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- Research Stories : Development of biocatalysts for anti-inflammatory drug synthesis
- Research Stories Development of biocatalysts for anti-inflammatory drug synthesis Improvement of enzyme activity using the structure-based protein engineering approach Medicine Prof.KIM, KYEONG KYU Dr. OH, CHANG SUK So far, the method of chemical synthesis had been used to produce fine chemicals such as medicine. However, the synthesis carries problems such as low economic efficiency and use of hazardous substances. The use of environment-friendly biocatalysts is one of the solutions to overcome these problems. The key advantages of the biocatalysts are the specificity of enzymes to substrates, reactions and stereoisomers, which can reduce the complexity involved in the process of chemical synthesis. Another great advantage is that it reacts in conditions at mild temperature, on atmospheric pressure, or in aqueous solution. For these reasons, the biocatalyst is under the spotlight as the core part of green chemistry, with less by-products and hazardous waste produced during the synthesis process. Protein engineering tools are applied in developing biocatalysts, by improving enzyme activities. There are two main streams in protein engineering: 1) directed evolution (the topic of Nobel Prize on Chemistry, 2018) and 2) structure-based rational design. Rational design is only applicable when structure and mechanism of the protein are available, but it is more efficient than the directed evolutionary approach. Ketoprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is an analgesic or a fever reducer, releasing inflammation and pain mediated by rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. It is used in external painkillers in forms of gel or patches. Ketoprofen has two stereoisomers, S- and R-form, with the S-form showing higher drug effect. The US Food and Drug Administrator guides that stereo isomeric drug should be an enantiomer, not a racemate. The ketoprofen from racemate is required to be highly purified. For high purity of ketoprofen in synthesis, Professor Kyeong Kyu Kim’s group identified 3D structure of esterase Est-Y29 complex, which is extracted from metagenomic library originated from soil in Korea, with (S)-ketoprofen in high resolution using X-ray crystallography. It showed that aromatic residues in substrate-binding pocket of the enzyme positively affects enantioselectivity of Est-Y29 to S-form by the interaction with ketoprofen ethyl ester (a precursor of ketoprofen). Based on 3D structural information of the complex, Kim’s group designed a mutant that has increased aromaticity in the substrate binding pocket and consequently succeeded in developing a new enzyme, whose enantioselectivity toward (S)-ketoprofen was about 5 times higher compared to wild-type. This research is noteworthy in its successful increase of protein function using rational design and the research has been published in ACS Catalysis Online on 2018 Dec 24. Professor Kyeong Kyu Kim explained the significance of the research as follows: “In the research, we developed a new biocatalyst which may displace chemical catalysts, using a 3D structure-based, protein engineering approach. It also proposes a potency of production of effective medicines such as ketoprofen, through environment-friendly methods.” Figure 1. The principal of enantioselectivity of Est-Y29 (S)-ketoprofen ethyl ester (SKE, magenta) forms π-alkyl interaction (pink dashed line) with aromatic residues (Y123, F125, Y170) in substrate-binding pocket of Est-Y29. However, most of the interaction was not shown to (R)-ketoprofen ethyl ester (RKE, blue), so S-form can bind to Est-Y29 more specifically. Figure 2. Increased production of (S)-ketoprofen in Est-Y29 F125W Replacement of phenylalanine at 125 in Wild-type Est-Y29 (top left) to tryptophan (Est-Y29 F125W, top right) increases aromaticity (orange) in substrate-binding pocket (cloud-like shape). The mutation increases affinity to S-form, and finally enhances (S)-ketoprofen production (bottom).
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- 작성일 2019-02-11
- 조회수 2487
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- Moon Mi-ok, Vice Minister of Science and technology information communication, Visit Sungkyunkwan University
- Moon Mi-ok, Vice Minister of Science and technology information communication, Visit Sungkyunkwan University...Holding a meeting with graduate students https://m.news.naver.com/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=105&oid=018&aid=0004300566
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- 작성일 2019-01-30
- 조회수 2125
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- Institute of Quantum Biophysics concludes MOU with Vietnamese Universities
- Institute of Quantum Biophysics concludes MOU with Vietnamese Universities On January 17th, SKKU Institute of Quantum Biophysics concluded a MOU with the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, and Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine for research collaboration and student exchange. SKKU agreed to initiate joint research, professor exchange and install UMP Innovation Center with University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, and agreed to collaborate with Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine by inviting students from the research center to SKKU’s biophysics program. Institute of Quantum Biophysics was established in September 2018 to promote international joint researches and educate future talents in the field of quantum physics. Institute of Quantum Biophysics will continue to promote international cooperation with global research centers and train research experts in the field of nano-bio.
