Gradient drying and micronization process of holographic moxibustion traditional Chinese medicine composition

Abstract

The present application relates to traditional Chinese medicine processing technical field, especially for holographic moxibustion traditional Chinese medicine composition gradient drying and micronization process, its process includes the following steps: step S1: visual sorting and cutting treatment; Step S2: gradient drying treatment; Step S3: plasma surface modification; Step S4: supercritical fluid extraction crushing; Step S5: airflow classification and planetary ball milling crushing; Step S6: ultrasonic atomization coating treatment; The present application realizes active ingredient directional protection by adopting three-stage gradient drying technology, reduces flavonoid loss rate, realizes uniform distribution of particle size by adopting supercritical CO2 crushing and nanometer coating technology, reduces powder agglomeration rate, realizes residue-free sterilization by combining radio frequency plasma sterilization method, reduces microbial pollution, realizes 0.1mm grade impurity rejection by utilizing AI visual sorting, reduces artificial quality inspection error rate, increases powder roundness by adopting turbine classification and cryogenic ball milling combined process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of traditional Chinese medicine processing technology, specifically to the gradient drying and micronization process of holographic moxibustion traditional Chinese medicine composition. Background Technology

[0002] The composition of medicinal materials in holographic moxibustion herbal compositions varies depending on the formula. For example, one holographic moxibustion herbal composition is prepared from herbs such as mugwort, agarwood, angelica, privet fruit, coptis, saposhnikovia, peppermint, pinellia, and dried ginger. These herbs each have different effects; for example, mugwort warms the meridians and promotes blood circulation, agarwood regulates qi and relieves pain, angelica nourishes and invigorates blood, and privet fruit nourishes the liver and kidneys. They work synergistically together. During harvesting, processing, and storage, the herbs may absorb some moisture, and excessive moisture content can affect the quality and stability of the herbs. Drying removes excess moisture, preventing mold and spoilage. After micronization, the drug particles are fine and uniform, increasing the specific surface area and porosity. This allows the drug to be better dispersed and dissolved in gastrointestinal fluids, and increases the contact area with the gastrointestinal mucosa, making it easier for the gastrointestinal tract to absorb and improving bioavailability.

[0003] Traditional hot air drying only uses a single stage at 60-80℃, resulting in a loss of more than 40% of volatile components. Moreover, the particle size control during the powdering process is poor, with the particle size of the powder material under hammer milling being greater than 50μm, and the transdermal absorption rate being less than 35%. At the same time, the powder agglomeration rate is high, and electrostatic adsorption leads to an angle of repose greater than 50°, resulting in poor flowability. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a gradient drying and micronization process for holographic moxibustion herbal compositions to solve the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a gradient drying and micronization process for a holographic moxibustion herbal composition, the process comprising the following steps:

[0006] Step S1: The visual sorting machine identifies areas of abnormal color in the raw medicinal materials for holographic moxibustion through multispectral imaging. The AI ​​algorithm removes unqualified products in real time. Then, a high-pressure water cutter is used for cutting. After slicing, citric acid solution is sprayed immediately for surface passivation treatment.

[0007] Step S2: Select an empty drying oven, arrange honeycomb diatomaceous earth plates in the drying chamber, dynamically adjust the temperature curve, and carry out drying in three zones in the drying oven.

[0008] Step S3: After drying, the medicinal materials are placed in a radio frequency plasma generator, and a mixture of argon and oxygen is introduced as a protective gas. The high-frequency electric field is used to excite the gas to form plasma, which modifies the surface of the medicinal materials and reduces the contact angle of the medicinal materials.

[0009] Step S4: The sterilized medicinal materials are placed inside the supercritical fluid reaction device, and liquid food-grade CO2 is introduced into the device at the same time. The supercritical fluid penetrates the cell wall of the medicinal materials, generating internal expansion stress. Through the dual-channel nozzle design, a shear vortex is formed inside, which pulverizes and completes the instantaneous extraction of fat-soluble components. After the process, a preliminary powder is obtained.

[0010] Step S5: The preliminary powder extracted in the above steps is fed into a turbine air classifier for sorting, while nitrogen is introduced as a protective gas. At the discharge port, an electrostatic eliminator is used to eliminate powder agglomeration. The graded coarse powder is then fed into a planetary ball mill for pulverization.

