Eggshell membrane protein as a bioactive agent in PCL nanotopographic scaffolds for accelerating bone regeneration

Yonghyun Gwon,Woochan Kim,Sunho Park,Jangho Kim 대한기계학회 2021 대한기계학회 춘추학술대회 Vol.2021 No.11

A bone regeneration scaffold is typically designed to effectively heal a bone defect while preventing soft tissue infiltration. Despite the wide variety of scaffold materials currently available, such as collagen, critical problems in achieving bone regeneration remain, including a rapid absorption period and low tensile strength as well as high costs. Inspired by extracellular matrix protein and topographical cues, we developed a polycaprolactone (PCL)-based scaffold for bone regeneration using a soluble eggshell membrane protein (SEP) coating and a nanotopography structure for enhancing the physical properties and bioactivity. The highly aligned nanostructures and SEP coating were found to regulate and enhance cell morphology, adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation in vitro. The scaffolds coated with SEP applied to the defect site promoted bone regeneration along the direction of the nanotopography in vivo. These findings demonstrate that bone-inspired nanostructures and SEP coatings have high potential to be applicable in the bone regeneration scaffold.

Eggshell Membrane-incorporated Cell Friendly Tough Hydrogels with Ultra-Adhesive Property

( Yonghyun Gwon ),( Sunho Park ),( Woochan Kim ),( Hyoseong Kim ),( Jangho Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2022 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.27 No.1

Adhesive and tough hydrogels have received increased attention for their potential biomedical applications. However, traditional hydrogels have limited utility in tissue engineering because they tend to exhibit low biocompatibility, low adhesiveness, and poor mechanical properties. Herein, the use of the eggshell membrane (ESM) for developing tough, cell-friendly, and ultra-adhesive hydrogels is described. The ESM enhances the performance of the hydrogel network in three ways. First, its covalent cross-linking with the polyacrylamide and alginate chains strengthens the hydrogel network. Second, it provides functional groups, such as amine and carboxyl moieties, which are well known for enhancing the surface adhesion of biomaterials, thereby increasing the adhesiveness of the hydrogel. Third, it is a bioactive agent and improves cell adhesion and proliferation on the constructed scaffold. In conclusion, this study proposes the unique design of ESM-incorporated hydrogels with high toughness, cell-friendly, and ultra-adhesive properties for various biomedical engineering applications.

Preparation and Characterization of Small Gelatin Nanoparticles with Stable Size Distributions

( Yonghyun Gwon ),( Sunho Park ),( Sujin Kim ),( Daun Kim ),( Ayoun Kim ),( Jangho Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2019 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.24 No.2

The conventional two-step desolvation method was modified for the fabrication of small gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs). The technique was based on the natural phenomenon where with decreasing temperature, the compression between the molecules of substances increases and the volume shrinks. The average size of the fabricated small GNPs was less than 100 nm and their gelatin properties (including non-cytotoxicity) were well maintained. The drug release profiles of the GNPs were confirmed, for which a simple mathematical model based on the conventional diffusion equation was proposed. There was a burst of drug release in the first 3 days, with different release profiles according to the concentration of model drugs loaded onto the GNPs. It was also demonstrated that the drug release profiles of the proposed mathematical model were consistent with the experimental results. Our work proposes that these small GNPs could be used as efficient small material delivery platforms for various biomedical (e.g., medical drugs) and agriculture (e.g., pesticides) applications.