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- 작성일 2019-01-29
- 조회수 2321
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- Development of muscle-mimetic cell-laden Nanofiber using 3D Cell-Electrospinning
- Development of muscle-mimetic cell-laden Nanofiber using 3D Cell-Electrospinning Enhancing muscle regeneration with anisotropically arranged nanofibers Bio-Mechatronic Engineering Prof.KIM, GEUNHYUNG Prof. Geun Hyung KIM and his research team reported that they have successfully aligned the nanofibrous structure by producing live myoblast cells and bioink suitable for electrospinning. Nano-muscular fibers implanted with live myoblast cells acted as if it were a real muscle tissue and accelerated the regeneration of muscle tissue by guiding the muscle cell to grow in a uniaxial direction. Tissue Regeneration Engineering is a field of study developed to improve the regeneration process of damaged tissues/organs by inserting a biological substitute, which is called scaffold. 3D cell-printing and electrospinning has been widely used for this process. However, the cells cultured by 3D cell-printing and electrospinning grew randomly, which was a serious problem for muscles that required its cells to be aligned for proper regeneration. To control cell morphology, they have developed electrospinning to a cell-electrospinning process. The research team used a biocompatible hydrogel to generate cell-laden nanofibers. Also, the hydrogel was added with a material with high processability to produce a bioink, which was applied with high-voltage direct current (Figure 1). After this, myoblast-laden nanofiber can be generated with an aligned pattern. -the myoblast-laden nanofibers showed over 90% of initial cell viability, which was a sign that it overcame the problem of low cell viability from the previous conventional cell-electrospinning process. Moreover, the cell alignment and differentiation improved threefold incomparison to the 3D cell-printing process (Figure 2). -the myoblast-laden nanofibers induced cells to grow in a uniaxial direction, which assists the regeneration of skeletal and cardiac muscle. Prof. KIM said, “This was the first case to successfully produce cell-laden nanofibers in uniaxial arrangement. It suggested a possibility to become a new method of regenerating aligned tissue structure.” This research was supported by a grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. It was selected as the cover page for a world-renowned journal, ‘Small’(Figure 3). Read article at YTN Science http://science.ytn.co.kr/program/program_view.php?s_mcd=0082&s_hcd=0017&key=201811201622508990 Figure 1. Mimetic diagram of Electrospinning and electric radiation depending on the solution Figure 2. Comparison of newly developed electrospinnng and the previous 3D cell-printing process Figure 3. The cover page of 'Small'
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- 작성일 2019-01-16
- 조회수 2460
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- Inaugural Address of the 21st President, Dong Ryeol SHIN
- Inaugural Address of the 21st President, Dong Ryeol SHIN Dear Sungkyun Family, Honorable Chairman Jung Don SEO and former presidents of the university, President of Alumni association Yong Taek YUN and distinguished guests! Today, I stand solemnly as I am inaugurated as the 21st President of the glorious Sungkyunkwan University. I am honored to be able to open a new era in our prestigious university along with everyone seated here. Sungkyunkwan University is a national university with 621 years of glorious history and shining tradition. The university has led the development of higher education in Korea by challenging and innovating with the mind of sharing and coexistence. Now as a ‘Global Leading University’, we will contribute towards the prosperity and development of the humanity along with other prestigious universities in the world. Dear Sungkyun Family! Recently, the environment in higher education has reached the turning point. New forms of technology such as Artificial Intelligence, software, 5G and robotics are calling for creative values as it aims for a hyper-connected society. Universities are at the risk of extinction as they face fiscal and demographic cliff. But Sungkyunkwan University has always turned crisis to opportunities. We have actively pushed for change and innovation without self-contentment. Now we must create new values in order to overcome crisis and change. It is time for us to gather our wisdom and show courage to move on to the future. Today, I would like to suggest a new vision, “Becoming a Global Leading University that achieves student success and future value”. The specific actions plans are: First, we will put ‘Student Success’ as our core value. Today, our knowledge and technology has