How temperature influences the viscosity of hornworm hemolymph.

Hemolymph is responsible for the transport of nutrients and metabolic waste within the insect circulatory system. Circulation of hemolymph is governed by viscosity, a physical property, which is well known to be influenced by temperature. However, the effect of temperature on hemolymph viscosity is unknown.

Feeding liquid, non-ionic surfactant and cyclodextrin affect the properties of insulin-loaded poly(lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres prepared by spray-drying.

The potential of spray-drying technique for the encapsulation in poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres of bovine insulin, a poorly stable peptide, has been investigated. Insulin-loaded microspheres were prepared by spray-drying different feeding liquids containing insulin and PLGA, that is a S/O dispersion, a W/O emulsion or an acetic acid solution. In the case of the emulsion, insulin was also co-encapsulated with either non-ionic surfactants such as polysorbate 20 and poloxamer 188, or complexing agents such as HPbetaCD.

Reduction of the environmental impact of pesticides: waxy microspheres encapsulating the insecticide carbaryl.

A controlled-release system with reduced environmental impact was produced by encapsulating the pesticide carbaryl in the waxy lipophilic material Gelucire 54/02. The microspheres were prepared by a modified hydrophobic congealable disperse-phase method. The influence of experimental parameters, such as the reciprocal ratio between the amounts of pesticide and wax employed, on size, morphology, loading efficiency, and release behavior of the particles was evaluated.