[0011] Step S6: The graded powder is poured into an ultrasonic atomizing coating machine, and chitosan-sodium alginate composite colloid is added at the same time. The colloid is atomized into tiny particles by ultrasonic waves and coated on the surface of the powder to obtain modified powder, thus completing the process.

[0012] Preferably, in step S1, the cutting pressure of the high-pressure water cutter is 48-50 MPa, the angle of the water jet is 15°, and the thickness of the sliced ​​medicinal material is 1.8-2.2 mm.

[0013] Preferably, in step S1, the AI ​​algorithm is a supervised learning algorithm based on image recognition, and the algorithm typically includes the following steps:

[0014] Step S1.1, Data Collection and Labeling: Collect a large number of holographic moxibustion raw material images and label the qualified and unqualified products in the images;

[0015] Step S1.2, Feature Extraction: Use image processing techniques to extract features from the image, such as color, texture, and shape;

[0016] Step S1.3, Model Training: Train a classification model, such as a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), using the labeled dataset. The training formula is as follows:

[0017] f(x) = sign(w×x+b);

[0018] In the formula: w is the weight vector, x is the input vector, b is the bias term, w and x represent the weights and input data respectively, b is the bias term used to adjust the position of the hyperplane, and the sign function is used to classify the data according to the position of the hyperplane;

[0019] Step S1.4, Model Application: Apply the trained model to the new holographic moxibustion raw material images to achieve real-time removal of unqualified products.

[0020] Preferably, in step S2, the drying steps for the three regions are as follows:

[0021] After slicing, the material is dried in Zone 1. When infrared detection shows that the moisture content has dropped to 15%, the conveyor belt is turned on to Zone 2 at a speed of 0.9–1.0 m / min. The drying in Zone 2 is assisted by microwave with a frequency of 2400–2450 MHz to enhance the diffusion of internal moisture. After 3 hours, the material is transferred to Zone 3 for further drying.

[0022] Preferably, in step S2, the parameters for the three stage regions are set as follows:

[0023] Phase 1: Temperature 45℃ and pressure 15kPa maintained for 2 hours;

[0024] Phase 2: Temperature 55℃ and pressure 8kPa maintained for 3 hours;

[0025] Phase 3: Temperature 38℃ and pressure 3kPa maintained for 1.5 hours.

[0026] Preferably, in step S3, the power density of the argon radio frequency plasma generator is 3 W / cm². 3 Meanwhile, the temperature inside the chamber is ≤40℃, and the processing time is 8 minutes.

[0027] Preferably, in step S4, the pressure when CO2 is introduced is 25 MPa, the device temperature is 31°C, the critical point is precisely controlled, and the speed at which liquid CO2 is injected into the device is 360–380 m / s.

[0028] Preferably, in step S5, the specific steps for grinding the coarse material are as follows:

[0029] The sorted material is poured into a planetary ball mill, and the temperature of the grinding jar is lowered to -50°C. Liquid nitrogen is sprayed inside the jacket of the grinding jar for cooling. Different sizes of zirconia grinding balls are used for grinding, with the zirconia grinding balls being Φ3mm, Φ5mm, and Φ8mm respectively. The grinding and crushing are carried out in three stages from large to small.

[0030] Preferably, in step S5, the first-stage speed of the turbine air classifier is 4500 rpm, and the second-stage speed of the turbine air classifier is 6800 rpm.

[0031] Preferably, in step S6, the atomized particle size is 3-5 μm and the coating thickness is 80-120 nm.

[0032] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0033] This invention employs a three-stage gradient drying technology to achieve targeted protection of active ingredients and reduce the loss rate of flavonoids. By using supercritical CO2 pulverization and nano-coating technology, it achieves uniform particle size distribution and reduces powder agglomeration. Combined with radio frequency plasma sterilization, it achieves residue-free sterilization and reduces microbial contamination. Furthermore, AI visual sorting is used to remove impurities at the 0.1mm level, reducing the error rate of manual quality inspection. By using a combination of turbine classification and cryogenic ball milling, it increases powder sphericity and enhances the transdermal absorption rate of the drug. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the process of the present invention; Detailed Implementation

[0035] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0036] The gradient drying and micronization process of the holographic moxibustion herbal composition includes the following steps:

