Testes de vigor para avaliação de sementes de pepino

Dentro de um programa de controle de qualidade, a avaliação do vigor de sementes é fundamental e necessária para o sucesso da produção. O trabalho teve por objetivo comparar diferentes métodos para avaliação do potencial fisiológico de sementes de pepino. Para tanto, cinco lotes de sementes do híbrido Safira foram submetidos aos seguintes testes: germinação, primeira contagem de germinação, condutividade elétrica (4x50 sementes; 25ºC; 50 e 75mL; 12, 18 e 24h), germinação a baixa temperatura (4x50 sementes; 18ºC; contagens aos quatro e oito dias após a semeadura); envelhecimento acelerado tradicional (41ºC; 48, 72 e 96h) e com solução saturada de NaCl (41ºC; 72 e 96h). Pelos resultados obtidos, pode-se concluir que os testes de condutividade elétrica (50 e 75mL; 12, 18 e 24h) e de envelhecimento acelerado com o uso de solução salina (41ºC, por 72h), possibilitam a melhor identificação de lotes com diferentes níveis de qualidade fisiológica.

Estudo da reidratação do feijão verde (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) desidratado por micro-ondas com e sem pré-tratamento osmótico

The green bean has organoleptic and nutritional characteristics that make it an important food source in tropical regions such as the Northeast of Brazil. It is a cheap source of protein and important for nutrition of rural population contributing significantly in subsistence farming of the families from Brazil s northeast. It is consumed in entire region and together with the dry meat and other products composes the menu of typical restaurants, being characterized as an important product for economy of Northeast. The green bean is consumed freshly harvested and has short cycle, being characterized as a very perishable food, which hampers your market. The drying method is an alternative to increase the lifetime and provide a reduction volume of this product making easier your transportation and storage. However is necessary to search ways of drying which keep the product quality not only from the nutritional standpoint but also organoleptic. Some characteristics may change with the drying process such as the coloring, the rehydration capacity and the grains cooking time. The decrease of drying time or of exposure of the grains to high temperature minimizes the effects related with the product quality loss. Among the techniques used to reduce the drying time and improve some characteristics of the product, stands out the osmotic dehydration, widely used in combined processes such as the pretreatment in drying food. Currently the use of the microwaves has been considered an alternative for drying food. The microwave energy generates heat inside of materials processed and the heating is practically instantaneous, resulting in shorter processing times and product quality higher to that obtained by conventional methods. Considering the importance of the green beans for the Northeast region, the wastefulness of production due to seasonality of the crop and your high perishability, the proposal of this thesis is the study of drying grain by microwaves with and without osmotic pretreatment, focusing on the search of conditions of processes which favor the rehydration of the product preserving your organoleptic characteristics. Based on the analysis of the results of osmotic dehydration and dielectric properties was defined the operating condition to be used in pretreatment of the green bean, with osmotic concentration in saline solution containing 12,5% of sodium chloride, at 40°C for 20 minutes. The drying of green bean by microwave was performed with and without osmotic pretreatment on the optimized condition. The osmotic predehydration favored the additional drying, reducing the process time. The rehydration of dehydrated green bean with and without osmotic pretreatment was accomplished in different temperature conditions and immersion time according to a factorial design 22, with 3 repetitions at the central point. According to results the better condition was obtained with the osmotically pretreated bean and rehydrated at a temperature of 60°C for 90 minutes. Sensory analysis was performed comparing the sample of the green bean in natura and rehydrated in optimized conditions, with and without osmotic pretreatment. All samples showed a good acceptance rate regarding the analyzed attributes (appearance, texture, color, odor and taste), with all values above 70%. Is possible conclude that the drying of green bean by microwave with osmotic pretreatment is feasible both in respect to technical aspects and rehydration rates and sensory quality of the product

Integração dos processos de flotação e foto-fenton para redução de óleos e graxas de água produzida em campos de petróleo