Eggshell Membrane-incorporated Cell Friendly Tough Hydrogels with Ultra-Adhesive Property

( Yonghyun Gwon ),( Sunho Park ),( Woochan Kim ),( Jangho Kim ) 한국농업기계학회 2023 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.28 No.2

Adhesive and tough hydrogels have received increased attention for their potential biomedical applications. However, traditional hydrogels have limited utility in tissue engineering because they tend to exhibit low biocompatibility, low adhesiveness, and poor mechanical properties. Herein, the use of the eggshell membrane (ESM) for developing tough, cell-friendly, and ultra-adhesive hydrogels is described. The ESM enhances the performance of the hydrogel network in three ways. First, its covalent cross-linking with the polyacrylamide and alginate chains strengthens the hydrogel network. Second, it provides functional groups, such as amine and carboxyl moieties, which are well known for enhancing the surface adhesion of biomaterials, thereby increasing the adhesiveness of the hydrogel. Third, it is a bioactive agent and improves cell adhesion and proliferation on the constructed scaffold. In conclusion, this study proposes the unique design of ESM-incorporated hydrogels with high toughness, cell-friendly, and ultra-adhesive properties for various biomedical engineering applications.

Environmentally Friendly Nanoparticles for Enhanced Plant Growth and Pesticide Performance

( Sunho Park ),( Yonghyungwon ),( Woochankim ),( Janghokim ) 한국농업기계학회 2022 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.27 No.2

It is an important challenge to control and improve plant growth and pesticide performance in agriculture, and nanomaterials as novel strategy have been used to achieve these challenges. However, it is usually recognized that nanomaterials including carbon- and metal-based nanomaterials might influence toxicity in plant growth and does cause environmental pollution. In this study, we propose environmentally friendly nanoparticles (NPs) as versatile tool to improve plant growth and pesticide performance. Based on unique properties of NPs (e.g., very tiny size, surface charge, and loading capacity), it can be easily attached to plant leaves regardless of surface properties, and the agrochemical materials with NPs can maintain their effect on the surface of plant leaves for longer. In addition, NPs does not prevent the adsorption of nutrients on the root surfaces, and it can promote the plant growth. In addition, agrichemical materials-loaded NPs can induce the insecticidal and weed-killing effects by maintaining pesticide performance in vitro and in vivo. These findings demonstrate the potential of NPs in the real agricultural fields, and the proposed NPs might be used for future sustainable agriculture.

Environmentally Friendly Nanoparticles for Enhanced Plant Growth and Pesticide Performance

( Sunho Park ),( Yonghyungwon ),( Woochankim ),( Janghokim ) 한국농업기계학회 2022 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.27 No.2

It is an important challenge to control and improve plant growth and pesticide performance in agriculture, and nanomaterials as novel strategy have been used to achieve these challenges. However, it is usually recognized that nanomaterials including carbon- and metal-based nanomaterials might influence toxicity in plant growth and does cause environmental pollution. In this study, we propose environmentally friendly nanoparticles (NPs) as versatile tool to improve plant growth and pesticide performance. Based on unique properties of NPs (e.g., very tiny size, surface charge, and loading capacity), it can be easily attached to plant leaves regardless of surface properties, and the agrochemical materials with NPs can maintain their effect on the surface of plant leaves for longer. In addition, NPs does not prevent the adsorption of nutrients on the root surfaces, and it can promote the plant growth. In addition, agrichemical materials-loaded NPs can induce the insecticidal and weed-killing effects by maintaining pesticide performance in vitro and in vivo. These findings demonstrate the potential of NPs in the real agricultural fields, and the proposed NPs might be used for future sustainable agriculture.

Engineering Plant Growth and Development on Nanotopographical Cues

( Mahpara Safdar ),( Sunhopark ),( Woochankim ),( Yonghyungwon ),( Janghokim ) 한국농업기계학회 2022 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.27 No.2

Seed germination and root development are important indicators of plant development. Here, we propose a new nanotechnology to guide plant growth and development. We developed polymer-based soil model platforms with various nanotopographical features to explore the influence of guiding topographical cues on plant development including phenotypic aspects and gene regulation. The fabricated nanotextured surfaces showed the good mechanical stability, biocompatibility, strong adhesion, non-toxicity as well as super hydrophobicity. Our new Arabidopsis root system had the abundant molecular genetic resources according to the unique nano-structure designs, controlling the plant growth, which can be used as a new platform for investing the phenotype and gene networks. Finally, we showed some examples that our nanotopographical platforms could promote the plant growth and development by providing specific roadmap and transport genes responsible.