetic acid (IAA) to enhance its solubility in organic solvent. Poly(hydroxybutylate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and modified keratin were dissolved in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) and electrospun to produce nanofibrous mats. The resulting mats were surface-characterized by ATR-FTIR, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). The purem-keratin mat was cross-linked with glutaraldehyde vapor to make it insoluble in water. The biodegradation testin vitro showed that the mats could be biodegraded by PHB depolymerase and trypsin aqueous solution. The results of the cell adhesion experiment showed that the NIH 3T3 cells adhered more to the PHBV/m-keratin nanofibrous mats than the PHBV film. The BrdU assay showed that the keratin and PHBV/m-keratin nanofibrous mats could accelerate the proliferation of fibroblast cells compared to the PHBV nanofibrous mats.

Preparation and characterization of anodized titanium surfaces and their effect on osteoblast responses.

In this study, titanium (Ti) surface was modified by anodizing with a mixture of beta-glycerophosphate sodium and calcium (Ca) acetate, and the anodized surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron probe microanalysis. In vitro osteoblast response to anodized oxide was also evaluated. The anodic oxide produced was observed to have interconnected pores (0.5-2 microm in diameter) and intermediate roughness (0.60-1.00 microm). In addition, anodic oxide was observed to have amorphous and anatase oxide. Calcium and phosphorus ions were deposited on the Ti oxide during anodization. Osteoblast differentiation, as indicated by alkaline phosphatase production, was enhanced on anodized surfaces. It was thus concluded from this study that Ca phosphate can be deposited on Ti surfaces by anodization. It was also concluded that the phenotypic expression of osteoblast was enhanced by the presence of Ca phosphate and higher roughness on anodized Ti surfaces.

Surface modification of polyetherurethaneureas and their antithrombogenicity

Polyetherurethaneurea (PU) films were treated by oxygen plasma discharge followed by acrylic acid (AA) grafting. The carboxyl groups of the AA-grafted PU (PU-AA) surface were coupled with bovine serum albumin and heparin via water soluble carbodiimide. Surface characterization of the modified PUs was carried out by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). The amount of immobilized albumin and heparin on the PU surface was 1.8 and 1.5 μg/cm2, respectively, as determined by the dye interaction method. Interactions between the surface-modified PUs and blood components such as plasma proteins and platelets were investigated to evaluate the blood compatibility of the samples. Plasma recalcification time (PRT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) of the albumin-immobilized PU (PU-Al) were almost the same as those of PU, while platelets were less adhered on the PU-Al than on PU. On the other hand, PRT and APTT of the PU-He were significantly longer than those of the PU, PU-AA, and PU-Al. Moreover, adhesion of platelets was effectively suppressed on the PU-He, leading to good in vitro blood compatibility.

Interaction of blood components with heparin-immobilized polyurethanes prepared by plasma glow discharge

The blood compatibility of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-grafted and heparin (Hep) immobilized polyurethanes was investigated using in vitro plasma recalcification time (PRT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), platelet adhesion and activation, and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) adhesion and activation. In the experiment with plasma proteins, the PRT of the polyurethane (PU) surface was prolonged by PEO grafting and further prolonged by heparin immobilization. The APTT was prolonged on PU-Hep, suggesting the binding of immobilized heparin to antithrombin III. The percentage of platelet adhesion on PU was not much different from that on acrylic acid- and PEO-grafted PUs (PU-C, PU-6, PU-33), yet was substantially decreased by heparin immobilization (PU-6-Hep, PU-33-Hep). The release of serotonin from adhering platelets was slightly suppressed on PEO-grafted PUs yet significantly suppressed on heparin-immobilized PUs. In the PBMC experiments, the adhesion and activation of the cells were significantly suppressed on heparin-immobilized PUs, and the amount of interleukin-6 (IL-6) released from PBMCs stimulated with surface-modified PUs decreased with a decrease in PBMC adhesion.

