Earticle

New low temperature synthesis of germanium nanoparticles obtained from the reaction of germanium tetrachloride and sodium/benzophenonewere developed. These germanium nanoparticles terminated with chloride group were oxidized in air to give hydroxy-terminated germanium nanoparticles. Germanium nanoparticle containing 20(S)-camptothecin (CPT) for a noble drug delivery system were developed. FT-IR spectroscopy was used for the characterization of vibrational absorption for the germanium nanoparticle and oxidized germanium nanoparticles containing camptothecin. Electronic absorption and fluorescence properties were measured with UV-Vis and fluorescence spectrometer. The morphology of oxidized germanium nanoparticles containing camptothecin was investigated by using TEM.

Dihydrotetraphenylgermole has been synthesized from the reduction of dichlorotetraphenylgermole with lithiumaluminiumhydride. UV-Vis absorption and photoluminescence was measured by using UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. Nanoparticles of dihydrotetraphenylsilole were synthesized from the mixture solution of water and THF. Photoluminescence behavior of organogermanium nanoparticle was investigated at various water fractions. Critical fraction of water to form organogermanium nanoparticles was 60%. Photoluminescence intensity of organogermanium nanoparticle was increased as the concentration of organogermanium nanocolloids increased. Photoluminescence efficiency of organogermanium nanoparticle at 90% water fraction increased about 100 times compared to that of molecular state.

Relationship between etch current and morphology and porosity of porous silicon (PS) has been investigated. The gravimetric method is applied to measured the porosity of PS. As the current density increase, the silicon dissolution rate increases, resulting in a higher porosity and etching rate. The result shows that linear dependence of PS porosity and etching rate as a function of current density. The morphology of porous silicon was investigated by using cold field emission scanning electron micrograph (FE-SEM). The size of pores formed during anodization is predominantly controlled by the current density, with an increase in the pore size corresponding to an increase in the current density.

The objectives of this experiment were to study the growth and development of fruiting body of the two Ganoderma lucidum isolates on log of the soft wood Paraserianthes falcataria and the hard wood Shorea sp., and determination of organic germanium and crude ganoderic acid content of the fruiting body produced. The two Ganoderma lucidum isolates used were one Indonesian native (Indonesia isolate) and another isolate was purchased from Fungi Perfecti, USA (commercial isolate). The development and quality of the primordium and fruiting body of the mushroom, in general, were influenced by the isolates used. The types of wood, however, had no effect on the quality of the primordium and fruiting body produced. The Indonesian isolate produced better fruiting body compared to that of the commercial isolate. The development of fruiting body from primordium, however, was low for the two isolates tested. In general, only about one third of the primordium developed further into mature fruiting bodies, except for the commercial isolate grown on the soft wood medium in which more than 60% of the primordium developed into mature fruiting body. Apart from producing normal fruiting body, the commercial isolate also produced an abnormal one, which had a white mature pileus, whereas the normal one was brownish red. The organic germanium concentration of the fruiting body produced on the hard wood, in general, was higher than that of grown on the soft wood. The fruiting body from commercial isolate had higher organic germanium concentration compared to that of Indonesian isolate in both wood types. The two isolates used, however, had almost the same value of the crude ganoderic acid concentration in both types of wood tested. The Indonesian isolate had higher total yield of both organic germanium and crude ganoderic acid of the fruiting body produced compared to that of the commercial isolate.

Effects of the spherically shaped Ge and the rod-like carbon-coated Ge on the superconducting properties of MgB2 were investigated. Pure Ge and carbon-coated Ge nano-powders were synthesized under the different amount of CH4 (0 to 5 kPa) by using DC thermal plasma method. When the CH4 was added ~100 nm sized Ge with a spherical shape changed to rod-like morphology with a diameter of ~30-70 nm and a length of ~400-500 nm. Also it was confirmed that thin carbon layers of a few nanometers were formed along the rod length and the agglomerated carbons were found on the edges of rods. Pure spherical Ge and Ge/C rods were mixed and milled with Mg & B precursor to form the doped MgB2 bulk samples by the solid-state reaction method. Almost no change of Tc was noticed for the pure Ge-added MgB2, whereas Tc was found to decrease with the Ge/C-added MgB2 samples. It was found that the pure spherical Ge showed to have a negative effect on the flux pinning of MgB2. However, Ge/C rods can enhance the flux pinning property of Jc due to the coated carbon on Ge rods.

