Review of encapsulation methods suitable for microbial biological control agents

Because of the rising demand for microbial biological control agents, research into novel formulation methods, especially bioencapsulation, has notably increased in the past years. The aim of this review is to present a detailed illustrated overview on current encapsulation methods that are applied or that may be tailored to living biological control agents, especially microbial organisms and entomopathogenic nematodes. Capsules are manufactured by forming droplets from liquids and solidifying the liquid droplets to form particles. In this review, the methods are presented according to the manner of droplet formation ( dripping and emulsification) and are subsequently categorized by the process of gelation or membrane formation. In a further category this review expands on coating methods using polyelectrolytes with altering charges. We put emphasis on chemical aspects which seem especially useful for scientists working in biological control. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.