advanced explosively and the world has become closer than ever. Now our paradigm on the higher education must change. University should no longer be a medium for the simple transmission of knowledge but a space for students to develop and manage their values for a successful life in the future society. From this viewpoint, I propose to initiate an educational innovation centered on three points for “Student Success”. The first point is ‘Less teaching, more learning’. Second point is to expand ‘creative convergence education’. Lastly, our university was the first to open a ‘Student Success Center’. We will establish a solid system of student success support and create a campus environment that embrace all kinds of students. Second, we will focus on the ‘Social Impact’ that creates future value. Our university will now aim for a qualitative growth in order to rise as a world-renowned university. We will take the responsibility to create future value and resolve global issues as we are now a global university. We will construct a ‘Convergent R&E Cluster’ and activate convergent/compound research, which transcends individual majors and campuses. By having a practical cooperation between the Humanities and Social Sciences Campus, Natural Sciences Campus and Samsung Medical Center, joint research among the school system will be activated. Also, we will rise as a ‘Top Global 50 University’ by expanding global researches using global networks of our researchers. Third, we will rise as an entrepreneurial university that leads the new industry. The university needs to be an active partner of the company, government and the world to become a communicative and cooperative platform. We will aid our professors for research accomplishments to expand technology transfer/commercialization and contribute in creating added value for our society. We will invite global companies and research institutes to our campus to achieve smooth industrial-educational cooperation. Especially, we will create a new cooperation model with the global company, Samsung. Fourth, we will do our best to create university community and campus culture. For the university to push ahead a sustainable development, it needs to become a community that shares vision and objective. During my presidency, I will devote myself to create campus culture and brand that symbolizes the spirit and traditions of Sungkyunkwan University. I will try my best to create a brand that contains the founding philosophy of 修己治人and ‘成均’(Sungkyun) in particular. Dear Sungkyun Family! In order to realize ‘Student Success’ and create ‘Future Value’, communication and cooperation among its members are crucial. It is impossible to achieve school’s vision without the communication and participation of members. I will open a venue for professors, faculty, students and alumnus to share opinions for the development of the university. I will offer different channels for multi-directional interaction and communication. I will take the initiative to create a single Sungkyunkwan community which values ‘us’ over ‘I’ and shares the philosophy and value of the university. There is a phrase in the Analects which best represents my current feeling: “任重道遠”. It means that “the responsibility is heavy but there is a long way to go”. But with everyone, I am not fearful. I will write a new history along with fellow members of the Sungkyunkwan community. Let’s dream big. I will lead the way. Thank you. 2019. 01. 08 President of Sungkyunkwan University, Dong Ryeol SHIN
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- 작성일 2019-01-16
- 조회수 2928
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- Professor Kim Tae-il Research Team of Chemical Engineering, Development of a body-insertable stress hormone sensor
- Professor Kim Tae-il Research Team of Chemical Engineering, Development of a body-insertable stress hormone sensor International Journal of Life Science Publication of the January 7 issue of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Professor Kim Tae Il of the Chemical Engineering Department said that he implemented a hormone sensor system that can detect the secretion of stress hormone in real time in cooperation with Choi Young Jin, professor at Sejong University. The team succeeded in recording changes in signals before and after stress stimuli by applying artificial stress to the animals that inserted the system. This research result is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Information and Communication, Korea Research Foundation Future Promising Fusion Technology Pioneer Project (Development of nano-process based bioinjection type integrated device for selective microcontrolling of harmful sensation) International Journal of Life Science PNAS It was published as a paper on the 7th of January.
