Browsing by Author "Lee, Duu-Jong"

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Bio-complementary supramolecular polymers with effective self-healing functionality
(2015-01-01)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
;
Chang, Feng-Chih
;
Dai, Shenghong A.
;
Lin, Yu-Li
;
Lee, Duu-Jong
Complementary nucleobase-functionalized polymers, a combination of base-pair interactions and a blend of two different polymers, can be used for efficient construction of supramolecular polymer networks; these materials exhibit tunable mechanical properties, rapid thermo-responsiveness and self-healing behavior making them highly attractive for a wide range of potential applications. Herein, a multi-uracil functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS-U) and adenine end-capped three-arm polycaprolactone oligomer (PCL-A) have been successfully developed and show high complementary ability in both solution and the solid state owing to reversible uracil-adenine (U-A)-induced physical cross-linking. The POSS-U/PCL-A blend system demonstrates that physically crosslinked films can be readily tailored to provide the desired mechanical properties and rapidly reprocessed after damage under mild temperature conditions. Importantly, these films can also spontaneously self-heal at room temperature as an autonomously repairing material, without the need for external intervention. Thus, this new system provides a potential route toward the design and fabrication of next-generation self-healing polymers.
Boron removal with UTC-series reverse osmosis filtration
(2013-03-01)
Chiang, Andrew Cheng-Ting
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Lin, Justin Chun-Te
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Wijayanti, Dewi Ratna
;
Lee, Duu-Jong
;
環境工程研究所
This study compared performance on boron rejection in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membrane filtration in a high pressure cross-flow cell. Real seawaters were sampled at the north, east and south coast of Taiwan and the intake ports of SWRO plants in Penghu and Matsu islands. Four types of flat-sheet RO membranes (SG from GE Osmonics and UTC80, UTC80A, and UTC80S from Toray Industries) were tested. Permeate flux, feed flow rate and boron concentrations at room temperature were recorded over testing time. The UTC-series membranes have better performance on both boron and sodium rejection than SG membrane at all tested pH's. Test data sets were available for the first time using SWRO membrane for boron rejection from seawaters in Taiwan. (c) 2012 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Boron removal with UTC-series reverse osmosis filtration
(2013-03-01)
Chiang, Andrew Cheng-Ting
;
Lin, Justin Chun-Te
;
Wijayanti, Dewi Ratna
;
Lee, Duu-Jong
;
防災與水環境研究中心
This study compared performance on boron rejection in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membrane filtration in a high pressure cross-flow cell. Real seawaters were sampled at the north, east and south coast of Taiwan and the intake ports of SWRO plants in Penghu and Matsu islands. Four types of flat-sheet RO membranes (SG from GE Osmonics and UTC80, UTC80A, and UTC80S from Toray Industries) were tested. Permeate flux, feed flow rate and boron concentrations at room temperature were recorded over testing time. The UTC-series membranes have better performance on both boron and sodium rejection than SG membrane at all tested pH's. Test data sets were available for the first time using SWRO membrane for boron rejection from seawaters in Taiwan. (c) 2012 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Dark fermentation production of volatile fatty acids from glucose with biochar amended biological consortium
(2020-05-01)
Lu, Jia-Hsun
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Chen, Chuan
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Huang, Chihpin
;
Zhuang, Huichuan
;
Leu, Shao-Yuan
Effects of adding biochars on dark fermentation production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from glucose were investigated. Nine biochars were synthesized and applied, together with an activated carbon, as the testing amendment to enhance preferable fermentation. Biochars were porous materials with internal pores and excess surface functional groups, which would lead to enrichment of acetate over butyrate in the VFA production. Biochar coconut and biochar longan shell showed excess functional groups and high bulk internal crystallinity, presented 109.6% and 71.8% enrichments of acetate production, respectively. The syntrophic growth of fermentative bacteria and homoacetogens on biochar surfaces via direct interspecies electron transfer mechanism was assumed to interpret the noted enhanced acetate production. The excess functional groups on biochar surface to facilitate biofilm development and the high crystallinity of biochar bulk to ease electron transfer favored the production of acetate.
