The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor is one of the most destructive pests of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) leading to the collapse honey bee colony in many regions of the world. RNA interference (RNAi) is a novel approach recently proposed for insect pest control. However, the efficiency of RNAi in insects is low due to the lack of effective delivery methods for dsRNA and sensitivity to nuclease degradation. Therefore, the success of RNAi technology largely depends on the stability of dsRNA. To explore the possibility of using RNAi to control varroa mite, we determined the effects of dsRNA targeting a subunit of the cytoplasmic coatomer protein complex B2, D, and E subunits on target gene expression for varroa mite. We observe that dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the varroa mite, resulting in knockdown of COPB2 expression. Furthermore, we demonstrate that chitosan nanoparticles-dsRNA complexes were more stable for 7 days in honeybee tissue fluids. The dsRNA-conjugated with chitosan was protected from degradation in hemolymph, fat body, and midgut extracts collected from the honeybee. These results possibly suggest that nanoparticles-dsRNA complexes might be horizontally transferred from treated honeybee to varroa mite, in which case the honeybees could serve as RNAi vectors. We confirmed, moreover, dsRNA fed nontarget insects, honeybee, were unaffected, and no toxicity was observed for honeybee. Overall, these data suggest that dsRNA-conjugated with chitosan help escape effectively from degradation by honeybee tissue fluids and could improve RNAi efficiency in varroa mite.

수처리 후 직접 해양으로 배출하는 산업시설 등에서 Hazardous and Noxious Substance (HNS) 농도 변화를 연속 자동 측정하기 위 한 센서의 기본적 성능으로 상온에서도 ppb 수준의 검출이 가능한 센서가 필요하다고 판단하여 기존의 센서의 감도를 높이기 위한 방법 을 제안하였다. 우선 나노입자 박막에 전도성 탄소계 첨가물을 이용하여 필름의 전도도를 높이는 방법과 촉매 금속을 이용하여 표면에서 의 이온 흡착도를 높이는 방법에 대해서 각각 연구하였다. 전도성 개선을 위해서 ITO 나노입자를 활용한 필름에 carbon black을 첨가물로 선택하여, 첨가물 함유량에 따른 센서의 성능변화를 관찰하였다. 그 결과 CB 함량 5 wt% 정도에서 전도성 증가에 의한 저항과 응답시간 의 변화를 관찰할 수 있었고, 유기용제를 대상으로 한 실험에서 검출하한은 250 ppb 정도까지 낮아지는 것을 확인하였다. 또한 액체 중 이 온 흡착도를 높이기 위하여 센서 표면에 촉매로 Au를 스퍼터로 제작한 표면 촉매층을 형성한 시료를 이용한 실험에서 센서의 응답은 20% 이상 증가하고 평균 검출하한은 61 ppm까지 낮아지는 것을 확인하였다. 이 결과로부터 금속산화물 나노입자를 활용한 화학저항형 센서가 상온에서도 수십 ppb 정도의 HNS를 검출할 수 있다는 것을 확인하였다.

해수 중 존재하는 유해화학물질 검출을 목적으로 센서 시작품 제작하고 성능을 확인하였다. 센서 시작품은 검지부, 기구부, 구 동부로 구성하였다. 센서의 검지부는 ITO (Indium-Tin-Oxide) 금속산화물 나노입자 (metal oxide nanoparticle) 필름을 기판위에 인쇄하여 제작 하였고, 온도와 HNS 농도를 동시에 검출할 수 있도록 2개의 검출 부분을 갖도록 설계하였다. 센서의 기구부는 검지부와 구동부를 연결하 며, 검출에 영향을 줄 수 있는 화학적 반응을 막기 위해 테프론 재질을 이용하여 제작하였고, 특히 검지부의 착탈이 용이하도록 설계 하 였다. 구동부는 브릿지 회로와 아두이노 보드를 이용하여 전원 공급과 데이터 측정 및 디스플레이가 가능하도록 제작하였다. 시작품의 성 능에 대해서는 기존의 수질 센서를 참고한 성능 사양을 제시하고, 유기용제를 사용한 검지부와 시작품의 동작을 확인하여 응답 (ΔR), 검 출하한 (Limit of Detection), 응답시간 (response time), 오차 (error) 등을 평가하였다. 또한 해수 중 동작 특성을 파악하여 설계 사양이 구현되 었는지 확인하였다.

