Encapsulated nicotine granules and method for preparing same

Abstract

A method of forming an encapsulated nicotine granule (ENG) comprises heating a first mixture including one or more polyols to form a molten mixture, cooling the molten mixture to a first temperature to form a cooled molten mixture, adding at least one of nicotine and one or more nicotine salts to the cooled molten mixture to form a second mixture, cooling the second mixture to a second temperature different from the first temperature to form one or more solidified structures, and fragmenting the one or more solidified structures to form a plurality of encapsulated nicotine granules. The first temperature may be between about 120° C. and about 200° C. The second temperature may be greater than or equal to the glass transition temperature (T g For example, the second temperature can be between about 65° C. and about 200° C.