Dynamic supramolecular self-assembly: hydrogen bonding-induced contraction and extension of functional polymers
(2017-06-07)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Wang, Jui-Hsu
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Chuang, Wei-Tsung
;
Liao, Zhi-Sheng
;
Huang, Jyun-Jie
Simple construction and manipulation of low-molecular-weight supramolecular polymers, based on incorporation of self-complementary multiple hydrogen bonding interactions, with the desired dynamic response characteristics to achieve high-efficiency supramolecular assembly and control the morphological properties of the polymers remain highly challenging. Herein, we developed a new difunctional tele-chelic supramolecular polymer (UrCy-PPG) containing self-complementary quadruple hydrogen-bonded ureido-cytosine (UrCy) moieties, which spontaneously self-assembles to form long-range-ordered lamellar structures in the bulk state. Scattering and rheological studies confirmed that the dynamic behavior of UrCy units induces structural phase transitions from quadruple to dual hydrogen-bonded arrays, leading to well-controlled, self-organized supramolecular nanostructure morphologies. The microstructural features could be easily tuned by altering environmental conditions, making the self-assembly processes highly efficient. Importantly, temperature/shear stress-dependent microstructural analyses indicated that UrCy-PPG has the capacity to manipulate the transition between contractile and fully extended lamellar structures. Given its novelty, simple synthesis, high reliability, and efficient self-assembly processes, this newly developed supramolecular polymer represents a new concept and pathway for controlled arrangement of self-assembled polymeric nanostructures.
Effects of sodium salt additive to produce ultra lightweight aggregates from industrial sludge-marine clay mix: Laboratory trials
(2020-06-01)
Chien, Chao-Yu
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Show, Kuan-Yeow
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Huang, Chihpin
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Chang, Ying-Ju
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Lee, Duu-Jong
The production of lightweight aggregates from waste is regarded as an environmentally benign means of recycling waste into materials for green building construction, supporting the circular economies of modern societies. In this investigation, aggregates are synthesized from industrial sludge-marine clay mixes using thermal sintering at 1000-1300 degrees C with or without the addition of two sodium salts. The sludge-clay 50/50 mix that is fired at 1200 degrees C and the 0/100 to 50/50 mixes that are fired at 1300 degrees C yield aggregates with a specific gravity of less than unity (lightweight aggregates). The addition of two sodium salts at 1.5% w/w facilitated the formation of lightweight aggregates. This study reports the first time the production of ultra-lightweight aggregates with a specific gravity of less than 0.35 g/cm(3) and sufficiently low water adsorption ratios from a 50/50 mixture with added NaCl and from a 20/80 mix with added Na2CO3 for construction material use. The sodium salt is posited to change the melt properties at the firing temperature used, causing the molten layers to retain their integrity when subjected to gas blasting with the formation of large internal pores and sufficient surface sealing. (C) 2020 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Functionalized graphene nanomaterials: new insight into direct exfoliation of graphite with supramolecular polymers
(2016-01-01)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Chang, Feng-Chih
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Wang, Jui-Hsu
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Chen, Jem-Kun
;
Yen, Ying-Chieh
A novel urea-cytosine end-capped polypropylene glycol (UrCy-PPG) can self-assemble into a long-range ordered lamellar microstructure on the surface of graphene, due to the strong specific interactions between UrCy-PPG and graphene. In addition, the graphene composite produced exhibits a high conductivity (similar to 1093 S m(-1)) with a dramatic thermo-responsive ON/OFF resistance-switching behavior (10 consecutive cycles).
Glucose fermentation with biochar amended consortium: Sequential fermentations
(2020-05-01)
Lu, Jia-Hsun
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Chen, Chuan
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Huang, Chihpin
;
Leu, Shao-Yuan
;
Lee, Duu-Jong
The aim of this work was to study sequential batch fermentation of glucose with a biological consortium amended with nine different biochars or with an activated carbon. The glucose fermentation was enhanced by carbon amendment, with activated carbon being more effective than biochars as cell carriers and electron conductors between functional species. The volatile fatty acid distributions were shifted in the consumption of the produced H-2 and CO2. The types of biochars were irrelevant to glucose glycolysis and the subsequent H-2 and CO2 consumption reactions. Biofilm growth affects the detailed mechanisms occurred in fermentation broth to the yielded volatile fatty acid distributions.
