Characteristics of Microparticles Based on Resorbable Polyhydroxyalkanoates Loaded with Antibacterial and Cytostatic Drugs.

The development of controlled drug delivery systems, in the form of microparticles, is an important area of experimental pharmacology. The success of the design and the quality of the obtained microparticles are determined by the method of manufacture and the properties of the material used as a carrier. The goal is to obtain and characterize microparticles depending on their method of preparation, the chemical composition of the polymer and the load of the drugs.

Antifungal activity of P3HB microparticles containing tebuconazole.

In this study, tebuconazole (TEB)-loaded poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB)-based microparticles were developed and comprehensively characterized. TEB-loaded microparticles with the initial loading amounts of the fungicide of 10, 25, and 50% of the polymer mass (TEB 10, TEB 25, and TEB 50%) were prepared using emulsion technique. Encapsulation efficiency of TEB varied from 59 to 86%.

Herbicidal activity of slow-release herbicide formulations in wheat stands infested by weeds.

The present study reports the herbicidal activity of metribuzin and tribenuron-methyl embedded in the degradable matrix of natural poly-3-hydroxybutyrate [P(3HB)/MET and P(3HB)/TBM]. The developed formulations were constructed as films and microgranules, which were tested against the weeds such as white sweet clover Melilotus albus and lamb's quarters Chenopodium album in the presence of soft spring wheat (Triticum aestivum, cv. Altaiskaya 70) as the subject crop for investigation.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/metribuzin formulations: characterization, controlled release properties, herbicidal activity, and effect on soil microorganisms.

Slow-release formulations of the herbicide metribuzin (MET) embedded in the polymer matrix of degradable poly-3-hydroxybutyrate [P(3HB)] in the form of microparticles, films, microgranules, and pellets were developed and tested. The kinetics of polymer degradation, MET release, and accumulation in soil were studied in laboratory soil microecosystems with higher plants. The study shows that MET release can be controlled by using different techniques of constructing formulations and by varying MET loading.

Constructing herbicide metribuzin sustained-release formulations based on the natural polymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate as a degradable matrix.

Polymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] has been used as a matrix in slow-release formulations of the herbicide metribuzin (MET). Physical P(3HB)/MET mixtures in the form of solutions, powders, and emulsions were used to construct different metribuzin formulations (films, granules, pellets, and microparticles). SEM, X-Ray, and DSC proved the stability of these formulations incubated in sterile water in vitro for long periods of time (up to 49 days).