Kyung Hee University · Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Professor Min Hyeock Lee's research lab specializes in the development of advanced functional materials for sustainable applications in food science, pharmaceuticals, and biomedicine. The lab focuses on designing nano- and micro-encapsulated delivery systems—particularly using natural clays like halloysite nanotubes and biopolymers—for controlled release of bioactive compounds such as essential oils, curcumin, and other antioxidants. Key research directions include enhancing the stability and performance of active food packaging, improving transdermal drug delivery through thermoresponsive hydrogels, and optimizing the physicochemical properties of edible insect oils for food applications. The lab emphasizes green and sustainable approaches by leveraging natural materials and environmentally friendly processing techniques.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
An antimicrobial capsule releasing thyme oil was developed using modified halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). In order to increase the pore volume, HNTs were treated with 5.0 mol/L NaOH solution, which resulted in the encapsulation of more thyme oil molecules inside the HNTs. The morphology of the raw HNTs and NaOH-treated HNTs (N-HNTs) was characterized using transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis. The loading capacity increased from 180.7 ± 12.7 to 256.4 ± 16.7 m
ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to develop and investigate thermoresponsive hydrogel incorporating curcumin (Cur) for application as a transdermal delivery system. Cur was encapsulated within solid lipid nanoparticles via ultrasonic homogenization, and these were introduced into a thermoresponsive hydrogel composed of pluronic F68 (PF68) and F127 (PF127). The hydrogel composed of PF68 and PF127 in 10:90 ratio transformed from sol to gel at 29.3 °C close to skin temperature. The skin adhesiven
ABSTRACT Active food packaging that releases active agents can extend the shelf‐life and improve the quality and safety of food products. Essential oils have been used as natural food preservatives due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti‐insect properties. However, one of the limitations of using essential oils as active agents is their high volatility. In this study, thyme essential oil, an active antioxidant agent, was encapsulated into halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) using a vacuum proc
Food packaging is one of the most important parts of the food industry, and polyethylene‐based polymers have been widely used as food packaging films. In this study, corona‐treated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films were used to increase adhesion to the barrier coating solution for multilayered film formation and various concentrations of montmorillonite (MMT; 0, 1, 3, and 5 wt.%) were used to improve the barrier properties of PET films for food packaging after different treatments of MMT in
Open papers in the app to read, cite, and organize with AI.