Glucose fermentation with biochar-amended consortium: microbial consortium shift
(2020-01-01)
Lu, Jia-Hsun
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Chen, Chuan
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Huang, Chihpin
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Lee, Duu-Jong
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環境工程研究所
The effects of adding biochar rice husk (R), white popinee (WP), bamboo (BB), or coconut (CT) on microbial community in fermentation broths from glucose were investigated. The added biochars acted as biofilm carriers on which Sporolactobacillus spathodeae, Clostridium sensu stricto 11 sp., Clostridium sensu stricto 12 sp., Clostridium sensu stricto 1 sp., and Clostridium sensu stricto 5 sp. were enriched. Fermentation reactions substantially increased the amounts of acid-producers in biofilm. The homoacetogens, Clostridium carboxidivorans and Clostridium drakei, were identified in the biofilm in the first two batches of fermentation with biochars as electron conductors between acid-producers and homoacetogens to assist homoacetogenesis. The heterotrophic bacteria overcompeted the acid-producers in the biofilm in long-term fermentation.
High-efficiency self-healing materials based on supramolecular polymer networks
(2015-01-01)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Chang, Feng-Chih
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Chen, Jem-Kun
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Wang, Tzu-Yin
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Lee, Duu-Jong
Supramolecular polymers, a combination of secondary interactions and a polymer material, can be used to control supramolecular self-assembly in a polymeric matrix; these materials exhibit unique stimuli-responsiveness and self-healing properties making them highly attractive for various applications. Herein, we developed a novel supramolecular poly-urea containing a urea-cytosine (UrCy) quadruple hydrogen bonding moiety that undergoes a dynamic healing mechanism, "supramolecular polymer networks (SPN)", and rapidly repairs after damage under mild conditions. Interestingly, this newly-developed material can also self-heal at room temperature without external intervention, as evidenced by repeated restoration of mechanical properties. Given its simplicity, efficiency and reliability, this material offers a unique paradigm for developing SPN-based self-healing materials.
Highly efficient drug delivery systems based on functional supramolecular polymers: In vitro evaluation
(2016-03-15)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Chang, Feng-Chih
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Kao, Wan-Yi
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Hwang, Shiaw-Min
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Liao, Li-Chuan
The novel concept of modifying and enhancing the properties of existing functional micelles through self-complementary interactions has significant potential. In this study, a practical approach to living polymerization of functionalized thermoresponsive monomers enabled the incorporation of self constituted multiple hydrogen bonded groups into micelles that have potential as supramolecular drug-delivery systems. Phase transitions and morphological studies in aqueous solution showed that the microstructure can be controlled to achieve well-defined vesicle-like micelles with respect to the strength of the hydrogen bond segment. Thus, the resulting micelles have a very low critical micellization concentration and very high loading capacity (16.1%), making the loading process extremely stable and efficient. Incorporation of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) affected the micellization process in aqueous solution and enabled fine-tuning of drug loading and precise control of drug release rate with excellent sensitivity. Release studies in vitro showed that DOX-loaded micelles exerted dose dependent cytotoxicity against human liver carcinoma (HepG2) cells at the physiological temperature of 37 degrees C. In addition, DOX-loaded micelles were efficiently endocytosed by the cancer cells, which may enable the micelles to serve as suitable vehicles for effective delivery of anticancer drugs to primary tumors and metastatic disease. This newly developed material may provide a potential route towards next-generation drug delivery vehicles. Statement of Significance A breakthrough innovation in water-based thermo-responsive polymers has enabled significant progress in developing smart stimuli-responsive nanocarriers by generating novel "supramolecular polymeric micelles" via self-complementary hydrogen-bonding interactions. These newly developed micelles exhibit extremely high micellar stability and drug loading capacity (up to 16%), excellent thermo-responsive behavior and precise control of drug release rate due to hydrogen-bond-induced physical cross-linking. In addition, doxorubicin-loaded micelles were efficiently endocytosed by the cancer cells, which allows them to serve as suitable vehicles for effective delivery of anticancer drugs to primary tumors and metastatic disease. Thus, this work provides a potential route for the development of next generation multifunctional nanocarriers that have improved safety and to increase the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer therapy. (C) 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Large-scale production of ureido-cytosine based supramolecular polymers with well-controlled hierarchical nanostructures
(2015-01-01)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Chang, Feng-Chih
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Wang, Jui-Hsu
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Chu, Yu-Lin
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Wang, Yeh-Sheng
A novel supramolecular polymer containing urea-cytosine (UrCy) quadruple hydrogen-bonding moieties that possesses a high association constant (K-a > 10(6) M-1) was synthesized at high yield (96%) at kilogram-scale. The synthesized telechelic macromer dissolved in solution can undergo a substantial change in solution viscoelasticity and can self-assemble due to the noncovalent nature of supramolecular polymerization. As the concentration of UrCy in solution was increased, the spherical assemblies gradually transformed to an ordered lamellar phase with an extremely high degree of polymerization. In addition, the dynamic behavior of UrCy units induced a sudden phase transition in the bulk state, revealing an interesting order-disorder transition from a crystalline solid to liquid state. This newly-discovered material has excellent polymer-like features that are distinct to existing systems. A simple path for forming supramolecular polymers is recommended for the design, large-scale production and manipulation of self-assembled materials with distinctive properties.
