Laser weeding of common weed species.

The massive use of herbicides since the 1950s has resulted in increasing problems with herbicideresistant weeds and pollution of the environment, including food, feed, and water. These side effects have resulted in political pressures to reduce herbicide application. The European Commission aims to reduce the use and risk of chemicals and more hazardous pesticides in the EU.

Laser weeding: opportunities and challenges for couch grass (Elymus repens (L.) Gould) control.

Laser weeding may contribute to less dependency on herbicides and soil tillage. Several research and commercial projects are underway to develop robots equipped with lasers to control weeds. Artificial intelligence can be used to locate and identify weed plants, and mirrors can be used to direct a laser beam towards the target to kill it with heat.

Nanoformulation of fibrinogen by thermal stabilization of its electrostatic complexes with hyaluronic acid.

The formulation of well-defined and stable fibrinogen-based nanoparticles (NPs) without the use of any chemical reaction or any toxic organic solvent is reported. Electrostatic interaction between hyaluronic acid (HA) and fibrinogen (Fbg) leads to well-defined complexes at acidic pH which however readily dissolve at neutral pH. On the other hand, when thermal treatment is applied on the pre-formed complexes NPs keep their integrity.

Reorganizations inside thermally stabilized protein/polysaccharide nanocarriers investigated by small angle neutron scattering.

We use small angle neutron scattering (SANS) to characterize the internal morphology of nanoparticles (NPs) formed by the complexation between chondroitin sulfate (CS) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) and subsequent stabilization by thermal treatment. We demonstrate that SANS can quantify the internal rearrangements and protein morphology alterations upon thermal treatment and solution conditions variations. A three-level Guinier/power-law hierarchical model identifies BSA globules, interconnected clusters of globules and higher aggregates.

Association and Internal Morphology of Self-Assembled HPPhOx/BSA Hybrid Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solutions.

We investigate the formation of hybrid polyelectrolyte/protein nanoparticles by associations between aggregates of partially hydrolyzed poly(2-phenyl-2-oxazoline) (HPPhOx) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) in aqueous solutions. Light scattering experiments show that at conditions of low salt, BSA creates interaggregate bridges and increases the size of the HPPhOx nanoparticles. At high salt contents, breaking of aggregates leads to well-defined nanoparticles.

Tuning the solution organization of cationic polymers through interactions with bovine serum albumin.

The interactions of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with aggregates of cationic polymers, i.e. quaternized poly(chloromethyl styrene) chains (QIm-PCMS), in aqueous solutions are investigated using small angle neutron scattering on length scales relevant to the size of BSA.