Suncheon National University Chemical Engineering Department Master’s Graduate Heo Hoon’s Thesis Published in Prestigious Scientific Journal ‘Rehighlighted’

[Suncheon=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Suncheon National University (President Ko Young-jin) announced on the 29th that the 2018 master's thesis of Heo Hoon, a graduate student of the Department of Chemical Engineering (advisor Professor Jang Mi-kyung), has once again attracted attention by being published in the prestigious scientific journal in the Biopolymer field, Carbohydrate Polymer (IF=9.381, JCR top 3.97%).

The title of the published paper is "Polyethylenimine grafted-chitosan based Gambogic acid copolymers for targeting cancer cells overexpressing transferrin receptors," which deals with the development of gene delivery systems.

Professor Jang Mi-kyung of Suncheon National University, who supervised the research, explained, "Recently, with the spotlight on gene-based Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, the role of lipid nanocarriers that safely deliver genes into the human body has emerged as an important issue in academia. The results of this paper provide clues that can lay the foundation for developing gene delivery systems that exhibit excellent anticancer activity by targeting specific cancer cells using biopolymers, which is why it has gained attention."

Professor Jang Mi-kyung of the Bio Convergence Materials Laboratory at Suncheon National University has produced excellent research results while conducting government-funded projects related to anticancer drugs and gene delivery systems.

Dr. Park Sung-chul, who was a co-first author of the published paper, earned his Ph.D. in protein structure from the Department of Biochemistry at Gyeongsang National University. He is currently conducting government-funded projects related to the development of peptide materials for antibiotics, functional cosmetic ingredients, and various infectious disease prevention and treatment vaccines through peptide design and synthesis.

Professor Jang Mi-kyung and Dr. Park Sung-chul’s research team stated, "We plan to discuss joint research with Heo Hoon’s research team, who are currently responsible for developing gene-based delivery systems at companies developing DNA vaccines and biopharmaceuticals, to develop safe vaccine and anticancer drug delivery systems in the future."