Despite the long history of mushroom use, studies examining the genetic function of mushrooms and the development of new varieties via bio-molecular methods are significantly lacking compared to those examining other organisms. However, owing to recent developments, attempts have been made to use a novel gene-editing technique involving CRISPR/Cas9 technology and genetic scissors in mushroom studies. In particular, research is actively being conducted to utilize ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) that can be genetically edited with high efficiency without foreign gene insertion for ease of selection. However, RNPs are too large for Cas9 protein to pass through the cell membrane of the protoplasmic reticulum. Furthermore, guide RNA is unstable and can be easily decomposed, which remarkably affects gene editing efficiency. In this study, nanoparticles were used to mitigate the shortcomings of RNP-based gene editing techniques and to obtain transformants stably. We used Lentinula edodes (shiitake mushroom) Sanjo705-13 monokaryon strain, which has been successfully used in previous genome editing experiments. To identify a suitable osmotic buffer for the isolation of protoplast, 0.6 M and 1.2 M sucrose, mannitol, sorbitol, and KCl were treated, respectively. In addition, with various nanoparticle-forming materials, experiments were conducted to confirm genome editing efficiency via the formation of nanoparticles with calcium phosphate (CaP), which can be bound to Cas9 protein without any additional amino acid modification. RNPs/NP complex was successfully formed and protected nuclease activity with nucleotide sequence specificity.

This work describes the facile synthesis of silver nanoparticle-decorated zinc oxide nanocomposite through a simple glycol reduction method. The silver nanoparticle-decorated zinc oxide nanocomposite-based pencil graphite electrode has been validated as a perceptive electrochemical sensing podium towards nitrite. The morphology of the prepared nanocomposite has been characterized via specific spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques. The sensor exhibits a notable enhancement in the cyclic voltammetric response to nitrite oxidation at an ideal peak potential of 0.76 V in pH 6.0 acetate buffer. Under optimum conditions of nitrite directly expanded with their concentration in the range from 30 to 1400 μM with a detection limit of 14 μM.

Energy storage systems should address issues such as power fluctuations and rapid charge-discharge; to meet this requirement, CoFe2O4 (CFO) spinel nanoparticles with a suitable electrical conductivity and various redox states are synthesized and used as electrode materials for supercapacitors. In particular, CFO electrodes combined with carbon nanofibers (CNFs) can provide long-term cycling stability by fabricating binder-free three-dimensional electrodes. In this study, CFO-decorated CNFs are prepared by electrospinning and a low-cost hydrothermal method. The effects of heat treatment, such as the activation of CNFs (ACNFs) and calcination of CFO-decorated CNFs (C-CFO/ACNFs), are investigated. The C-CFO/ACNF electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 142.9 F/g at a scan rate of 5 mV/s and superior rate capability of 77.6% capacitance retention at a high scan rate of 500 mV/s. This electrode also achieves the lowest charge transfer resistance of 0.0063 Ω and excellent cycling stability (93.5% retention after 5,000 cycles) because of the improved ion conductivity by pathway formation and structural stability. The results of our work are expected to open a new route for manufacturing hybrid capacitor electrodes containing the C-CFO/ACNF electrode that can be easily prepared with a low-cost and simple process with enhanced electrochemical performance.

In this study, Ni nanoparticle supported by graphene oxide (GO) (Ni-GO) is successfully synthesized through hydrothermal synthesis and calcination, and Cr(VI) is extracted from aqueous solution. The morphology and structure of Ni- GO composites are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), trans mission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and XRD confirms the high dispersion of Ni nanoparticle after support by GO. Loading Ni on GO can obviously enhance the stability of Ni-GO composites. It can be calculated from TGA that the mass percentage of Ni is about 60.67%. The effects of initial pH and reaction time on Cr(VI) removal ability of Ni-GO are investigated. The results indicate that the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) is greater than that of bared GO. Ni-GO shows fast removal capacity for Cr(VI) (<25 min) with high removal efficiency. Dynamic experiments show that the removal process conforms to the quasi-second order model of adsorption, which indicates that the rate control step of the removal process is chemical adsorption. The removal capacity increases with the increase of temperature, indicating that the reaction of Cr(VI) on Ni-GO composites is endothermic and spontaneous. Combined with tests and characterization, the mechanism of Cr(VI) removal by rapidly adsorption on the surface of Ni-GO and reduction by Ni nanoparticle is investigated. The above results show that Ni-GO can be used as a potential remediation agent for Cr(VI)-contaminated groundwater.

Irradiation of the metal nanoparticles causes local plasmon resonance in a specific wavelength band, which can improve the absorption and scattering properties of a structure. Since noble metal nanoparticles have better resonance effects than those of other metals, it is easy to identify plasmonic reactions and this is advantageous to find the optical tendency. Compared to having a particle gap or randomly arranged particle structures, densely and evenly packed structures can exhibit more uniform optical properties. Using the uniform properties, the structure can be applied to optical filtering applications. Therefore, in this paper, validation tests about metal nanoparticles and thin film structures are conducted for more accurate analysis. The optical properties of monolayer and bilayer noble metal nanoparticle structures with different diameters, packed in a uniform array, are investigated and their optical trends are analyzed. In addition, a thin film structure under identical conditions as metal nanoparticle structure is evaluated to confirm the improved optical characteristics.