During production of oil and gas, there is also the production of an aqueous effluent called produced water. This byproduct has in its composition salts, organic compounds, gases and heavy metals. This research aimed to evaluate the integration of processes Induced Air Flotation (IAF) and photo-Fenton for reducing the Total Oils and Greases (TOG) present in produced water. Experiments were performed with synthetic wastewater prepared from the dispersion of crude oil in saline solution. The system was stirred for 25 min at 33,000 rpm and then allowed to stand for 50 min to allow free oil separation. The initial oil concentration in synthetic wastewater was 300 ppm and 35 ppm for the flotation and the photo-Fenton steps, respectively. These values of initial oil concentration were established based on average values of primary processing units in Potiguar Basin. The processes were studied individually and then the integration was performed considering the best experimental conditions found in each individual step. The separation by flotation showed high removal rate of oil with first-order kinetic behavior. The flotation kinetics was dependent on both the concentration and the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of the surfactant. The best result was obtained for the concentration of 4.06.10-3 mM (k = 0.7719 min-1) of surfactant EO 2, which represents 86% of reduction in TOG after 4 min. For series of surfactants evaluated, the separation efficiency was found to be improved by the use of surfactants with low HLB. Regarding the TOG reduction step by photo-Fenton, the largest oil removal reached was 84% after 45 min of reaction, using 0.44 mM and 10 mM of ferrous ions and hydrogen peroxide, respectively. The best experimental conditions encountered in the integrated process was 10 min of flotation followed by 45 min of photo-Fenton with overall TOG reduction of 99%, which represents 5 ppm of TOG in the treated effluent. The integration of processes flotation and photo-Fenton proved to be highly effective in reducing TOG of produced water in oilfields

Emprego da levomepromazina no bloqueio da arritmia induzida pela adrenalina em cães anestesiados pelo Sevoflurano

Este experimento objetivou estudar o possível efeito antiarritmogênico da levomepromazina em cães anestesiados pelo sevoflurano e submetidos a doses crescentes de adrenalina. Para tal, foram empregados 21 animais adultos, machos e fêmeas, sem raça definida e considerados sadios. Os cães foram separados em dois grupos, sendo um de 11 (G1) e outro de 10 (G2) animais. O G1 recebeu, por via intravenosa, solução salina a 0,9%, na dose de 0,2ml/kg (placebo), seguida 15 minutos após, pela aplicação de tiopental, pela mesma via, na dose suficiente para abolir o reflexo laringotraqueal. Procedeu-se à intubação orotraqueal e iniciou-se a administração de sevoflurano a 2,5V%, em circuito anestésico semi-fechado. Decorridos 20 minutos da indução anestésica, iniciou-se a administração contínua, por via intravenosa, com emprego de bomba de infusão, de solução de adrenalina a 2%, em doses crescentes de 1, 2, 3, 4 e 5m g/kg/min (M1 a M5, respectivamente), com incremento da dose a intervalos de 10 minutos. Para o G2, empregou-se a mesma metodologia substituindo-se o placebo por levomepromazina, na dose de 1mg/kg. Foi tomado o traçado eletrocardiográfico, na derivação D2, a partir da indução da anestesia. Para efeito estatístico, foi considerado o número total de batimentos cardíacos de origem não sinusal, coincidentes com cada dose de adrenalina. Os dados numéricos foram submetidos à Análise de Perfil, quando foi possível constatar que as médias do G1 foram crescentes de M1 a M3, diminuindo a partir deste último, até M5. No G2, foi encontrada arritmia ventricular sustentada apenas em M5. Os achados permitiram concluir que a levomepromazina minimiza a arritmia ventricular sustentada, induzida pela adrenalina em cães anestesiados pelo sevoflurano.

Diferenças funcionais das regiões hipocampais na formação da memória do tipo o quê", "quando" e "onde" em ratos

Episodic memory refers to the recollection of what, where and when a specific event occurred. Hippocampus is a key structure in this type of memory. Computational models suggest that the dentate gyrus (DG) and the CA3 hippocampal subregions are involved in pattern separation and the rapid acquisition of episodic memories, while CA1 is involved in memory consolidation. However there are few studies with animal models that access simultaneously the aspects ‗what-where-when . Recently, an object recognition episodic-like memory task in rodents was proposed. This task consists of two sample trials and a test phase. In sample trial one, the rat is exposed to four copies of an object. In sample trial two, one hour later, the rat is exposed to four copies of a different object. In the test phase, 1 h later, two copies of each of the objects previously used are presented. One copy of the object used in sample trial one is located in a different place, and therefore it is expected to be the most explored object.However, the short retention delay of the task narrows its applications. This study verifies if this task can be evoked after 24h and whether the pharmacological inactivation of the DG/CA3 and CA1 subregions could differentially impair the acquisition of the task described. Validation of the task with a longer interval (24h) was accomplished (animals showed spatiotemporal object discrimination and scopolamine (1 mg/kg, ip) injected pos-training impaired performance). Afterwards, the GABA agonist muscimol, (0,250 μg/μl; volume = 0,5 μl) or saline were injected in the hippocampal subregions fifteen minutes before training. Pre-training inactivation of the DG/CA3 subregions impaired the spatial discrimination of the objects (‗where ), while the temporal discrimination (‗when ) was preserved. Rats treated with muscimol in the CA1 subregion explored all the objects equally well, irrespective of place or presentation time. Our results corroborate the computational models that postulate a role for DG/CA3 in spatial pattern separation, and a role for CA1 in the consolidation process of different mnemonic episodes

