The aim of this study was to investigate the inter-relationship between process variables and the size and shape of pectin solution droplets upon detachment from a dripping tip as well as Ca-pectinate beads formed after gelation via image analysis. The sphericity factor (SF) of the droplets was generally smaller than 0.05. There was no specific trend between the SF of the droplets and the pecti...

Uniform-sized agarose beads were prepared by emulsification technique in this study. Agarose (4% w/v) was dissolved in boiling water containing 0.9% sodium chloride and used as water phase. A mixture of liquid paraffin containing 3 wt% of tween 80 emulsifier was heated to 70-80 o C and used as oil phase. Then the heated oil phase was poured into the water phase and the mixture was stirred with ...

Pectinate gel beads containing Thai mango seed kernel extract (MSKE, cultivar 'Fahlun') were developed and characterised for the purpose of colon-targeted delivery. The MSKE-loaded pectinate beads were prepared using ionotropic gelation with varying pectin-to-MSKE ratios, MSKE concentrations, and concentrations of two cross-linkers (calcium chloride and zinc acetate). The formulated beads were ...

objective(s):   the production of nano-hydroxyapatite by two encapsulated bacterial strains was the goal of current research.  materials and methods:   serratia marcscens atcc 14756 and pseudomonas aeruginosa ptcc 1570 were used by two methods including encapsulated form in 2% (w/v) alginate sodium powder and inoculated form (10%) in nutrient broth medium containing alginate sodium blank beads....

Non-phagocytic eukaryotic cells can internalize particles <1 microm in size, encompassing pathogens, liposomes for drug delivery or lipoplexes applied in gene delivery. In the present study, we have investigated the effect of particle size on the pathway of entry and subsequent intracellular fate in non-phagocytic B16 cells, using a range of fluorescent latex beads of defined sizes (50-1000 nm)...

Acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) form clusters spontaneously in cultured Xenopus myotomal muscle cells in the absence of innervation. Innervation causes a dispersal of these clusters, as well as the formation of new clusters along the neuromuscular contact. To examine whether this dispersal process is dependent upon the presence of the nerve or can be effected by the formation of new clusters al...

Alginate based mineral oil entrapped emulsion gel (MOEG) buoyant beads of domperidone were prepared by emulsion gelation technique. The prepared beads were evaluated for particle size, surface morphology, buoyancy, actual drug content and entrapment efficiency. Effect of different oils (castor oil, olive oil and linseed oil) and oil concentrations (10%, 15% and 20%, w/w) on uniformity, homogene...

This paper describes a whole cell sensor using E. coli entrapped within photocrosslinked hydrogel beads. Hydrogel beads containing organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH)-expressed E. coli were prepared by adding a hydrogel precursor solution containing the E. coli to an oil phase using a precision syringe pump, forming droplets, and photopolymerizing them. The beads showed good monodispersity with an...

Thermally sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide, NIPAAm) hydrogel beads conjugated with a cell adhesive motif, GRGDY, were prepared and utilized as cell culture substrate for chondrocytes. They were produced to be uniform in size and distribution by using calcium alginate as a temporal mold. The RGD moieties were introduced, in a spatially selective manner, to the surface of the beads by conjuga...

We investigate holographic optical tweezers manipulating micro-beads at a suspended air-liquid interface. Axial confinement of the particles in the two-dimensional interface is maintained by the interplay between surface tension and gravity. Therefore, optical trapping of the micro-beads is possible even with a long distance air objective. Efficient micro-circulation of the liquid can be induce...