Membrane Fouling Mitigation: Membrane Cleaning
(2010)
Lin, Justin Chun-Te
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Lee, Duu-Jong
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Huang, Chihpin
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環境工程研究所
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Institute of Environmental Engineering
Fouling is an inevitable hurdle limiting flux and performance of membrane processes. This paper reviewed the literature studies on physical cleaning methods and chemical cleaning and commented on the indices for cleaning efficiencies therein used in literature works.
New bioinspired hole injection/transport materials for highly efficient solution-processed phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes
(2015-04-01)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Chu, Yu-Lin
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Chang, Feng-Chih
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Lee, Duu-Jong
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Yen, Ying-Chieh
A new concept to supramolecular assembly of existed functional polymers, capable of forming network-like organizational clusters through multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions has been exploited. In this paper, a new adenine-based poly(triphenylamine-carbazole) (PTC-A) has been prepared which exhibits a high self-complementary ability in solution and solid states owing to the formation of adenine-adenine (A-A) pairs by induced hierarchical self-assembly. Comparing with uracil-substituted PTC sample (PTC-U), PTC-A presents a much higher thermal stability, electrochemical stability and solvent-resistance ability due to the formation of the more stable physically cross-linking structure. When the PTC-A is utilized as a hole injection/transport layer in a trilayer OLED device, a remarkable improvement in performance relative to the control PTC and PTC-U under similar experimental conditions has been achieved. Further comparison with a control device using a conventional PEDOT:PSS, the efficiency of the solution-processed phosphorescent PLED device with PTC-A is significantly higher than those of PTC-U and PEDOT: PSS-based devices. Thus, PTC-A represents the next-generation hole injection/transport material for high efficiency LED device and low-cost fabrication process. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Nucleobase-Functionalized Supramolecular Micelles with Tunable Physical Properties for Efficient Controlled Drug Release
(2016-10)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Lin, I-Hong
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Chen, Jem-Kun
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Liao, Zhi-Sheng
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Huang, Jyun-Jie
Complementary nucleobase-functionalized polymeric micelles, a combination of adenine-thymine (A-U) base pairs and a blend of hydrophilic-hydrophobic polymer pairs, can be used to construct 3D supramolecular polymer networks; these micelles exhibit excellent self-assembly ability in aqueous solution, rapid pH-responsiveness, high drug loading capacity, and triggerable drug release. In this study, a multi-uracil functionalized poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (U-PCL) and adenine end-capped difunctional oligomeric poly(ethylene glycol) (BA-PEG) are successfully developed and show high affinity and specific recognition in solution owing to dynamically reversible A-U-induced formation of physical cross-links. The U-PCL/BA-PEG blend system produces supramolecular micelles that can be readily adjusted to provide the desired critical micellization concentration, particle size, and stability. Importantly, in vitro release studies show that doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded micelles exhibit excellent DOX-encapsulated stability under physiological conditions. When the pH value of the solution is reduced from 7.4 to 5.0, DOX-loaded micelles can be rapidly triggered to release encapsulated DOX, suggesting these polymeric micelles represent promising candidate pH-responsive nanocarriers for controlled-release drug delivery and pharmaceutical applications.