Expressão de zif-268 durante a aquisição, evocação e extinção de uma memória aversiva

In the behavioral paradigm of discriminative avoidance task, both short and long-term memories have been extensively investigated with behavioral and pharmacological approaches. The aim of the present study was to evaluate, using the abovementioned model, the hippocampal expression of zif-268 - a calcium-dependent immediate early gene involved with synaptic plasticity process - throughout several steps of memory formation, such as acquisition, evocation and extiction. The behavioral apparatus consisted of a modified elevaated plus-maze, with their enclosed arms disposed in "L". A pre-exposure to the maze was made with the animal using all arms enclosed, for 30 minutes, followed by training and test, during 10 minutes each. The between sections interval was 24h. During training, aversive stimuli (bright light and loud noise) were actived whenever the animals entered one of the enclosed armas (aversive arm). Memory acquisiton, retention and extinction were evaluated by the percentage of the total time spent exploring the aversive arm. The parameters evaluated (time spent in the arms and total distance traveled) were estimated with an animal tracking software (Anymaze, Stoelting, USA). Learning during training was estimated by the decrease of the time spent exploring the aversive arm. One hour after the beginning of each section, animals were anaesthetized with sodium-thiopental (i.p.) and perfused with 0.9% heparinized saline solution followed by 4% paraformaldehyde. Brains were cryoprotected with 20% sucrose, separeted in three blocks and frozen. The middle block, containing the hippocampus, was sectioned at 20 micro meters in the coronal plane and the resutant sections were submitted to zif-268 immunohistochemistry. Our results show an increased expression of zif-268 in the dentate gyrus (DG) during the evocation and extinction stages. There is a distinct participation of the DG during the memory evocation, but not during its acquisition. Inaddition, all hippocampal regions (CA1, CA3 and DG) presented an increased zif-268 expression during the process of extinction.

Expressão de genes imediatos induzidos por vocalizações em sagüis-comuns (Callithrix jacchus)

Immediate-early genes (IEGs) expression has been widely used as a valuable tool to investigate brain areas activated by specific stimuli. Studies of natural vocalizations, specially in songbirds, have largely benefited from this tool. Here we used IEGs expression to investigate brain areas activated by the hearing of conspecific common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) vocalizations and/or utterance of antiphonal vocalizations. Nine adult male common marmosets were housed in sound-attenuating cages. Six animals were stimulated with playbacks of freely recorded natural long distance vocalizations (phee calls and twitters; 45 min. total duration). Three of them vocalized in response (O/V group) and three did not (O/n group). The control group (C) was composed by the remaining animals, which neither heard the playbacks nor spontaneously vocalized. After one hour of the stimulation onset (or no stimulation, in the case of the C group), animals were perfused with 0,9% phosphate-saline buffer and 4% paraformaldehyde. The tissue was coronally sectioned at 20 micro meter in a cryostat and submitted to immunohistochemistry for the IEGs egr-1 and c-fos. Marked immunoreactivity was observed in the auditory cortex of O/V and O/n subjects and in the anterior cingulate cortex, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex of O/V subjects. In this study, brain areas activated by vocalizations of common marmosets were investigated using IEGs expression for the first time. Our results with the egr-1 gene indicate that potential plastic phenomena occur in areas related to hearing and uttering conspecific vocalizations.