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- 작성일 2019-01-14
- 조회수 2360
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- SKKU ranked 33rd(Global), 1st(Korea) place in Chemistry
- SKKU ranked 33rd(Global), 1st(Korea) place in Chemistry SKKU has ranked 33rd(global) and1st(Korea) in the chemistry section of the ‘US News Subject Ranking’. US News’ subject ranking is assessed based on the number of thesis publication/citation and global reputation. It uses one of the world’s most renowned database ‘Web of Science’ (Clarivate Analytics) to count the number of thesis publication/citation. For the subject of chemistry, it evaluated 1,032 global universities and SKKU has ranked 33rd globally, 14thin Asia, and 2nd in Korea. UC Berkeley and Nanyang Technological University was named as the top universities in the global ranking. SKKU wasr anked as the top university among regular universities in Korea and it was followed by UNIST, SNU, POSTECH, etc. Relevant Article: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/chemistry
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- 작성일 2019-01-14
- 조회수 2791
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- New Year’s Message from the President of SKKU, Dong Ryeol SHIN
- New Year’s Message from the President of SKKU, Dong Ryeol SHIN Dear Sungkyun Family, The year of Golden Dog has passed, and the new year of 2019 has come. This year is the year of the Golden Pig, which brings abundance to life. I sincerely hope that all SKKU members’ dreams and wishes are realized in accordance with the meaning of the year. Despite the tough domestic and foreign environment, our university has made a great achievement by entering the list of top 100 global universities. SKKU now takes rank with many prestigious universities in the world by achieving 82nd place in THE and 100th place in QS world university rankings. This will leave a significant mark on our university’s long history. Last year, SKKU was selected for the demonstration of university innovation project (PILOT) and has achieved 1st place in the National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) for 12 consecutive years. Also, we saw great results such as recording the highest job employment rate for 5 consecutive years and producing an increasing number of successful candidates for the national exams. We have newly established prospective majors to meet the needs of the era of fusion and convergence. Academic affairs have been reorganized to a flexible and student-centered system, setting the foundation for a new takeoff. In addition, SKKU has exhibited a high level of research power in the global academic world. In 2018, four of our researchers were selected as ‘Highly Cited Researcher’ and we have made excellent academic achievements in both quantity and quality. More than 5000 theses (SCI) were published for 2 years in a row and each piece was cited more than 10 times. Also, SKKU has gained a foothold of GT10+Convergence R&E cluster centered research by establishing the Institute of Quantum Biophysics and Institute of Art & Culture Media Convergence. SKKU was able to maintain inner stability and move on as a global leading university by the united efforts of university, foundation and alumnus. I would like to express my sincere appreciation for all the Sungkyun members for their dedication to our university. We should now take a powerful step toward our goal of being a ‘Global Leading University’. We should bear in mind that if we remain content of our previous achievements, we will fall behind of competition. Our university is now confronting challenges such as: the call for futuristic human resource education, decrease in number of school age population and the appearance of new form in education. SKKU will not remain content of our 600 years of history but move on by overcoming hardships with the collective wisdom of Sungkyun family. This year, I feel a great sense of responsibility and duty as the new president of SKKU. I will do my best to make SKKU a successful model of an innovative university and a truly Global Leading University. I suggest the following policies to achieve this goal: First, strengthen data · convergence education Second, achieve Global TOP 50 researches Third, advance as the leading university of new industries Fourth, manage based on the principle of communication and participation Again, thank you very much for all the dedication towards the development of our university. I wish each and every one of you good health and success in the year of our school’s 621st anniversary. January 1st, 2019 Dong Ryeol SHIN, The President of SKKU
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- 작성일 2019-01-04
- 조회수 2555
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- Professor Park Ho-Seok, 'New material of dream' Phospholin, energy storage device Applicability
- 'New material of dream' Phospholin, energy storage device Applicability -International Journals Nature Materials December 10th Publication- Professor Park Ho-Seok of the Chemical Engineering / Polymer Science and Engineering Department said that the new energy storage mechanism of phosphorane has been identified. The team has demonstrated the feasibility of implementing two-dimensional phosphorylation as an energy storage device through nanostructuring and chemical surface control. Removing black phosporus to a layer thickness of an atom results in phosporene, which is one-tenth of the hair's thickness. Graphene and atomic arrays are similar, but unlike graphene, there is a bandgap (energy level difference) that makes it easier to control the current. The team succeeded in identifying the supercapacitor mechanism of two-dimensional phospholin with two-dimensional nanomaterial synthesis technology and ion-behavior real-time observation technology. Super capacitor is a device that stores energy mainly by physical or surface oxidation / reduction reaction on electrode surface. The researchers have demonstrated through spectroscopy and theoretical calculations that they precisely control the oxidation state of two-dimensional phospholines and show behavior similar to supercapacitors rather than conventional battery behaviors. This research was carried out with the support of the radiation technology development project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Korea Research Foundation, and the energy technology development project of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy. The results of the study were published online in the December 10 issue of Nature Materials, an international journals in the field of materials.
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- 작성일 2018-12-31
- 조회수 2730