Artemisia arborescens L essential oil-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles for potential agricultural application: Preparation and characterization

The aim of this study was to formulate a new delivery system for ecological pesticides by the incorporation of Artemisia arborescens L essential oil into solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN). Two different SLN formulations were prepared following the high-pressure homogenization technique using Compritol 888 ATO as lipid and Poloxamer 188 or Miranol Ultra C32 as surfactants. The SLN formulation particle size was determined using Photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) and laser diffraction analysis (LD). The change of particle charge was studied by zeta potential (ZP) measurements, while the melting and recrystallization behavior was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In vitro release studies of the essential oil were performed at 35°C. Data showed a high physical stability for both formulations at various storage temperatures during 2 months of investigation. In particular, average diameter of Artemisia arborescens L essential oil-loaded SLN did not vary during storage and increased slightly after spraying the SLN dispersions. In vitro release experiments showed that SLN were able to reduce the rapid evaporation of essential oil if compared with the reference emulsions. Therefore, obtained results showed that the studied SLN formulations are suitable carriers in agriculture

Recurrence analysis of otoacoustic emissions

Otoacoustic emissions are sounds generated inside the inner ear. Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA) has proven to be particularly suited for studying such signals, being able to evidence their essential dynamical characteristics. In this chapter the fundamental features of the auditory system will be briefly reviewed, then the results obtained in the literature, and linked to the application of RQA to otoacoustic emissions, will be reported and discussed