Alterações na evocação de uma memória aversiva ao liongo do ciclo estral de ratas: influências da transmissão gabaérgica na amígdala

GABAergic neurotransmission has been implicated in many aspects of learning and memory, as well as mood and anxiety disorders. The amygdala has been one of the major focuses in this area, given its essential role in modulating emotionally relevant memories. However, studies with male subjects are still predominant in the field. Here we investigated the consequences for an aversive memory of enhancing or decreasing GABAergic transmission in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA). Wistar female rats were trained in the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task, in which they had to learn to avoid one of the enclosed arms where an aversive stimulus consisting of a bright light and a loud noise was given (day 1). Fifteen minutes before the test session (day 2) animals received 0,2 μL infusions of either saline solution, the GABAergic agonist muscimol (0,05 mg/ml), or the GABAergic antagonist bicuculine (0,025 mg/ml) bilaterally intra-BLA. On the test day, females in proestrous or estrous presented adequate retrieval and did not extinguish the task, while females in metestrous or diestrous presented impaired retrieval. In the first group, muscimol infusion impaired retrieval and bicuculline had no effect, suggesting naturally low levels of GABAergic transmission in the BLA of proestrous and estrous females. In the second group, muscimol infusion had no effect and bicuculline reversed retrieval impairment, suggesting naturally high levels of GABAergic transmission in the BLA of metestrous and diestous females. Additionally, proestrous and estrous females presented higher anxiety levels compared to metestrous and diestrous females, which could explain better performance of this group. On the other hand, BLA GABAergic system did not interfere with the innate fear response because drug infusions had no effect in anxiety. Thus, retrieval alterations caused by the GABAergic drugs were probably related specifically to memory processes

Síntese e caracterização de poliacrilamidas modificadas para utilização na indústria do petróleo

Modified polyacrylamides with ≅ 0.2 mol % of N,N-dihexylacrylamide and hydrolysis degree from 0 to 25 % were synthesized by micellar copolymerization. The hydrophobic monomer was obtained by the reaction between acryloyl chloride and N,Ndihexylamine and characterized by infrared (IR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. The polymer molecular structures were determined through 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and the polymers were studied in dilute and semi-dilute regimes by viscometry, rheometry, static light scattering and photon correlation spectroscopy, at the temperature range from 25 to 55 ºC. The data obtained by viscometry showed that the intrinsic viscosity from the hydrolyzed polymers is larger than the precursor polymers at the same ionic strength. The comparison between the charged polymers showed that the polymer with higher hydrolysis degree has a more compact structure in formation water (AFS). The increase of temperature led to an enhanced reduced viscosity to the polymers in Milli-Q water (AMQ), although, in brine, only the unhydrolyzed polymer had an increase in the reduced viscosity with the temperature, and the hydrolyzed derivatives had a decrease in the reduced viscosity. The static light scattering (SLS) analyses in salt solutions evidenced a decrease of weight-average molecular weight (⎯Mw) with the increase of the hydrolysis degree, due to the reduction of the thermodynamic interactions between polymer and solvent, which was evidenced by the decrease of the second virial coefficient (A2). The polymers showed more than one relaxation mode in solution, when analyzed by photon correlation spectroscopy, and these modes were attributed to isolated coils and aggregates of several sizes. The aggregation behavior depended strongly on the ionic strength, and also on the temperature, although in a lower extension. The polymers showed large aggregates in all studied conditions, however, their solutions did not displayed a good increase in water viscosity to be used in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes

