Crystalline Encapsulation of Volatile Ingredients Using Erythritol
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing crystalline encapsulation methods face challenges in controlling the process precisely, minimizing porosity, and preventing loss of sensitive active ingredients, particularly in the food and nutraceutical industries, where glassy matrices are difficult to produce and crystallization processes are time-consuming or require additional steps.
Innovation Solution
A spray-chilled particulate delivery system with a crystalline structure using erythritol or mannitol as carrier materials, where 75% or more of the carrier material is in crystalline form, formed by melting the carrier, incorporating a hydrophobic active ingredient, and cooling to create discrete particles that encapsulate the ingredient within crystalline domains, reducing voids and shell-like structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If glassy matrices are used for encapsulation, then effective entrapment of flavor volatiles and prevention of chemical events such as oxidation is achieved, but the production process becomes difficult to control and requires careful processing
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the physical state parameter of the matrix material from glassy to crystalline. By selecting carrier materials that form crystalline structures upon cooling from melt state, the invention achieves effective encapsulation while simplifying process control. The crystalline state provides stable encapsulation without requiring the careful processing needed for glassy matrices.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite materials consisting of carrier materials (sugars, sugar alcohols, polyols) combined with active ingredients. These composite crystalline materials provide both the encapsulation function and the desired physical properties, replacing the need for complex glassy matrix formulations.
2Ease of manufacture
If co-crystallization is used to encapsulate active ingredients, then the process can be simplified, but control over nucleation and crystallization rates becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary action by pre-selecting carrier materials with specific crystallization properties and pre-establishing optimal processing parameters. The carrier materials are chosen to naturally provide controlled crystallization behavior, so that when the melt is cooled, the crystallization proceeds at appropriate rates without requiring complex real-time control.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier materials themselves provide the crystallization control function. By selecting materials with appropriate melting points and crystallization characteristics, the system self-regulates the nucleation and crystallization rates during cooling, eliminating the need for external control mechanisms.
3Ease of manufacture
If porous crystalline structures are formed during encapsulation, then the encapsulation process is easier, but oxidation of sensitive active ingredients occurs more readily
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the structural parameter of the crystalline matrix from porous to dense. By selecting carrier materials and processing conditions that promote dense crystalline packing, the invention creates a barrier structure that prevents oxygen penetration while maintaining ease of manufacture through the crystalline formation process.
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 system provides enhanced protection against loss and oxidation of active ingredients by ensuring they are included within crystalline domains, offering improved control over the encapsulation process and maintaining the integrity of sensitive compounds during storage and processing.
Implementation Method 1
forming a melt of a carrier material selected from the group consisting of erythritol and mannitol and mixtures thereof
Implementation Method 2
cooling the discrete particles so as to form a particulate delivery system having a crystalline structure
Implementation Method 3
A spray-chilled particulate delivery system with a crystalline structure
Data Source
AI summary
A spray-chilled particulate delivery system that has a crystalline matrix structure and includes a volatile hydrophobic active ingredient and a carrier material of erythritol, mannitol and mixtures thereof 75% or more of the carrier material, relative to the total weight of the carrier material, is in crystalline form. The system is prepared by a process that includes the steps of forming a melt of the carrier material, incorporating a volatile hydrophobic active ingredient into the melt, forming a melt-mixture comprising an emulsion, dispersion or suspension of the volatile hydrophobic active ingredient in the melt, forming discrete particles of the melt mixture, and cooling the discrete particles.