Hyuk-Jin Lee

Several studies have utilized a lipid nanoparticle delivery system to enhance the effectiveness of mRNA therapeutics and vaccines. However, these nanoparticles are recognized as foreign materials by the body and stimulate innate immunity, which in turn impacts adaptive immunity. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the specific type of innate immune response triggered by lipid nanoparticles. This article provides an overview of the immunological response in the body, explores how lipid nanopar

Ionizable lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have been widely used for in vivo delivery of RNA therapeutics into the liver. However, a main challenge remains to develop LNP formulations for selective delivery of RNA into certain types of liver cells, such as hepatocytes and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs). Here, we report the engineered LNPs for the targeted delivery of RNA into hepatocytes and LSECs. The effects of particle size and polyethylene glycol-lipid content in the LNPs were evaluate

Chemical conjugates of paclitaxel and hyaluronic acid (HA) were synthesized by utilizing a novel HA solubilization method in a single organic phase. Hydrophilic HA was completely dissolved in anhydrous DMSO with addition of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) by forming nanocomplexes. Paclitaxel was then chemically conjugated to HA in the DMSO phase via an ester linkage without modifying extremely hydrophilic HA. A series of HA-paclitaxel conjugates with different conjugation percentages were synthesize

Hydrogel-based biosensors have drawn considerable attention due to their various advantages over conventional detection systems. Recent studies have shown that hydrogel biosensors can be excellent alternative systems to detect a wide range of biomolecules, including small biochemicals, pathogenic proteins, and disease specific genes. Due to the excellent physical properties of hydrogels such as the high water content and stimuli-responsive behavior of cross-linked network structures, this system

Hemophilia is a hereditary disease that remains incurable. Although innovative treatments such as gene therapy or bispecific antibody therapy have been introduced, substantial unmet needs still exist with respect to achieving long-lasting therapeutic effects and treatment options for inhibitor patients. Antithrombin (AT), an endogenous negative regulator of thrombin generation, is a potent genome editing target for sustainable treatment of patients with hemophilia A and B. In this study, we deve

Early diagnosis and effective cancer therapy are required, to properly treat cancer, which causes more than 8.2 million deaths in a year worldwide. Among various cancer treatments, nanoparticle-based cancer therapies and molecular imaging techniques have been widely exploited over the past decades to overcome current drawbacks of existing cancer treatments. In particular, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene oxide (GO), and upconversion nanocrystals (UNCs) have attracted

PLGA-grafted HA copolymers were synthesized and utilized as target specific micelle carriers for DOX. For grafting hydrophobic PLGA chains onto the backbone of hydrophilic HA, HA was solubilized in an anhydrous DMSO by nano-complexing with dimethoxy-PEG. The carboxylic groups of HA were chemically grafted with PLGA, producing HA-g-PLGA copolymers. Resultant HA-g-PLGA self-assembled in aqueous solution to form multi-cored micellar aggregates and DOX was encapsulated during the self-assembly. DOX-

We report on catechol-grafted poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG-g-catechol) for the preparation of nonfouling surfaces on versatile substrates including adhesion-resistant PTFE. PEG-g-catechol was prepared by the step-growth polymerization of PEO to which dopamine, a mussel-derived adhesive molecule, was conjugated. The immersion of substrates into an aqueous solution of PEG-g-catechol resulted in robust PEGylation on versatile surfaces of noble metals, oxides, and synthetic polymers. Surface PEGylatio

Abstract Gold nanoprobes immobilized with fluorescein‐hyaluronic acid (HA) conjugates are fabricated and utilized for monitoring intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in live cells via nanoparticle surface energy transfer. A bio‐inspired adhesive molecule, dopamine, is used to robustly end‐immobilize HA onto the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for securing intracellular stability against glutathione. ROS induces cleavage and fragmentation of the HA chains immobilized on th

A plant-inspired, amine-containing small phenol molecule, 5-pyrogallol 2-aminoethane (PAE), can perform surface functionalization in a material-independent manner. The co-existence of primary amine and pyrogallol moieties are essential for the material-independent coating ability of PAE. The multi-functionality of the PAE-mediated surface chemistry will be useful in many areas including biomedical applications, drug delivery, and the development of energy storage devices. As a service to our aut