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of germanium treatment on the growth and organic germanium production in the roots of Oplopanax elatus plantlets. Methods and Results: O. elatus plantlets were cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with different concentrations of germanium dioxide (GeO2) to analyze optimum growth conditions. Exogenous treatment of 10 ㎎/ℓ GeO2 promoted growth and an increase in the contents of chlorophyll a, b and carotenoid in O. elatus. The germanium accumulation and production in roots of O. elatus plantlets treated with organic germanium reached the highest levels. The growth of the aerial and underground portion of O. elatus with organic germanium was greater than that of the control. The accumulation and production of organic germanium reached the highest level (40.89 ㎍/plantlet) with the treatment of 50 ㎎/ℓ GeO2. Antioxidant activity measured by DPPH and ABTS assays also increased with the germanium treatment and improved the DPPH and ABTS radical activity by 200% compared with that in the control. In addition, the total phenol and flavonoid contents of the plantlets with a treatment of 50 ㎎/ℓ GeO2 were higher than in the control. Conclusions: Taken together, the growth of O. elatus was increased with the treatment of 50 ㎎/ℓ GeO2 germanium and the biological references improved, with increased antioxidant activity and organic germanium production.

Since germanium has been shown to be beneficial for the treatment of diseases such as cancer and rheumatic arthritis, we developed an adapted process of bio-germanium preparation using inorganic germanium. In the present study we determined the optimal conditions for culturing yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (KCTC-1199), and the best concentrations of inorganic germanium for the adaptation process. The resulting method was successful at producing high quantities of germanium yeasts. The following are the culture conditions that obtained the highest level of productivity: an inorganic germanium concentration of 3,000-5,000 ppm, a pH of 6.5, a temperature of 35℃, and 20 hr of incubation time. In addition to this high-yield quantity study, we observed the acute oral toxicity of mice treated with Geranti Bio-Ge Yeast(R). We found no changes in body weight, or in the mortality between the control groups and the bio-germanium yeast group. There were also no digestive problems such as diarrhea that occurred in either group.

HPGe 검출기를 이용하여 밀도가 다양한 환경시료에 대한 정밀 분석시 정확한 분석을 위해서는 밀도보정인자가 필요하다. 밀도에 대한 보정인자를 구하기 위해서 본 연구에서는 몬테카를로 코드인 MCNPX 코드를 사용하여 크리스털의 높이, 지름및 코어의 크기와 같은 특성이 다른 세 대의 p-type HPGe 검출기를 모사하고 밀도 1 g/cm3의 교정용 표준시료를 이용하여 모델링을 검증하였다. 검증을 통하여 모델링을 확정한 후 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.0, 1.2, 1.5 g/cm3 밀도를 가진 샘플에 대한 효율을 시뮬레이션하고 밀도보정인자를 도출하였다. 도출된 각 검출기에 대한 밀도보정인자를 비교하였을 때 전 에너지 범위에서 그차이가 거의 없음을 확인하였으며 이는 검출기의 크리스털과 같은 주요 특성에 대해 밀도보정인자가 독립적임을 의미한다.

The precise determination of the activity for each radionuclide in environmental samples requires the self-absorption correction factor. In this research, we derived the self-absorption correction factor for three p-type high purity germanium detectors using the Monte Carlo code MCNPX. These detectors have different characteristics such as crystal diameter, height and size of the core. We compared the calculated full-energy peak efficiency with the experimental value using a standard sample with 1 g/cm3 density and verified the modeling. We simulated the dependency of the full-energy peak efficiency on the 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.0, 1.2 and 1.5 g/cm3 samples and obtained the corresponding self-absorption correction factor. The self-absorption correction factors calculated for the three detectors differ by less than 1% over most of the energy range and sample densities considered. This indicates that the self-absorption correction factors are independent of the crystal characteristics of HPGe detector.

