Isotopic Marking for Product Tracking Through Transformations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for marking products fail to track both the source and history of a product after it has undergone transformations, as the tagging information is often destroyed or limited to identifying the source only.
Innovation Solution
Embedding a unique monomers sequence, such as a nucleic acid or amino acid sequence, into the product to encode source and history information in a retrievable and non-destructible manner, allowing for identification and tracking even after substantial transformations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If tagging ingredients are added to chemical compositions or RFID labels are applied to product containers, then product identification is enabled, but the tag information is destroyed with the transformation of the product into another form
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a stable isotopic signature as an intermediary carrier of product identification information. Rather than attaching physical tags that degrade, the invention embeds isotopic ratios (e.g., carbon-13 to carbon-12) within the molecular structure of the product itself. This intermediary isotopic marker persists through transformations and processing, enabling reliable product tracking without the information loss that plagues conventional tagging systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces mechanical/physical tagging systems (RFID labels, attached tags) with a chemical/isotopic marking system. Instead of relying on external physical markers that can be lost or destroyed, the identification information is encoded at the molecular level through isotopic composition. This substitution ensures the identification survives product transformation, as the isotopic signature becomes intrinsic to the product's chemical structure.
2Measurement precision
If tagging ingredients are used to identify product source, then source determination is enabled, but history information of the product is not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the product identification system into multiple isotopic markers, each encoding different aspects of product history. Rather than using a single tag for source identification, the invention employs a profile of multiple isotopic ratios (e.g., carbon-13, nitrogen-15, oxygen-18) that collectively encode chronological and procedural information. Each isotopic segment contributes specific historical data, allowing reconstruction of the complete product journey from source through processing stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes changes in isotopic parameters (ratios and abundances) to encode historical information throughout the product lifecycle. Different processing stages introduce characteristic isotopic signatures, and by measuring these parameter changes, the system reconstructs the product's history. This approach transforms static source identification into dynamic historical recording through isotopic parameter evolution.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of marking a product to permit later identification and tracking of the product, includes: utilizing a processor for producing information as to the identification and history of the product since its production; converting the information into a code in the form of a unique monomers sequence embedded in or added to the product; and introducing the code into the respective product in a retrievable and non-destructible manner such as to enable the identification and history of the respective product to be retrieved despite transformations which may have occurred in the product since its production. Also described are applications of, and products produced in accordance with, the forgoing method.