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Microencapsulation and Controlled Release of Agrochemicals ,Pharmaceuticals And Desinfectent
A. Markus.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.;
Microencapsulated formulations have extensive applications in agriculture and the pharmaceuticals industry. The benefits conferred by microencapsulation include slow release of the active ingredient, more efficient exploitation of the chemical, greater safety to the user, and protection of the environment. The Sustained Release Laboratory specializes in preparing capsules of agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals by means of state-of-the-art techniques. Products developed by the Laboratory have been patented internationally and are earning royalties for the University from sales in Israel and abroad. Examples include the pesticide Master 25,(encapsulated chloropyriphos) produced and commercialized by Makhteshim Chemical Works; Effective Ultra, encapsulated coctail of pesticides (the main ingridient acrbamate propoxur manufactured and commercialized by Chimgat 2000and by Eshed chem,); Another product manufactured and commercialized by those firms is Touchdown which is a coctail of pyrethroids Antikan encapsulated diazinon (organophosphorous pesticide, produced and commercialized by Lever-Israel). Many research programs in the fields of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides both chemicals and biological were carriedout and the results were patented and published. recently Ferti-Vant, a coated foliar fertilization adjuvant. Ferti-Vant was developed in collaboration with Z. Wiesman, A. Benzioni and D. Mills of the Institute for Agriculture & Applied Biology. This innovative product is being commercialized by Agro-Vant, a start-up company set up under the aegis of the New Technologies Incubator in Ofakim. Our Laboratory is also working together with Z. Wiesman on slow-release hormofertilizers for rooting of cuttings, promotion of plant growth, and plant dwarfing, as well on new insect growth regulators of plant origin. In addition, we are collaborating with the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the war against the poppy plant: sustained-release herbicide granules that we have prepared were tested in Maryland and Hawaii, with highly encouraging results.
In the pharmaceutica field I have carried out research on slow release drugs of the NSAID family. We also worked on cosmetical drugs to effect periferial blood vessels.
In the recent years I have carried an extensive research on the use of encapsulated botanical oils as pesticide, insect repelent and desinfectent materials.