Tratamento de borra de petróleo com sistemas microemulsionados

During the storage of oil, sludge is formed in the bottoms of tanks, due to decantation, since the sludge is composed of a large quantity of oil (heavy petroleum fractions), water and solids. The oil sludge is a complex viscous mixture which is considered as a hazardous waste. It is then necessary to develop methods and technologies that optimize the cleaning process, oil extraction and applications in industry. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the composition of the oil sludge, to obtain and characterize microemulsion systems (MES), and to study their applications in the treatment of sludge. In this context, the Soxhlet extraction of crude oil sludge and aged sludge was carried out, and allowing to quantify the oil (43.9 % and 84.7 % - 13 ºAPI), water (38.7 % and 9.15 %) and solid (17.3 % and 6.15 %) contents, respectively. The residues were characterized using the techniques of X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Xray diffraction (XRD) and transmission Infrared (FT-IR). The XRF technique determined the presence of iron and sulfur in higher proportions, confirming by XRD the presence of the following minerals: Pyrite (FeS2), Pyrrhotite (FeS) and Magnetite (Fe3O4). The FT-IR showed the presence of heavy oil fractions. In parallel, twelve MES were prepared, combining the following constituents: two nonionic surfactants (Unitol L90 and Renex 110 - S), three cosurfactants (butanol, sec-butanol and isoamyl alcohol - C), three aqueous phase (tap water - ADT, acidic solution 6 % HCl, and saline solution - 3.5 % NaCl - AP) and an oil phase (kerosene - OP). From the obtained systems, a common point was chosen belonging to the microemulsion region (25 % [C+S] 5 % OP and AP 70 %), which was characterized at room temperature (25°C) by viscosity (Haake Rheometer Mars), particle diameter (Zeta Plus) and thermal stability. Mixtures with this composition were applied to oil sludge solubilization under agitation at a ratio of 1:4, by varying time and temperature. The efficiencies of solubilization were obtained excluding the solids, which ranged between 73.5 % and 95 %. Thus, two particular systems were selected for use in storage tanks, with efficiencies of oil sludge solubilization over 90 %, which proved the effectiveness of the MES. The factorial design delimited within the domain showed how the MES constituents affect the solubilization of aged oil sludge, as predictive models. The MES A was chosen as the best system, which solubilized a high amount of aged crude oil sludge (~ 151.7 g / L per MES)

Intrapleural analgesia after endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy

OBJETIVO: Comparar a analgesia tradicionalmente utilizada para simpatectomia videotoracoscópica à injeção intrapleural de ropivacaína em duas doses diferentes. MÉTODOS: Vinte e quatro pacientes foram distribuídos em três grupos semelhantes, e todos eles receberam dipirona endovenosa. O grupo A recebeu tramadol endovenoso e injeção intrapleural de solução salina. O grupo B recebeu injeção intrapleural de ropivacaína a 0,33%, e Grupo C ropivacaína a 0,5%. Os aspectos analisados foram: capacidade inspiratória, freqüência respiratória e dor. A dor foi avaliada no período pós-operatório por meio da escala visual analógica e durante o período de uma semana. RESULTADOS: Nos grupos A e B, a redução da capacidade inspiratória foi observada no período pós-operatório. Nas primeiras 12 horas de pós-operatório, apenas 12,5% dos pacientes nos grupos B e C apresentaram dor intensa em comparação a 25% no Grupo A. Na semana seguinte, apenas um paciente do grupo A apresentou dor leve, enquanto o restante relatou dor intensa. No Grupo B, metade dos pacientes apresentou dor intensa, e no Grupo C, apenas um apresentou intensa dor. CONCLUSÃO: A analgesia intrapleural com ropivacaína resultou em menos dor no pós-operatório tardio com os melhores resultados analgésicos nas doses mais altas, proporcionando um melhor padrão ventilatório.

The effects of intrathecal administration of betamethasone over the dogs' spinal cord and meninges

OBJETIVO: Determinar possíveis alterações clínicas e histológicas determinadas pela administração da betametasona no espaço subaracnóideo de cães. MÉTODOS: Vinte e um cães foram incluídos no estudo de forma aleatória e encoberta. Depois de anestesiados, os cães foram submetidos a punção subaracóidea com injeção de 1 ml da solução sorteada. Os animais receberam solução salina 0,9% em G1, betametasona na dose de 1,75 mg em G2 e betametasona na dose de 3,5 mg em G3. Todos os animais foram mantidos em observação clínica por 21 dias, sendo posteriormente sacrificados. Porções da medula espinhal e sacral foram removidas para análise histológica por microscopia óptica. RESULTADOS: Não foram detectadas alterações clínicas em quaisquer dos animais incluídos no estudo. da mesma forma, nenhum animal do G1 apresentou alterações histológicas. Infiltração inflamatória foi observada em dois cães, um do G2 e outro e G3. No cão do G2 onde a infiltração inflamatória foi observada ocorreu, conjuntamente, hemorragia e necrose. em dois cães, um de G2 e outro de G3, observou-se discreta fibrose e espessamento da aracnóide, sendo focal em um e difusa no outro. CONCLUSÃO: A administração subaracnóidea de betametasona determinou alterações histológicas em medula e meninges de alguns dos cães envolvidos no estudo.