[0037] Step S1: The visual sorting machine identifies areas of abnormal color in the raw medicinal materials for holographic moxibustion through multispectral imaging. The raw medicinal materials for holographic moxibustion include 12 herbs such as Artemisia argyi, Ligusticum chuanxiong, and Angelica sinensis. The AI ​​algorithm removes unqualified products in real time, with a sorting accuracy of 0.1mm. The medicinal materials are irradiated with light of different wavelengths to capture their reflected or transmitted spectral information, thereby accurately identifying areas of abnormal color or impurities to ensure the purity of the medicinal materials. After sorting, a high-pressure water cutter is used for cutting. The blade temperature is controlled at 4℃ to prevent oxidation of the effective components during the cutting process. High-pressure water jet is used as the cutting tool to avoid the damage to the effective components of the medicinal materials caused by the heat generated by traditional cutting methods. Immediately after slicing, a 0.5% citric acid solution is sprayed for surface passivation treatment. The 3D visual sorting machine is a Keyence-CV-X series with a cutting pressure of 48-50MPa and a water jet angle of 15°. The slice thickness is 1.8-2.2mm.

[0038] AI algorithms are supervised learning algorithms based on image recognition. These algorithms typically include the following steps:

[0039] Step S1.1, Data Collection and Labeling: Collect a large number of holographic moxibustion raw material images and label the qualified and unqualified products in the images;

[0040] Step S1.2, Feature Extraction: Use image processing techniques to extract features from the image, such as color, texture, and shape;

[0041] Step S1.3, Model Training: Train a classification model, such as a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), using the labeled dataset. The training formula is as follows:

[0042] f(x) = sign(w×x+b);

[0043] In the formula: w is the weight vector, x is the input vector, b is the bias term, w and x represent the weights and input data respectively, b is the bias term used to adjust the position of the hyperplane, and the sign function is used to classify the data according to the position of the hyperplane;

[0044] Step S1.4, Model Application: Apply the trained model to the new holographic moxibustion raw material image to achieve real-time removal of unqualified products;

[0045] Step S2: Select an empty drying oven equipped with an infrared moisture monitoring module. The drying chamber contains honeycomb diatomaceous earth panels with a specific surface area of ​​800 m². 2 / g, accelerating moisture adsorption, and using a dielectric constant sensor to monitor moisture changes in real time, dynamically adjusting the temperature curve, the sliced ​​material is dried in the sealed stainless steel cavity of the drying oven in Zone 1. When infrared detection shows that the moisture content has dropped to 15%, the conveyor belt is turned on to the second zone at a speed of 0.9–1.0 m / min. The second zone drying is assisted by microwaves at a frequency of 2400–2450 MHz to enhance internal moisture diffusion. After 3 hours, it is transferred to the third zone for drying. The drying process is divided into three stages:

[0046] Stage 1: The temperature is 45℃ and the pressure is 15kPa for 2 hours to remove surface water;

[0047] Stage 2: The temperature is maintained at 55℃ and the pressure at 8kPa for 3 hours to remove bound water;

[0048] Phase 3: The temperature is 38℃ and the pressure is 3kPa for 1.5 hours, which is the active ingredient protection phase;

[0049] The moisture content of the final product is controlled in a gradient: 8% for the outer layer, 10% for the middle layer, and 12% for the core, creating differentiated stress conditions for subsequent crushing.

[0050] Step S3: After drying, the medicinal material is placed in a radio frequency plasma generator, and a mixture of argon and oxygen is simultaneously introduced as a protective gas. The ratio of argon to oxygen is 7:3. The power density of the radio frequency plasma generator is 3W / cm³. 3The chamber temperature is ≤40℃, the processing time is 8 minutes, and a high-frequency electric field is used to excite the gas to form plasma, which modifies the surface of the medicinal materials, forming a nanoscale hydrophilic modification layer on the surface of the medicinal materials. This reduces the contact angle from 112° to 28° and maintains a free radical concentration of 10. 16 / cm 3 This ensures a sterilization rate of >99.99%, simultaneously activating the cellulose structure of the medicinal materials and improving subsequent pulverization efficiency;

[0051] Step S4: The sterilized medicinal materials are placed inside a supercritical fluid reaction device, and liquid food-grade CO2 is simultaneously introduced into the device. The supercritical fluid penetrates the cell walls of the medicinal materials, generating internal expansion stress. The device adopts a dual-channel nozzle design to spray liquid CO2 into the device. The nozzle has an inner diameter of 0.3 mm and an outer diameter of 1.2 mm, forming a shear vortex inside. This process pulverizes the materials while simultaneously extracting fat-soluble components. The pressure when CO2 is introduced is 25 MPa, the device temperature is 31℃, and the critical point is precisely controlled. The velocity of the liquid CO2 injected into the device is 360-380 m / s. After the process is completed, a preliminary powder is obtained.

