Tristearin as a Model Cuticle for High-Throughput Screening of Agricultural Adjuvant Systems.

The widely varied compositions and structures of plant cuticles create problems in the identification of suitable model systems for laboratory testing of adjuvants. We have compared the behavior of an extracted cuticle wax with tristearin, a well characterized crystalline triglyceride, which we propose as a model cuticle for ranking new adjuvant systems for their propensity to disrupt the cuticle barrier. The interaction of adjuvant products and their components with the extracted cuticle wax and tristearin was determined using differential scanning calorimetry and small angle X-ray scattering approaches.

Understanding the kinetic mixing between liquid crystalline nanoparticles and agrochemical actives.

The use of liquid crystalline nanoparticles as potential agrochemical delivery agents or adjuvant systems is gaining traction due to the possibility that the systems can enhance penetration of the active and increase adhesion of the formulation to the leaf, increasing overall efficacy and decreasing the harmful environmental impact. However the interaction between liquid crystalline nanoparticles and active products is not well understood. Using small angle X-ray scattering we investigated the structural changes that occur to liquid crystalline nanoparticles upon addition of three common herbicides, 2,4-D 2-ethylhexyl ester, bromoxynil octanoate and haloxyfop-p-methyl ester active agrochemicals in the form of emulsions.

Kinetic Resolution of the Interactions between Agrochemical Products and Adjuvant Systems upon Mixing.

The addition of an adjuvant to a pesticide usually occurs in a mix-tank, before spray application to the crop. Their interaction is potentially crucial to overall efficacy but has received little attention from a physical-chemical perspective. Study was undertaken by laser diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering to resolve these physical processes.

Tailoring liquid crystalline lipid nanomaterials for controlled release of macromolecules.

Lipid-based liquid crystalline materials are being developed as drug delivery systems. However, the use of these materials for delivery of large macromolecules is currently hindered by the small size of the water channels in these structures limiting control over diffusion behaviour. The addition of the hydration-modulating agent, sucrose stearate, to phytantriol cubic phase under excess water conditions incrementally increased the size of these water channels.

Was opium known in 18th dynasty ancient Egypt? An examination of materials from the tomb of the chief royal architect Kha.

Examination by microscopy, thin-layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography alone and combined with mass spectrometry, and radioimmunoassay methods of materials from the tomb of the ancient Egyptian chief royal architect Kha, who is believed to have died about 1405 BC, has shown that there is no morphine--and hence no opium--present. This finding casts doubt on the results of an earlier analysis. Tropane alkaloids are likewise absent.