Pre-Treatment of Natural Organic Matters Containing Raw Water using Coagulation
(2010)
Cheng, Ya-Ling
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Wong, Ruei-Jyun
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Lin, Justin Chun-Te
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Huang, Chihpin
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Lee, Duu-Jong
Coagulation is a commonly adopted process as a pretreatment step for minimizing membrane fouling. Three coagulants, polyaluminum chloride (PACl), alum, and FeCl3 were tested under four mixing-settling schemes for turbidity and natural organic matters (NOM) removal. The organic matters in the raw waters were fractionated by high performance size exclusion chromatography (HP-SEC) system and were characterized using the excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectra. Sufficient rapid mixing and slow mixing or applying two-stage coagulation benefit turbidity removal using PACl or FeCl3 under oelectrostatic patch coagulationo (EPC) mechanism. The EPC mechanism is not efficient for alum coagulation. At higher coagulant doses, the NOM removal is not affected by mixing condition. Intensive rapid mixing alone benefits NOM removal using PACl or FeCl3. Alum is a poor coagulant for NOM removal under EPC mechanism.
Self-Assembled Supramolecular Nanogels as a Safe and Effective Drug Delivery Vector for Cancer Therapy
(2017-05-01)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Liang, Mei-Chih
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Liao, Zhi-Sheng
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Huang, Jyun-Jie
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Lee, Duu-Jong
Simple construction and manipulation of low-molecular-weight supramolecular nanogels, based on the introduction of multiple hydrogen bonding interactions, with the desired physical properties to achieve effective and safe delivery of drugs for cancer therapy remain highly challenging. Herein, a novel supramolecular oligomer cytosine (Cy)-polypropylene glycol containing self-complementary multiple hydrogen-bonded Cy moieties is developed, which undergoes spontaneous self-assembly to form nanosized particles in an aqueous environment. Phase transitions and scattering studies confirm that the supramolecular nanogels can be readily tailored to obtain the desired phase-transition temperature and temperature-induced release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). The resulting nanogels exhibit an extremely high load carrying capacity (up to 24.8%) and drug-entrapment stability, making the loading processes highly efficient. Importantly, in vitro cytotoxicity assays indicate that DOX-loaded nanogels possess excellent biosafety for drug delivery applications under physiological conditions. When the environmental temperature is increased to 40 degrees C, DOX-loaded nanogels trigger rapid DOX release and exert cytotoxic effects, significantly reducing the dose required compared to free DOX. Given its simplicity, low cost, high reliability, and efficiency, this newly developed temperature-responsive nanocarrier has highly promising potential for controlled release drug delivery systems.
Supramolecular Assembly Mediates the Formation of Single-Chain Polymeric Nanoparticles
(2015-10-01)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Chang, Feng-Chih
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Yen, Hsiu-Che
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Lee, Duu-Jong
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Chiu, Chih-Wei
A breakthrough innovation in water-based polymeric nanoparticles has enabled significant progress in mimicking the folding of natural proteins by generating novel "single-chain polymeric nanoparticles" (SCPNs) via supramolecular interactions. In this study, a practical approach to the living polymerization of functionalized oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate monomers allows the incorporation of self-constituted multiple hydrogen-bonded groups into physically cross-linked polymer networks, which enables the formation of highly functionalized SCPNs in an aqueous environment. The newly developed materials are particularly attractive from a practical point of view since they have a very low critical micellization concentration and uniform particle diameters of ca. 25 nm, making them extremely stable under dilute conditions. Concentration-dependent experiments showed that SCPNs formed at polymer concentrations up to 40 mg/mL with no significant change in morphology observed. Moreover, the formed SCPNs had a very high stability in an aqueous solution containing surfactant, suggesting potential for a wide variety of applications as a promising candidate nanocarrier for bioimaging, controlled release, and drug delivery systems.
Supramolecular assembly-induced enhanced emission of electrospun nanofibers
(2015-01-01)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Wang, Yeh-Sheng
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Chang, Feng-Chih
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Lee, Duu-Jong
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Yang, Li-Chih
A nucleobase-assembled supramolecular nanofiber is capable of forming network-like polymeric clusters through complementary hydrogen-bonding interactions. It behaves as an effective chromophore that greatly enhances the light emission efficiency of fluorescent fibers, reaching up to three times higher efficiency than the control samples.
Supramolecular electrospun nanofibers with high conductivity at ultra-low carbon nanotube content
(2016)
Cheng, Chih-Chia
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Wang, Yeh-Sheng
;
Chen, Jem-Kun
;
Lee, Duu-Jong
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應用化學系
Complementary supramolecular polymers can efficiently control the arrangement of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in electrospun nanofibers as a means of manipulating the conductivity pathways of CNTs, thus providing a new route to the fabrication of high-performance supramolecular nanofibers with superior electrical conductivity at ultra-low CNT content.