Seung Yun Nam

Marine microorganisms as potential biofactories for synthesis of metallic nanoparticles

Abstract The use of marine microorganisms as potential biofactories for green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles is a relatively new field of research with considerable prospects. This method is eco-friendly, time saving, and inexpensive and can be easily scaled up for large-scale synthesis. The increasing need to develop simple, nontoxic, clean, and environmentally safe production methods for nanoparticles and to decrease environmental impact, minimize waste, and increase energy productivity has become important in this field. Marine microorganisms are tiny organisms that live in marine ecosystems and account for >98% of biomass of the world’s ocean. Marine microorganisms synthesize metallic nanoparticles either intracellularly or extracellularly. Marine microbially-produced metallic nanoparticles have received considerable attention in recent years because of their expected impact on various applications such as medicine, energy, electronic, and space industries. The present review discusses marine microorganisms as potential biofactories for the green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles and their potential applications.

Therapeutic potential of dental stem cells

Stem cell biology has become an important field in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering therapy since the discovery and characterization of mesenchymal stem cells. Stem cell populations have also been isolated from human dental tissues, including dental pulp stem cells, stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth, stem cells from apical papilla, dental follicle progenitor cells, and periodontal ligament stem cells. Dental stem cells are relatively easily obtainable and exhibit high plasticity and multipotential capabilities. The dental stem cells represent a gold standard for neural-crest-derived bone reconstruction in humans and can be used for the repair of body defects in low-risk autologous therapeutic strategies. The bioengineering technologies developed for tooth regeneration will make substantial contributions to understand the developmental process and will encourage future organ replacement by regenerative therapies in a wide variety of organs such as the liver, kidney, and heart. The concept of developing tooth banking and preservation of dental stem cells is promising. Further research in the area has the potential to herald a new dawn in effective treatment of notoriously difficult diseases which could prove highly beneficial to mankind in the long run.

Intravascular ultrasonic-photoacoustic (IVUP) endoscope with 2.2-mm diameter catheter for medical imaging.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging is extremely important for detection and characterization of high-risk atherosclerotic plaques as well as gastrointestinal diseases. Recently, intravascular photoacoustic (IVPA) imaging has been used to differentiate the composition of biological tissues with high optical contrast and ultrasonic resolution. The combination of these imaging techniques could provide morphological information and molecular screening to characterize abnormal tissues, which would help physicians to ensure vital therapeutic value and prognostic significance for patients before commencing therapy. In this study, integration of a high-frequency IVUS imaging catheter (45MHz, single-element, unfocused, 0.7mm in diameter) with a multi-mode optical fiber (0.6mm in core diameter, 0.22 NA), an integrated intravascular ultrasonic-photoacoustic (IVUP) imaging catheter, was developed to provide spatial and functional information on light distribution in a turbid sample. Simultaneously, IVUS imaging was co-registered to IVPA imaging to construct 3D volumetric sample images. In a phantom study, a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) tissue-mimicking arterial vessel phantom with indocyanine green (ICG) and methylene blue (MB) inclusion was used to demonstrate the feasibility of mapping the biological dyes, which are used in cardiovascular and cancer diagnostics. For the ex vivo study, an excised sample of pig intestine with ICG was utilized to target the biomarkers present in the gastrointestinal tumors or the atherosclerotic plaques with the proposed hybrid technique. The results indicated that IVUP endoscope with the 2.2-mm diameter catheter could be a useful tool for medical imaging.

In vivo photoacoustic monitoring using 700-nm region Raman source for targeting Prussian blue nanoparticles in mouse tumor model

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is a noninvasive imaging tool to visualize optical absorbing contrast agents. Due to high ultrasonic resolution and superior optical sensitivity, PAI can be used to monitor nanoparticle-mediated cancer therapy. The current study synthesized Food and Drug Administration-approved Prussian blue (PB) in the form of nanoparticles (NPs) with the peak absorption at 712 nm for photoacoustically imaging tumor-bearing mouse models. To monitor PB NPs from the background tissue in vivo, we also developed a new 700-nm-region stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) source (pulse energy up to 200 nJ and repetition rate up to 50 kHz) and implemented optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM). The SRS-assisted OR-PAM system was able to monitor PB NPs in the tumor model with micrometer resolution. Due to strong light absorption at 712 nm, the developed SRS light yielded a two-fold higher contrast from PB NPs, in comparison with a 532-nm pumping source. The proposed laser source involved cost-effective and simple system implementation along with high compatibility with the fiber-based OR-PAM system. The study highlights the OR-PAM system in conjunction with the tunable-color SRS light source as a feasible tool to assist NP-mediated cancer therapy.

