One-dimensional MgO nanostructures with various morphologies were synthesized by a thermal evaporation method. The synthesis process was carried out in air at atmospheric pressure, which made the process very simple. A mixed powder of magnesium and active carbon was used as the source powder. The morphologies of the MgO nanostructures were changed by varying the growth temperature. When the growth temperature was 700 °C, untapered nanowires with smooth surfaces were grown. As the temperature increased to 850 °C, 1,000 °C and 1,100 °C, tapered nanobelts, tapered nanowires and then knotted nanowires were sequentially observed. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the MgO nanostructures had a cubic crystallographic structure. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis showed that the nanostructures were composed of Mg and O elements, indicating high purity MgO nanostructures. Fourier transform infrared spectra peaks showed the characteristic absorption of MgO. No catalyst particles were observed at the tips of the one-dimensional nanostructures, which suggested that the one-dimensional nanostructures were grown in a vapor-solid growth mechanism.

Tin oxide (SnO2) nanocrystals are synthesized by a thermal evaporation method using a mixture of SnO2 and Mg powders. The synthesis process is performed in air at atmospheric pressure, which makes the process very simple. Nanocrystals with a belt shape start to form at 900 oC lower than the melting point of SnO2. As the synthesis temperature increases to 1,100 oC, the quantity of nanocrystals increases. The size of the nanocrystals did not change with increasing temperature. When SnO2 powder without Mg powder is used as the source material, no nanocrystals are synthesized even at 1,100 oC, indicating that Mg plays an important role in the formation of the SnO2 nanocrystals at temperatures as low as 900 oC. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the SnO2 nanocrystals have a rutile crystal structure. The belt-shaped SnO2 nanocrystals have a width of 300~800 nm, a thickness of 50 nm, and a length of several tens of micrometers. A strong blue emission peak centered at 410 nm is observed in the cathodoluminescence spectra of the belt-shaped SnO2 nanocrystals.

Zinc oxide(ZnO) micro/nanocrystals are grown via thermal evaporation of ZnO powder mixed with Mn powder, which is used as a reducing agent. The ZnO/Mn powder mixture produces ZnO micro/nanocrystals with diverse morphologies such as rods, wires, belts, and spherical shapes. Rod-shaped ZnO micro/nanocrystals, which have an average diameter of 360 nm and an average length of about 12 μm, are fabricated at a temperature as low as 800 °C due to the reducibility of Mn. Wireand belt-like ZnO micro/nanocrystals with length of 3 μm are formed at 900 °C and 1,000 °C. When the growth temperature is 1,100 °C, spherical shaped ZnO crystals having a diameter of 150 nm are synthesized. X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that ZnO had hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. A strong ultraviolet emission peak and a weak visible emission band are observed in the cathodoluminescence spectra of the rod- and wire-shaped ZnO crystals, while visible emission is detected for the spherical shaped ZnO crystals.

ZnO micro/nanocrystals are formed by a vapor transport method. Mixtures of ZnO and TiO powders are used as the source materials. The TiO powder acts as a reducing agent to reduce the ZnO to Zn and plays an important role in the formation of ZnO micro/nanocrystals. The vapor transport process is carried out in air at atmospheric pressure. When the weight ratios of TiO to ZnO in the source material are lower than 1:2, no ZnO micro/nanocrystals are formed. However, when the ratios of TiO to ZnO in the source material are greater than 1:1, the ZnO crystals with one-dimensional wire morphology are formed. In the room temperature cathodoluminescence spectra of all the products, a strong ultraviolet emission centered at 380 nm is observed. As the ratio of TiO to ZnO in the source material increases from 1:2 to 1:1, the intensity ratio of ultraviolet to visible emission increases, suggesting that the crystallinity of the ZnO crystals is improved. Only the ultraviolet emission is observed for the ZnO crystals prepared using the source material with a TiO/ZnO ratio of 2:1.

