Instant-Dissolving Gelatin Block via Porous Structure

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional block-shaped gel products face challenges with poor solubility and inconvenience in administration due to their hard texture and requirement for special processing, which complicates packaging, transportation, and administration methods.

Innovation Solution

A method involving vacuum belt drying, grinding, and controlled moistening to create a gel product instant-dissolving block with a loose pore structure and high hardness, allowing for rapid dissolution in hot water without chemical disintegrants or cosolvents, achieved through specific processing steps including dissolving raw material gel, concentrating, drying, grinding, and compressing with controlled particle sizes and alcohol content.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the gel product is compressed under high pressure to form a block shape, then the moldability and hardness are improved, but the solubility deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovehardnessVSAvoidsolubility
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a porous structure within the gel block by controlling the drying process to form a honeycomb-like network. This porous structure allows water to penetrate rapidly throughout the block while maintaining external hardness and shape integrity, resolving the contradiction between moldability and solubility

Inventive Principle:
Principle #31Porous materials

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the gel during processing, including controlling moisture content, adjusting the concentration of gelatin solution, and optimizing drying conditions. These parameter changes enable the gel to achieve both hardness for molding and porosity for rapid dissolution

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Strength

If the gel product is dried to improve hardness and moldability, then the solubility deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovehardnessVSAvoidsolubility
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The controlled drying process creates a porous honeycomb structure that maintains hardness while enabling rapid water penetration. The pores provide channels for water to quickly reach the interior of the block, ensuring fast solubility despite the drying process

Inventive Principle:
Principle #31Porous materials

Solution Approach 2:

The gel block combines dense outer layers for structural integrity with porous inner structures for rapid dissolution. This composite structure achieves both hardness for handling and porosity for quick solubility in water

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

3Productivity

If chemical disintegrants are added to achieve instant dissolution, then the dissolution speed is improved, but the purity deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedissolution speedVSAvoidpurity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and eliminates chemical disintegrants from the formulation, achieving instant dissolution through physical structure modification alone. The porous honeycomb structure enables rapid water penetration without requiring any chemical additives, thereby maintaining high purity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The gel block's own porous structure serves as the dissolution mechanism, eliminating the need for external chemical disintegrants. The structure itself enables rapid dissolution through capillary action and water penetration, achieving self-service dissolution without contaminants

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

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 resulting gel product instant-dissolving block achieves rapid dissolution within 2 minutes in hot water, maintaining hardness and moldability suitable for packaging and transportation, while offering versatile administration options and a unique texture.

Implementation Method 1

carrying out a vacuum belt drying treatment on the gel solution to obtain a cellular gel body

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectVacuum drying: Vacuum

Implementation Method 2

moistening the gel powder with 85 to 95% alcohol, and directly carrying out compressing on moistened material

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAbsorption: Absorption (physical)

Implementation Method 3

carrying out compressing on moistened material which is not dried at a compression ratio of 30 to 60%

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCompression: Compression

Implementation Method 4

rapidly dissolved without adding any chemical disintegrants or cosolvents... rapid dissolution in hot water

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectDissolution: Solvation

Data Source

PatentEP3730125B1Quick-dissolving block of gelatin product and preparation method therefor
Publication Date: 2023.01.18 SHAN DONG DONG E E JIAO
  • EP3730125B1 patent drawingFigure 1~3
  • EP3730125B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

The present invention relates to a new instant-dissolving dosage form of gel product, and in particular to a gel product instant-dissolving block and a preparation method thereof. The preparation method comprises the following steps: adding water into a raw material to dissolve the raw material and carrying out concentrating to obtain a gel solution; carrying out a drying treatment on the gel solution to obtain an irregular cellular gel body; grinding the gel body and carrying out screening to obtain gel powder with a particle size being equal to or larger than 80 meshes; moistening the gel powder with 85 to 95% alcohol and carrying out compression at a compression ratio of 30% to 60% to obtain a block, thereby obtaining the gel product instant-dissolving block. The gel product instant-dissolving block of the present invention has a loose pore structure at the inside, has a high superficial area/volume ratio and has a product density of 0.4 to 0.8g/cm3, and is capable of being rapidly dissolved within 2 minutes in hot water, and the gel product instant-dissolving block of the present invention is crisp in mouthfeel and can be directly orally administrated, which can satisfy consumers' demands for convenient administration in different situations.