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Objectives: The purpose of this study was to provide direction for future research in the field of Korean medicine by analyzing microbiome based technologies emerging as a new diagnostic and treatment paradigm.Methods: To achieve the purpose of the study intellectual property data was used. After establishing citation network from registered microbiome-related US patents, citation network was analyzed by knowledge persistence-based main path approach to understanding technological trajectories. Furthermore, community detection algorithms were used to quantitatively identifying specific technological domain in a particular time period.Results: Results shows that early technologies in livestock industry contribute most to the recent patents. Knowledge in the patents flow through the path of food and beverage technological domain, and finally are inherited to the recent development of diagnosis, treatment and prevention technic.Conclusions: This study indicate that developing diagnostic tools which can link the composition of microbiome to specific diseases should be given high priority. Researches should lead to novel therapeutic strategies. Specifically, improving reliability of pattern identification and finding effective therapeutic compositions based on principles of Korean medicine is necessary.

The anti-cancer mechanisms of Radix Sophorae Flavescentis were investigated in 5637 bladder cancer cells. Radix Sophorae Flavescentis extract (RSF) (50‑400 µg/ml) inhibited the proliferation of 5637 cells and increased sub‑G1 phase ratios. RSF‑induced cell death was associated with the down-regulation of B‑cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl‑2) and the up-regulation of Bcl‑2 X‑associated protein (Bax). RSF also activated caspase‑3 and -9 and regulated the activations of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). In addition, RSF increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and depolarized the mitochondrial membrane potential. These findings suggest RSF induces apoptosis in 5637 bladder cancer cells and that it has potential use as a novel anti-cancer drug for bladder cancer.

Early diagnosis of infectious diseases is important for treatment; therefore, selective and rapid detection of pathogenic bacteria is essential for human health. We report a strategy for highly selective detection and rapid separation of pathogenic microorganisms using magnetic nanoparticle clusters. Our approach to develop probes for pathogenic bacteria, including Salmonella, is based on a theoretically optimized model for the size of clustered magnetic nanoparticles. The clusters were modified to provide enhanced aqueous solubility and versatile conjugation sites for antibody immobilization. The clusters with the desired magnetic property were then prepared at critical micelle concentration (CMC) by evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA). Two different types of target-specific antibodies for H- and O-antigens were incorporated on the cluster surface for selective binding to biological compartments of the flagella and cell body, respectively. For the two different specific binding properties, Salmonella were effectively captured with the O-antibody-coated polysorbate 80-coated magnetic nanoclusters (PCMNCs). The synergistic effect of combining selective targeting and the clustered magnetic probe leads to both selective and rapid detection of infectious pathogens.