ZnO crystals with different morphologies are synthesized through thermal evaporation of the mixture of Zn and Cu powder in air at atmospheric pressure. ZnO crystals with wire shape are synthesized when the process is performed at 1,000 oC, while tetrapod-shaped ZnO crystals begin to form at 1,100 oC. The wire-shaped ZnO crystals form even at 1,000 oC, indicating that Cu acts as a reducing agent. As the temperature increases to 1,200 oC, a large quantity of tetrapod-shaped ZnO crystals form and their size also increases. In addition to the tetrapods, rod-shaped ZnO crystals are observed. The atomic ratio of Zn and O in the ZnO crystals is approximately 1:1 with an increasing process temperature from 1,000 oC to 1,200 oC. For the ZnO crystals synthesized at 1,000 oC, no luminescence spectrum is observed. A weak visible luminescence is detected for the ZnO crystals prepared at 1,100 oC. Ultraviolet and visible luminescence peaks with strong intensities are observed in the luminescence spectrum of the ZnO crystals formed at 1,200 oC.

TiO2 nanowires were grown by thermal oxidation of TiO powder in an oxygen and nitrogen gas environment at 1000 oC. The ratio of O2 to N2 in an ambient gas was changed to investigate the effect of the gas ratio on the growth of TiO2 nanowires. The oxidation process was carried out at different O2/N2 ratios of 0/100, 25/75, 50/50 and 100/0. No nanowires were formed at O2/N2 ratios of less than 25/75. When the O2/N2 ratio was 50/50, nanowires started to form. As the gas ratio increased to 100/0, the diameter and length of the nanowires increased. The X-ray diffraction pattern showed that the nanowires were TiO2 with a rutile crystallographic structure. In the XRD pattern, no peaks from the anatase and brookite structures of TiO2 were observed. The diameter of the nanowires decreased along the growth direction, and no catalytic particles were detected at the tips of the nanowires which suggests that the nanowires were grown with a vapor-solid growth mechanism.

Cu2O nanowires were synthesized at large scale on copper plate by thermal oxidation in air. The effect of oxidation time and temperature on the morphology of the nanowires was examined. The oxidation time had no effect on the diameter of the nanowires, while it had a great effect on the density and the length of the nanowires. The density and the length of the nanowires increased, and then decreased, with increasing oxidation time. The oxidation temperature had a tremendous effect on the size-distribution as well as the density of the nanowires. When the oxidation temperature was 700˚C, uniform size-distribution and high density of the nanowires was achieved. At lower and higher temperatures, the density of the nanowires was lower, and they displayed a broader size-distribution. It is suggested that the Cu2O nanowires were grown via a vapor-solid mechanism because no catalyst particles were observed at the tips of the nanowires.

The effect of oxygen pressure on the synthesis of ZnO nanowires by means of melt-oxidation of an Al-Zn mixture was investigated. The samples were prepared in oxygen ambient for 1 h at 1,000˚C under oxygen pressure ranging from 0.5 to 100 Torr. ZnO nanowires were formed at oxygen pressures lower than 10 Torr. As the oxygen pressure increased from 0.5 to 10 Torr, the width of the nanowires increased, but their length decreased. The ZnO nanowires had a needle shape, which became gradually thinner toward the tip. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the nanowires had a hexagonal wurtzite structure. However, ZnO nanowires were not observed when the oxygen pressure increased from 10 Torr to 100 Torr. In roomtemperature cathodeluminescence spectra of the ZnO nanowires, the intensity of ultra-violet emission at 380 nm increased with decreasing oxygen pressure, which indicated that the lower the oxygen pressure, the better the crystallinity of the ZnO nanowires.

Epithelium maintains homeostasis by the signaling balance of growth stimulation and inhibition. Recently, loss of growth inhibitory effects of transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) on epithelial cells is regarded as a possible mechanism of cancer. Although the genomic mutation in type I and type Ⅱ receptors of TGF-β is considered one of important mechanism of these inactivation, there might be another inactivation mechanism because the mutation rate is relatively low and inhibitory effect is not associated with the mutation. The purpose of this study is evaluating controlling mechanism type Ⅱ receptor of TGF-β by detecting effects of TGF-β on growth inhibition and on expression of cell cycle regulatory protein p21CIP1. Eight cancer cell lines derived from oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC) were examined. There was no growth inhibition effects by TGF-β except YD-8 cells. YD-8 cells which showed growth inhibition expresses p21CIP1 by TGF-β whether refractory cell lines, YD-9, did not. All of the tumor cells express mRNA of type Ⅱ receptor by RT-PCR and northern blot analysis, especially on YD-8 and YD-17M. From these results, most of oral cancer cell lines might loose the growth inhibitory effects by TGF-β, and the growth inhibition on YD-8 cells was mediated by expression of p21CIP1.