On the diameter and size distributions of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA)-based microspheres

A fluid mechanics-based correlation for the average size of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) microspheres, prepared using a water-in-oil emulsion technique, is presented. The correlation is formulated based on the theory of turbulent dispersion and a non-dimensional Weber number. Measured average diameters of the BSA microspheres prepared in olive oil at different stirring speeds are used to construct the correlation formula. The correlation gives good agreement with experimentally measured average diameters for a wide range of Weber numbers. This correlation is particularly useful to the pharmaceutical industry for predicting the size of encapsulated microspheres used in drug delivery prior to microsphere preparation. The effect of additives on microsphere size was also explored. The average diameter of the BSA microspheres was doubled by the addition of a bioadherent vitelline protein B solution. In addition, a Rosin-Rammler statistical distribution function is shown to accurately represent the microsphere size distribution obtained at different stirring speeds.

Effect of mean diameter and polydispersity of PLG microspheres on drug release: Experiment and theory

The need to tailor release rate profiles from polymeric microspheres is a significant problem. Microsphere size, which has a significant effect on drug release rate, can potentially be varied to design a controlled drug delivery system with desired release profile. In this work the effects of microspheres mean diameter, polydispersity, and polymer degradation on drug release rate from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) microspheres are described. Piroxicam containing PLG microspheres were fabricated at 20% loading, and at three different impeller speeds. A portion of the microspheres was then sieved giving five different size distributions. In vitro release kinetics were determined for each preparation. Based on these experimental results, a suitable mathematical theory has been developed that incorporates the effect of microsphere size distribution and polymer degradation on drug release. We show from in vitro release experiments that microsphere size has a significant effect on drug release rate. The initial release rate decreased with an increase in microsphere size. In addition, the release profile changed from first order to concave-upward (sigmoidal) as the microsphere size was increased. The mathematical model gave a good fit to the experimental release data. For highly polydisperse populations (polydispersity parameter b<3), incorporating the microsphere size distribution into the mathematical model gave a better fit to the experimental results than using the representative mean diameter. The validated mathematical model can be used to predict small-molecule drug release from PLG microsphere populations.

A novel 20-kilodalton protein conserved in Babesia bovis and B. bigemina stimulates memory CD4(+) T lymphocyte responses in B. bovis-immune cattle

Acquired immunity against the hemoprotozoan parasite Babesia bovis is believed to depend on activation of antigen-specific CD4(+) T lymphocytes and IFN-gamma production. A strategy was employed to identify potentially protective antigens from B. bovis based on memory CD4(+) T lymphocyte recognition of fractionated merozoite proteins. Fractions of merozoites separated by continuous flow electrophoresis (CFE) that contained proteins of approximately 20 kDa were shown previously to stimulate memory CD4(+) lymphocyte responses in B. bovis-immune cattle with different MHC class II haplotypes. Expression library screening with rabbit antiserum raised against an immunostimulatory 20-kDa CFE fraction identified a 20-kDa protein (Bbo20) that contains a B lymphocyte epitope conserved in geographically distant B. bovis strains. An homologous 20-kDa protein that has 86.4% identity with Bbo20 and contains the conserved B cell epitope was identified in B. bigemina (Bbg20). Southern blot analysis indicated that both Babesia proteins are encoded by a single gene. Antibody against recombinant Bbo20 protein identified the antigen in CFE fractions shown previously to stimulate memory T lymphocyte responses in immune cattle. To verify Bbo20 as an immunostimulatory T lymphocyte antigen, CD4(+) T cell lines were propagated from B. bovis-immune cattle with merozoite antigen and shown to proliferate significantly against recombinant Bbo20 protein. Furthermore, Bbo20-specific CD4(+) T cell clones proliferated in response to several B. bovis strains and produced IFN-gamma. BLAST analysis revealed significant similarity of the Bbo20 and Bbg20 amino acid sequences with the hsp20/alpha-crystallin family.

Stability and recovery of triazine and chloroacetamide herbicides from pH adjusted water samples by using empore solid-phase extraction disks and gas chromatography with ion trap mass spectrometry

Empore disks were used to successfully extract herbicide residues from a difficult-to-analyze surface water source and deionized water. Herbicide recoveries were lower in surface water at 7,14, or 21 days after fortification and storage at 4 degrees C, presumably due to chemical sorption onto precipitated organic particulates. The addition of acid to the samples, as recommended in EPA Method 525.2, did not affect recoveries of alachlor and metolachlor, but reduced recoveries of atrazine, simazine, and cyanazine. Treatment of water samples with sodium hypochlorite did not affect alachlor or metolachlor recoveries, but greatly reduced the recovery of all triazine herbicides. This indicates that addition of acid or sodium hypochlorite to water samples may be detrimental to triazine analysis.