Prevention of renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats using acetylcysteine after anesthesia with isoflurane

OBJETIVO: Avaliar o efeito da N-acetilcisteína na proteção renal contra lesão de isquemia/reperfusão, quando administrada logo após a indução anestésica, em ratos anestesiados com isoflurano. MÉTODOS: Dezoito ratos Wistar machos pesando mais que 300g foram anestesiados com isoflurano. A jugular interna direita e a carótida esquerda foram dissecadas e canuladas. Os animais foram distribuídos aleatoriamente em GAcetil, recebendo N-acetilcisteína por via intravenosa, 300mg/kg, e GIsot, solução salina. Foi realizada nefrectomia direita e clampeamento da artéria renal esquerda por 45 min. Os animais foram sacrificados após 48h, sendo colhidas amostras sanguíneas após a indução anestésica e ao sacrifício dos mesmos para avaliar a creatinina sérica. Realizou-se histologia renal. RESULTADOS: A variação da creatinina foi 2,33mg/dL ± 2,21 no GAcetil e 4,38mg/dL ± 2,13 no GIsot (p=0,074). Dois animais apresentaram necrose tubular intensa no GAcetil, comparados a cinco no GIsot. Apenas GAcetil apresentou animais livres de necrose tubular (dois) e degeneração tubular (um). CONCLUSÃO: Após isquemia/reperfusão renais, os ratos aos quais se administrou N-acetilcisteína apresentaram menor variação na creatinina sérica e lesões renais mais leves que o grupo controle.

Experimental paracoccidioidomycosis in the mouse. III. Histopathological and immunological findings after intravenous infection in the presence or absence of previous immunization

Cinqüenta camundongos suíços, brancos, com quatro semanas de idade, foram inoculados com 5x10(5) formas leveduriformes, viáveis de Paracoccidiodes brasiliensis (cepa 18). Dez destes animais tinham sido previamente imunizados com antígeno particulado de P. brasiliensis, durante quatro semanas, por injeção intradérmica. Os controles consistiram de 10 animais que foram somente imunizados e 10 inoculados com solução salina estéril. Os animais foram sacrificados após 2, 4, 7, 11 e 16 semanas. Estudamos: 1) resposta de hipersensibilidade retardada medida pelo teste do coxim plantar, 24 horas antes do sacrifício; 2) anticorpo- gênese específica avaliada pelo teste de imunodifusão dupla em gel de ágar; 3) histopatologia dos pulmões, fígado, baço, supra-renal e rins. Observamos: 1) os animais imunizados desenvolveram resposta imunecelular mais intensa que os infectados; 2) a infecção deprimiu a resposta imunecelular dos animais imunizados; 3) a histopatologia da infecção endovenosa revelou inflamação granulomatosa sistêmica e progressiva. Os animais infectados após imunização prévia apresentaram inflamação pulmonar menos extensa, com granulomas menores e com reduzido número de fungos. O presente modelo murino de paracoccidioidomicose mimetiza alguns achados da forma humana subaguda da micose (doença sistêmica com depressão da imunidade celular). O esquema de imunização extrapulmonar utilizado foi capaz de induzir certo grau de proteção do pulmão contra um desafio infeccioso pelo P. brasiliensis.

Biocompatibilidade e biodegradabilidade de micropartículas de poli-lactato-co-glicolato na ceratite infecciosa em coelhos

Avaliaram-se a biocompatibilidade e a biodegradabilidade do sistema de liberação controlada de poli-lactato-co-glicolato (PLGA) no tratamento com ciprofloxacina das ceratites por Staphylococcus aureus em coelhos. Foram utilizados 20 coelhos, distribuídos em quatro grupos (G). Os animais dos G1, G3 e G4 foram inoculados com 2,5µL da bactéria - 108UFC, no estroma corneano. Os do G2 não receberam a aplicação do inóculo. O tratamento foi realizado com solução salina básica para os animais do G1, micropartículas de PLGA contendo ciprofloxacina nos animais dos G2 e G4 e colírio de ciprofloxacina naqueles do G3. Suabe e biópsia da superfície ocular foram coletados para cultura. Apenas um animal do G1 apresentou cultura positiva para S. aureus. Exame histológico revelou a presença bacteriana em todos os animais do G1 e em dois animais do G3. Também foi constatada reação inflamatória no local da aplicação do sistema de liberação controlada. O tratamento com micropartículas de PLGA foi eficiente no tratamento de ceratites bacterianas, ao eliminar por completo a presença do S. aureus, mas entretanto não foi completamente biocompatível e biodegradável após cinco dias.