SKKU researchers announce breakthroughs in conductive plastics and Alzheimer’s research

Researchers at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) have achieved two distinct scientific breakthroughs in the fields of materials science and biomedical engineering.

In nanotechnology, a team led by Professor Boseok Kang has discovered a method to significantly boost the electrical conductivity of conductive plastics. By attaching alkylsilane molecules to polymers via a gas-phase process, the team successfully increased doping efficiency. This mechanism, which utilizes the molecule's intrinsic dipole moment to allow electrons to move more freely, could enhance the development of flexible, lightweight wearable electronics and foldable displays.

In biomedical research, Professor Minah Suh of SKKU, in collaboration with Yonsei University and IMNEWRUN, has identified a potential pathway for treating Alzheimer’s disease. The study, published in Science Advances, demonstrates that modulating immune-regulatory proteins PD-1 and PD-L1 can restore the brain's immune balance. In animal models, blocking PD-L1 activity helped restore the responsiveness of microglia, the brain's resident immune cells, to tissue damage and reduced abnormal neuronal activity.