Memristive states in vanadium-dioxide-based planar devices stimulated by 966 nm infrared laser pulses

Utilizing a 966 nm laser for excitation, we demonstrated memristive states in a two-terminus device based on a vanadium dioxide thin film. For memristive switching, the device was thermally biased at ~71.6 °C so that its temperature fell into the thermal hysteresis region of the device resistance. Following the stimulation with successive laser pulses, the device resistance decreased discretely, showing multiple resistances whose transient variation was significantly suppressed. Seven resistance states were obtained by applying six consecutive pulses of 10 ms duration and increasing power. The maximum resistance variation was ~2.2% of the stabilized resistance.

Fish bone peptide promotes osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts through upregulation of MAPKs and Smad pathways activated BMP-2 receptor

Fish bone, a by‐product of fishery processing, is composed of protein, calcium, and other minerals. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a bioactive peptide isolated from the bone of the marine fish, Johnius belengerii, on the osteoblastic differentiation of MC3T3‐E1 pre‐osteoblasts. Post consecutive purification by liquid chromatography, a potent osteogenic peptide, composed of 3 amino acids, Lys‐Ser‐Ala (KSA, MW: 304.17 Da), was identified. The purified peptide promoted cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, mineral deposition, and expression levels of phenotypic markers of osteoblastic differentiation in MC3T3‐E1 pre‐osteoblast. The purified peptide induced phosphorylation of mitogen‐activated protein kinases, including p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase, extracellular regulated kinase, and c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase as well as Smads. As attested by molecular modelling study, the purified peptide interacted with the core interface residues in bone morphogenetic protein receptors with high affinity. Thus, the purified peptide could serve as a potential pharmacological substance for controlling bone metabolism.

Effect of multiple-sweeping on ablation performance during ex vivo laser nephrectomy

Fiber‐assisted laser surgery has been employed as a minimally invasive method in various medical fields. In spite of multiple sweeping on tissue during laser treatments, the rate of tissue removal gradually decreases and eventually leads to longer irradiation times as well as deeper thermal injury. The objective of the current study was to quantitatively investigate the effect of multiple fiber sweeps on ablation performance during ex vivo 532‐nm laser nephrectomy.

Inline selection of transmission or reflection spectra of different fiber Bragg gratings using polarization-diversity loop

We show the inline selection of transmission or reflection spectrum of one of two fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) with different Bragg wavelengths by incorporating a polarization-diversity loop without reconfiguring the filter structure. The proposed filtering apparatus consists of a fiber-pigtailed polarization beam splitter, two FBGs, and three quarter-wave plates (QWPs). Without optical switches and couplers, the proposed filter can flexibly choose the transmission or reflection spectrum of each FBG through proper control of the QWPs contained in the filter. The fabricated filter shows an average insertion loss of ~4.43 dB, average band rejection ratio of ~17.92 dB, and average side-mode suppression ratio of ~19.73 dB.

Applications of Seaweed Polysaccharides in Dentistry

Seaweeds are potential sources of high biotechnological interest due to production of diverse compounds exhibiting a broad spectrum of biological activities. Alginate is a versatile and adaptable biomaterial that has found numerous biomedical applications, which include wound healing, drug delivery and tissue engineering. Alginate scaffolds have been widely used as cell carriers in tissue engineering because of their hydrophilic properties, porous three-dimensional structure, and excellent tissue compatibility. Alginate hydrogels have already been explored as drug delivery systems to enhance regeneration in different tissues and organs. In dentistry, the sea weed polysaccharide and its derivatives are used as impression material to complex applications, such as drug delivery, scaffold for bone tissue engineering and coating material for dental implant. The chapter outlines the application of sea weed polysaccharides in dentistry.

Second-order fiber interleaving filter based on polarization-diversified loop

Abstract. A second-order fiber interleaving filter that can provide a channel interleaving capability in second-order comb spectra is proposed and demonstrated on the basis of a polarization-diversified loop comprised of a four-port polarization beam splitter, four rotatable half-wave plates (HWPs), and three high birefringence fiber (HBF) segments. Each HBF segment is positioned between two adjoining HWPs, and two HWPs located among the three HBF segments determine the effective angular orientation difference among their principal axes, or fast and slow axes. At specific orientation angles of the four HWPs, second-order comb spectra such as flat-top and narrow-band ones could be obtained with a free spectral range (FSR) of ∼0.792  nm. In particular, the frequency interleaving of these second-order comb spectra, that is, a half FSR switching, could be implemented by controlling two out of four HWPs, which is the first demonstration of the interleaving operation in second-order comb spectra without expensive birefringence modulators. These spectral characteristics of the proposed filter were theoretically predicted and experimentally demonstrated.