Biodegradable insulin-loaded PLGA microspheres fabricated by three different emulsification techniques: investigation for cartilage tissue engineering.

Growth, differentiation and migration factors facilitate the engineering of tissues but need to be administered with defined gradients over a prolonged period of time. In this study insulin as a growth factor for cartilage tissue engineering and a biodegradable PLGA delivery device were used. The aim was to investigate comparatively three different microencapsulation techniques, solid-in-oil-in-water (s/o/w), water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) and oil-in-oil-in-water (o/o/w), for the fabrication of insulin-loaded PLGA microspheres with regard to protein loading efficiency, release and degradation kinetics, biological activity of the released protein and phagocytosis of the microspheres.

[Application of PCR techniques in toxicology].

Molecular biology techniques have become widely used in toxicology, leading to the creation of a new science--molecular toxicology. The goal of molecular toxicology is to detect and study the changes induced by xenobiotics at the molecular level. The research scope of molecular toxicology includes examination of mutations in genomic DNA, differences in mRNA expression and study of genotype indicating individual sensitivity.