Morphology and metabolism of Ba-alginate-encapsulated hepatocytes with galactosylated chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) as extracellular matrices

—Lactobionic acid, bearing a β-galactose group, was coupled with chitosan to provide synthetic extracellular matrices together with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The hepatocytes encapsulated in Ba-alginate capsules with galactosylated chitosan (GC) and PVAas extracellular matrices showed aggregation morphologies as the incubation time increased. Ba-alginate-encapsulated hepatocytes with GC exhibited a higher metabolic function in albumin secretion compared to those entrapped in Ba-alginate beads and monolayer-cultured on a collagen-immobilized polystyrene dish. The ammonia removal ability of monolayer-cultured hepatocytes decreased with increasing culture time and disappeared completely after three days. In contrast, the ammonia removal ability of encapsulated and entrapped hepatocytes increased with increasing incubation time in the first seven and five days, respectively. Thereafter, the entrapped hepatocytes lost ammonia removal ability quickly while the encapsulated hepatocytes kept a relatively high ammonia removal ability up to 13 days. The trace amount of GC in the core matrices enabled encapsulated cells to enhance their ammonia removal and albumin secretion ability. The results obtained with 3-(3,4-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) also showed that the capsules incorporated with GC can provide a better microenvironment for cell aggregation along with nutrition and metabolite transfer. Due to the nature of the liquid core, the encapsulated hepatocytes showed very good mobility. This facilitated cell–cell interaction and cell–matrix interaction.

Surface Modification of Magnetites Using Maltotrionic Acid and Folic Acid for Molecular Imaging

Highly hydrophilic, uniform, superparamagnetic and nontoxic maltotrionic acid (MA)-coated magnetite nano-particles (MAM) were prepared and characterized by TEM, DLS, XRD and VSM. MA was used to improve the biocompatibility, monodispersity and non-specific intracellular uptake of nanoparticles. Folic acid (FA) was subsequently conjugated to the MAM to preferentially target KB cells (cancer cells) that have folate receptors expressed on their surfaces and to facilitate nanoparticles in their transit across the cell membrane. Finally, fluorescence isothiocyanate (FITC) was added to the nanoparticles to visualize the nanoparticle internalization into KB cells. After the cells were cultured in a media containing the MAM and MAM-folate conjugate (FAMAM), the results of fluorescence and confocal microscopy showed that both types of nanoparticles were internalized into the cells. Nevertheless, the amount of FAMAM uptake was higher than that of MAM. This result indicated that nanoparticles modified with MA and FA could be used to facilitate the nanoparticle uptake to specific KB cells (cancer cells) for molecular imaging.

Albumin-conjugated Cadmium Sulfide Nanoparticles and their Interaction with KB Cells

Cytotoxicity is a severe problem of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CSNPs) for use in biological systems. In the present study, mercaptoacetic acid-coated CSNPs were conjugated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) to improve biocompatibility. The surface properties of the CSNPs and albumin-conjugated CSNPs (ACSNPs) were characterized by XRD, UV, FTIR, EA, TEM and DLS. Human breast cancer cells (KB cells) were then cultured in the presence of the nanoparticles to evaluate the cytotoxicity of CSNPs and ACSNPs. Finally, the fluorescence intensity of the nanoparticles’ aqueous solution was examined using a fluorescence spectrometer. The results showed that the cell compatibility and fluorescence intensity of ACSNPs were higher than those of CSNPs. The strongly luminescent features of the biocompatible ACSNPs are promising for use in biological fields such as cellular labeling, intracellular tracking and molecular imaging.

Effect of oligomeric photoinitiator on the preperation and electro-optical property of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal

Abstract Effects of such factors as polymerization temperature and a newly synthesized oligomeric photoinitiator (PEDI380) on the electro-optic characteristics of polymer/LC composite films prepared by the UV-curing method were investigated. The polymer-dispersed liquid crystal cells were made with oligomeric photoinitiator PEDI380 by UV-curing method exhibited both low driving voltage (V90) and high contrast ratio under optimum formulation condition.

Morphology and metabolism of hepatocytes microencapsulated with acrylic terpolymer-alginate using gelatin and poly(vinyl alcohol) as extracellular matrices

Microcapsules with good mechanical stability were prepared using an appropriate mixture of alginate and acrylic terpolymer. It was found from the microscopic observation that the microcapsules had a porous structure with interconnected pores, with a size of 50–150 nm. The results of the permeability experiment of microcapsules using FITC-dextrans showed that the capsule had a molecular mass cut-off of 120 kDa. The hepatocytes encapsulated in both alginate and acrylic terpolymer with gelatin and PVA rapidly aggregated in the core. The aggregated cells showed high albumin synthesis and ammonia removal, suggesting good metabolic function.