[0052] Step S5: The preliminary powder extracted in the above steps is fed into a turbine air classifier for separation, while nitrogen is introduced as a protective gas. The first stage of the turbine air classifier operates at 4500 rpm to separate particles with a diameter of 18–22 μm, and the second stage operates at 6800 rpm to separate particles with a diameter of 3–5 μm. At the discharge port, a powder electrostatic eliminator is used to eliminate powder agglomeration. The coarse powder after classification is then fed into a planetary ball mill for further pulverization. The specific steps are as follows:

[0053] The sorted material is poured into a planetary ball mill, and the temperature of the grinding jar is lowered to -50°C. Cooling is achieved by spraying liquid nitrogen inside the grinding jar jacket, preventing the liquid nitrogen from entering the grinding jar and contacting the material. Grinding is carried out using zirconia grinding balls of different sizes: Φ3mm, Φ5mm, and Φ8mm. The grinding is carried out in three stages from largest to smallest: coarse crushing stage (temperature -30°C, duration 30min): Φ8mm grinding balls crush large particles at a grinding speed of 300rpm; fine grinding stage (temperature -50°C, duration 60min): Φ5mm grinding balls reduce the particle size of the material to <15μm at a grinding speed of 400rpm; shaping stage (temperature -20°C, duration 20min): Φ3mm grinding balls improve sphericity at a grinding speed of 600rpm. The final product has a roundness coefficient >0.85, a particle size distribution CV value <18%, and no crystal transformation.

[0054] Step S6: The graded powder is poured into an ultrasonic atomizing coating machine, and chitosan-sodium alginate composite colloid is added simultaneously. The colloid is atomized into tiny particles using ultrasound, which are uniformly coated on the powder surface. The atomized particle size is 3-5 μm, and the coating thickness is 80-120 nm. Self-assembly coating is achieved by adjusting the zeta potential in the coating machine (+35 mV → -20 mV). Pulsed negative pressure adsorption (0.5 s on / 0.3 s off) is used to ensure uniform film formation. After coating, the powder's angle of repose decreases from 52° to 28°, exhibiting good film-forming properties and biocompatibility. This process can protect the powder and improve its flowability, thus obtaining the modified powder and completing the process.

[0055] By employing a three-stage gradient drying technology, the active ingredients are protected in a targeted manner, reducing the loss rate of flavonoids by 42%. By using supercritical CO2 pulverization and nano-coating technology, uniform particle size distribution (D50 = 5.2 μm) is achieved, reducing the powder agglomeration rate to <3%. By using radio frequency plasma sterilization (argon-oxygen mixed gas), residue-free sterilization is achieved, reducing microbial contamination to <10 CFU / g (100% compliance rate with pharmacopoeia standards). By using AI vision sorting, 0.1 mm-level impurities are removed, reducing the error rate of manual quality inspection to below 0.3%. By using a combination of turbine classification and cryogenic ball milling, the powder roundness is >0.85, reducing the transdermal drug delivery time lag effect by 58%.

[0056] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A gradient drying and micronization process for a holographic moxibustion herbal composition, characterized in that, The process includes the following steps: Step S1: The visual sorting machine identifies areas of abnormal color in the raw medicinal materials for holographic moxibustion through multispectral imaging. The AI ​​algorithm removes unqualified products in real time. Then, a high-pressure water cutter is used for cutting. After slicing, citric acid solution is sprayed immediately for surface passivation treatment. Step S2: Select an empty drying oven, arrange honeycomb diatomaceous earth plates in the drying chamber, dynamically adjust the temperature curve, and carry out drying in three zones in the drying oven. Step S3: After drying, the medicinal materials are placed in a radio frequency plasma generator, and a mixture of argon and oxygen is introduced as a protective gas. The high-frequency electric field is used to excite the gas to form plasma, which modifies the surface of the medicinal materials and reduces the contact angle of the medicinal materials. Step S4: The sterilized medicinal materials are placed inside the supercritical fluid reaction device, and liquid food-grade CO2 is introduced into the device at the same time. The supercritical fluid penetrates the cell wall of the medicinal materials, generating internal expansion stress. Through the dual-channel nozzle design, a shear vortex is formed inside, which pulverizes and completes the instantaneous extraction of fat-soluble components. After the process, a preliminary powder is obtained. Step S5: The preliminary powder extracted in the above steps is fed into a turbine air classifier for sorting, while nitrogen is introduced as a protective gas. At the discharge port, an electrostatic eliminator is used to eliminate powder agglomeration. The graded coarse powder is then fed into a planetary ball mill for pulverization. Step S6: The graded powder is poured into an ultrasonic atomizing coating machine, and chitosan-sodium alginate composite colloid is added at the same time. The colloid is atomized into tiny particles by ultrasonic waves and coated on the surface of the powder to obtain modified powder, thus completing the process.

