Cannabinoid Encapsulation via Solvent Migration Shell Formation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current oral dosage forms of cannabinoids face challenges in reproducibility, stability, and handling due to their tacky and oily nature, making it difficult to achieve consistent and long-lasting formulations for medical use.
Innovation Solution
A process involving the encapsulation of cannabinoids using a solvent with specific water solubility and a shell-forming component like C10-C30 fatty alcohols or acids, forming solid particles with a shell that encapsulates the cannabinoid core, resulting in stable and non-tacky powder formulations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional oral dosage forms are used to deliver cannabinoids, then the psychoactive and physical effects can be achieved, but the formulations suffer from tackiness, poor stability, and difficulty in handling due to the oily nature of cannabinoids
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by forming a solid shell around the liquid cannabinoid core. The shell is created through controlled solidification of a surrounding material (such as wax or polymer) that encapsulates the oily cannabinoid, preventing it from contacting the external environment. This resolves the tackiness issue while maintaining the cannabinoid's therapeutic properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the cannabinoid formulation into distinct segments: a liquid core containing the cannabinoid and a solid shell containing the surrounding material. This segmentation separates the tacky cannabinoid from the handling environment, allowing the outer shell to provide mechanical stability and ease of handling while the inner core retains the active ingredient.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If microparticles with cannabinoid suspended in filler material are prepared, then the cannabinoid can be delivered orally, but the composition exhibits short shelf-life due to cannabinoid exposure at the interface with air
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements nesting by placing the cannabinoid-containing core inside the solid shell. This nested structure ensures that the cannabinoid is completely enclosed and protected from external factors such as oxygen and moisture. The shell acts as a barrier layer that prevents direct contact between the active ingredient and the atmosphere, thereby extending shelf-life and preventing degradation.
Solution Approach 2:
The solid shell creates an inert protective environment around the cannabinoid core. By replacing the harmful atmospheric environment with a stable, inert shell material, the patent prevents oxidation and other harmful reactions that would otherwise occur at the cannabinoid-air interface, thus extending the formulation's stability and shelf-life.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If encapsulation is used to protect cannabinoid from oxidation, then shelf-life is extended, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions into a single encapsulation step: protection from oxidation, prevention of tackiness, and creation of a free-flowing powder all occur simultaneously during the shell formation process. By combining these functions into one integrated process rather than sequential steps, the patent achieves extended shelf-life without proportionally increasing process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes in the surrounding material (temperature, phase transition) to achieve encapsulation. By controlling the solidification or phase change of the shell material, the process becomes more straightforward and less complex. The material transitions from a liquid or soft state during formulation to a solid protective shell during storage, providing stability without requiring complex manufacturing equipment or multiple process steps.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process achieves high encapsulation efficiency, stability, and reproducibility, allowing for the production of cannabinoid-containing particles with up to 95% cannabinoid content, which are non-tacky and have a long shelf-life, suitable for pharmaceutical use.
Implementation Method 1
allowing the solvent to migrate from the droplets to the aqueous medium
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a process for preparing cannabinoid-containing particles, wherein first a solution is provided wherein the solvent has a water solubility in the range of 2-100 g/L at 25° C. and wherein the solution comprises 1) a cannabinoid component comprising one or more cannabinoids; and 2) a shell-forming component comprising one or more compounds selected from the group of C10-C30 fatty alcohols. C10-C30 fatty acids and esters of C10-C30 fatty alcohols and C10-C30 fatty acids. Then, droplets of the solution are generated in an aqueous medium and the solvent is allowed to migrate from the droplets to the aqueous medium to thereby form solid particles wherein a shell of shell-forming component encapsulates the cannabinoid component.