Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was investigated as a flame retardant (FR) additive for melt-compounded formulations with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and compared to LDPE compounded with melamine polyphosphate (MPP), one of the industry standard intumescent FR additives for plastics. DNA showed a much greater compatibility with the LDPE matrix than MPP. At high loading levels, DNA showed minimal increases in compounding torque, while MPP increased torque by over 20%. Qualitative evaluation using SEM and EDS showed that DNA/LDPE blends had significantly improved crosssectional morphology, with fewer microaggregates and improved particle dispersion than MPP/LDPE. Horizontal burn testing showed that DNA markedly reduced flame burn distances in LDPE above loading levels of 5% w/w. Biochemical characterization of heat-treated DNA revealed that DNA undergoes denaturation, fragmentation, and

Biological pharmaceuticals are growing rapidly and represent some of the most effective pharmaceuticals on the market, however, delivery of these agents remains a challenge. Melt processing is emerging as a viable protein encapsulation method because it is solvent free, is high throughput, and yields very high encapsulation efficiencies. Problematically though, proteins can denature and lose activity during melt processing due to high heat and shear forces. Covalent attachment of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), commonly referred to as PEGylation, has been widely used to increase the thermal stability and prevent aggregation of proteins in aqueous solutions. This study explored the effect of PEGylation on protein stability during melt processing using lysozyme and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). The results indicate that PEGylation can increase the retained activity of lysozyme post-processing, increase dispersion in the melt, and reduce the biphasic release profile exhibited by lysozyme in PLGA melt processed systems.