고함량 게르마늄을 함유시키기 위해서 Saccharomyces cerevisiae KCTC 7904와 Zygosaccharomyces rauxii KCTC 7966를 전기융합하고 효모 배지에 게르마늄을 첨가하여 게르마늄 강화 효모를 생산하였다. 전기융합된 효모의 원질체는 여러 개의 긴 pearl chain을 형성했고, fusion chamber 내의 강한 직류에 의해서 세포막의 파괴가 일어나고 세포막의 재유착 과정에 의해서 두 세포간의 융합이 일어났다. 융합된 세포를 배지에서 계대하여 성장이 빠른 균체를 선별하고, 탄수화물 이용성 및 당 대성, 염내성의 특성을 확인한 결과, 당내성은 융합체가 Z. rouxii 와 유사하고, S. cereviside보다 좋은 내성을 보였다. S. cerevisiae는 포도당 농도가 40% 이상에서는 생육이 불가능 한 것으로 나타났다. NaCl첨가량에 따른 내성을 살펴본 결과, 융합주는 12%까지 내성을 나타냈다. 융합체의 크기는 친주보다 컸으며, pH 5의 범위에서 게르마늄의 최적 소모율을 나타냈다. pH 5.5에서 건조 효모내 함유되어 있는 게르마늄 농도는 S. cereviside는 1,856 ppm, Z. rouxii는 1,310 ppm, 융합체는 5,180 ppm으로 친주보다 약 4배 이상 게르마늄 농도가 가장 높았다. 게르마늄의 함량을 높이기 위한 S. cereviside와 Z. rouxii의 전기융합은 효모 균체의 체적을 증가시켰을 뿐만 아니라, 게르마늄의 균체내 축적율도 증가시켜서 다량의 유기 게르마늄을 생산하는 데 매우 효과적이었다. 결론적으로, S. cereviside와 Z. rouxii의 전기융합을 통해 개발된 융합체는 40%이상에서 당내성을 보이고, NaCl 15% 이상까지 내성을 나타냈으며, 균체의 크기 및 게르마늄의 흡수율도 친주보다 우수하였고, pH 5에서 최대의 게르마늄 흡수율을 보였다. 이렇게 개발된 융합체는 향후 고함량 게르마늄을 생산하는데 매우 유용한 균주로 이용될 수 있음을 확인하였다.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii were electrofused and fermented in germaniumfortified nutrients to produce high-yield, organic germanium. The conditions for the preparation of protoplasts from both strains and for electrofusion were studied. The protoplasts of both cells formed long pearl chains and the cell membranes were lysed and fused through cellulase and high frequency voltage (450~750V/128~512 μsec). The fusants with the fastest growth were selected, and then characterized for their carbohydrate usage and tolerance to glucose and salts. The glucose tolerance of the fusants was better than that of S. cerevisiae and similar to that of Z. rouxii. The fusants appeared to have resistance to 12% NaCl. The cell size of the fusants was greater than that of the parental strains. The fusant cells contained more gemlanium than the parental cells did. The electrofusion of S. cerevisiae and Z. rouxii increased the cell capacity and accumulation of germanium in the yeasts. This method was proved to be effective to produce a high quantity of organic germanium.

지하수 중의 극미량 germanium을 ICP-MS로 신속, 정확하게 분석할 수 있었으며 질량수 74를 분석하는 것이 가장 방해영향이 적음을 알 수 있었다. 지하수 중의 약 30%만이 $0.1{\mu}g/L$ 이상의 germanium을 함유하였고, 유기 germanium을 포함하는 지하수의 존재도 확인하였다.

A rapid and accurate determination method of ultra-trace amounts of germanium in spring water by ICP-MS has been developed. Mass number 74 was not only the best mass but also the smallest mass interference. Only 30% of water samples contain germanium more than $0.1{\mu}g/L$, and a few of them has organogermanium species.

Germanium in various botanical drugs was determined by flameless atomic absorption spectro-photometry with a graphite tube atomizer. The amounts of Ge in Zingiberis Rhizoma and Angelicae Radix were $169{\mu}g/g$ and $146{\mu}g/g$, respectively. The amounts of Ge in some other drugs ranged from $70{\mu}g/g$ to $130{\mu}g/g$. There is much more Ge in botanical drugs than in foods.

수소화물생성법-유도결합플라스마-원자방출분광법으로 게르마늄을 분석할 때 보조산으로 phosphoric acid의 사용은 nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, perchloric acid, boric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, oxalic acid, acetic acid, tannic acid, citric acid의 사용보다 높은 수소화물 생성효율을 보였고, 같은 pH영역이라도 phosphate ion이 존재하는 buffer의 사용이 더 높은 생성효율을 보였다. 또한, 2.5M phosphoric acid를 이용한 결과, 시료용액 내에 잔류하는 산이나 공존원소의 영향이 감소하였다. 환원제와 안정제의 농도가 증가할수록 수소화물 생성효율은 증가되었으며, 최대방출세기를 나타내는 산의 세기는 높은 쪽으로 이동했고 농도영역은 넓어졌다. 인산 존재 하에서의 게르마늄의 검출한계는 $0.03{\mu}g/L$이었다.

The present work is aimed to evaluate the conditions of the hydride generation (HG) for germanium analysis by inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-atomic emission spectrometry (AES). Twelve different kinds of acids were used such as phosphoric, hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric, perchloric, boric, tartaric, malic, oxalic, tannic, citric, and acetic acid. It was found that phosphoric acid yielded the maximum efficiency of hydride generation. Also, efficient hydride generation was obtined with the buffer solutions containing phosphate ions over a wide range of pH. In addition, in the presence of phosphoric acid the interference caused by metals was suppressed in the hydride generation of germanium. As the concentrations of a reducing agent and a stabilizing increased the hydride generation efficiency and the acid concentration proviaing the maximum intensity were increased. By using an analytical method developed in this study, the contents of germanium in water and rock samples were determined. The detection limit of germanium in the presence of phosphoric acid was $0.03{\mu}g/L$.