2. The gradient drying and micronization process of the holographic moxibustion herbal composition according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1, the cutting pressure of the high-pressure water cutter is 48-50 MPa, the angle of the water jet is 15°, and the thickness of the sliced ​​medicinal material is 1.8-2.2 mm.

3. The gradient drying and micronization process of the holographic moxibustion herbal composition according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1, the AI ​​algorithm is a supervised learning algorithm based on image recognition, and the algorithm typically includes the following steps: Step S1.1, Data Collection and Labeling: Collect a large number of holographic moxibustion raw material images and label the qualified and unqualified products in the images; Step S1.2, Feature Extraction: Use image processing techniques to extract features from the image, such as color, texture, and shape; Step S1.3, Model Training: Train a classification model, such as a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), using the labeled dataset. The training formula is as follows: f(x) = sign(w×x+b); In the formula: w is the weight vector, x is the input vector, b is the bias term, w and x represent the weights and input data respectively, b is the bias term used to adjust the position of the hyperplane, and the sign function is used to classify the data according to the position of the hyperplane; Step S1.4, Model Application: Apply the trained model to the new holographic moxibustion raw material images to achieve real-time removal of unqualified products.

4. The gradient drying and micronization process of the holographic moxibustion herbal composition according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S2, the drying steps for the three regions are as follows: After slicing, the material is dried in Zone 1. When infrared detection shows that the moisture content has dropped to 15%, the conveyor belt is turned on to Zone 2 at a speed of 0.9–1.0 m / min. The drying in Zone 2 is assisted by microwave with a frequency of 2400–2450 MHz to enhance the diffusion of internal moisture. After 3 hours, the material is transferred to Zone 3 for further drying.

5. The gradient drying and micronization process of the holographic moxibustion herbal composition according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S2, the parameter settings for the three stage regions are as follows: Phase 1: Temperature 45℃ and pressure 15kPa maintained for 2 hours; Phase 2: Temperature 55℃ and pressure 8kPa maintained for 3 hours; Phase 3: Temperature 38℃ and pressure 3kPa maintained for 1.5 hours.

6. The gradient drying and micronization process of the holographic moxibustion herbal composition according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S3, the power density of the argon radio frequency plasma generator is 3 W / cm². 3 Meanwhile, the temperature inside the chamber is ≤40℃, and the processing time is 8 minutes.

7. The gradient drying and micronization process of the holographic moxibustion herbal composition according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S4, the pressure when CO2 is introduced is 25 MPa, the device temperature is 31°C, the critical point is precisely controlled, and the speed at which liquid CO2 is injected into the device is 360–380 m / s.

8. The gradient drying and micronization process of the holographic moxibustion herbal composition according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S5, the specific steps for grinding the coarse material are as follows: The sorted material is poured into a planetary ball mill, and the temperature of the grinding jar is lowered to -50°C. Liquid nitrogen is sprayed inside the jacket of the grinding jar for cooling. Different sizes of zirconia grinding balls are used for grinding, with the zirconia grinding balls being Φ3mm, Φ5mm, and Φ8mm respectively. The grinding and crushing are carried out in three stages from large to small.

9. The gradient drying and micronization process of the holographic moxibustion herbal composition according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S5, the first-stage speed of the turbine air classifier is 4500 rpm, and the second-stage speed of the turbine air classifier is 6800 rpm.

10. The gradient drying and micronization process of the holographic moxibustion herbal composition according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S6, the atomized particle size is 3-5 μm and the coating thickness is 80-120 nm.

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