Medicated Chewing Gum Manufacturing Without Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for manufacturing chewing gums with active ingredients often expose these ingredients to high heat or extreme cold during processing, which can degrade their efficacy.
Innovation Solution
A method involving heating the gum base to 140-160°F, mixing with active ingredients as it cools to form a particulate mixture, and then grinding and tableting at room temperature to avoid heat and cold exposure, using a suitable gum base with elastomers, resins, plasticizers, and antioxidants, and allowing for direct mixing of oil-form active ingredients with other powders.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional methods freeze the gum base and grind to obtain particulate material, then the gum base becomes brittle and easy to grind, but the active ingredients are exposed to extreme cold which degrades their efficacy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the temperature parameter from extreme cold (freezing) to moderate heat (140-160°F) to soften the gum base, making it pliable for mixing while avoiding damage to active ingredients. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by achieving both mixing effectiveness and ingredient preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of freezing the gum base to make it brittle for grinding, the patent inverts the approach by heating the gum base to make it soft and pliable for mixing, then grinding the entire mixture after cooling. This inversion eliminates the need to expose active ingredients to extreme cold while still achieving effective particle formation.
2Productivity
If the gum base is heated to high temperatures during mixing, then the mixing process is more efficient, but the active ingredients are exposed to high heat which degrades their efficacy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by heating and softening the gum base before adding active ingredients, creating a pliable matrix that facilitates efficient mixing. The active ingredients are then incorporated during the cooling phase when temperatures are safe, achieving both mixing efficiency and ingredient preservation through sequential temperature control.
3Productivity
If oil-form active ingredients are mixed directly with powders and tableted, then the process is more efficient and cost-effective, but the ingredients may not mix uniformly without spray-drying
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the gum base from solid to softened state at 140-160°F, creating a viscous matrix that acts as a carrier for oil-form active ingredients. This parameter change enables direct mixing and uniform distribution without spray-drying, achieving both process efficiency and mixing uniformity.
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
This method preserves the efficacy of active ingredients by avoiding exposure to high heat and extreme cold, making the process more efficient and cost-effective by allowing direct mixing and tableting of oil-form active ingredients without the need for spray-drying.
Implementation Method 1
heating the gum base to 140-160°F
Implementation Method 2
melt the gum base to an internally measured temperature between 140-160 deg F.
Implementation Method 3
as it cools to produce a particulate mixture
Implementation Method 4
the mixture is frozen and ground into particles
Implementation Method 5
grinding as the mixture becomes more rigid due to cooling
Data Source
AI summary
An improved method for manufacture of chewing gums containing active ingredient(s) that preserves the efficacy of the active ingredient(s) by avoiding exposure to high heat and extreme cold during milling that can otherwise degrade the active's efficacy. A chewing gum base is used, along with one or more therapeutically-active ingredients, one or more sweeteners (alcohol-based and/or natural), and one or more flavorings and optional flavor modifiers. The method generally comprises heating the gum base in ovens to melt the gum base. Separately, the active ingredient(s), sweeteners and flavorings are combined in a mixer. The melted gum base is added to the mixer and cools to produce a particulate mixture. As mixing continues the mass cools to room temperature and forms granular pieces. The granular pieces are ground into a powder at room temperature, mixed at room temperature with tableting excipients, and tableted. Several variations on the foregoing are also described.