W1/O/W2 Double Emulsion for Probiotic Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Probiotic products face challenges with unstable quality and poor storage stability due to the inactivation of probiotics during processing, storage, and digestion, leading to insufficient viable probiotics and short survival time, especially under conditions like freezing and thawing.
Innovation Solution
A W1/O/W2 double emulsion system is developed to protect probiotics, where probiotics are embedded in an internal water phase within an oil film and interface film, using emulsifiers and protective agents like trehalose, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, and whey protein isolate to enhance stability and survival during storage and freeze-thaw processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If probiotics are directly stored in probiotic products, then the product can be easily prepared, but the probiotics will be inactivated during storage and processing, leading to poor storage stability and insufficient viable probiotics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dual emulsion structure (W1/O/W2) where the probiotics are nested within the internal water phase W1, which is itself embedded in the oil phase O, which is then embedded in the external water phase W2. This nested structure provides multiple protective barriers that maintain probiotic viability during storage and processing while keeping the preparation process relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces emulsifiers and protective agents as intermediary substances between the probiotics and the external environment. These intermediaries form the oil phase and interface films that protect the probiotics from inactivation during storage and processing, resolving the contradiction between ease of preparation and storage stability.
2Reliability
If conventional microencapsulation technologies are used to protect probiotics, then storage stability can be improved, but the preparation process becomes complex and part of the probiotics are inevitably inactivated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the protective system into distinct functional layers: the internal water phase W1 containing probiotics, the oil phase O with emulsifiers, and the external water phase W2. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific protective function while maintaining a relatively simple overall preparation process compared to conventional microencapsulation technologies.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite emulsion system combining water, oil, emulsifiers, and protective agents in specific configurations. This composite structure provides enhanced protection for probiotics during storage while maintaining a preparation process that is less complex than conventional microencapsulation methods.
3Reliability
If probiotics are protected using existing emulsion methods, then some stability can be achieved, but the freeze-thaw stability is poor and probiotic activity is affected during freeze-thaw processes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates protective agents and a carefully designed emulsion structure beforehand to cushion the probiotics against the stresses of freeze-thaw processes. The oil phase and interface films are specifically configured to provide this protective cushioning, preventing ice crystal formation and maintaining probiotic activity during freezing and thawing cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes specific parameters of the emulsion system, including the composition of the oil phase, the type and concentration of emulsifiers, and the structure of the dual emulsion, to enhance freeze-thaw stability. These parameter changes enable the system to maintain probiotic viability during freeze-thaw processes while providing basic storage stability.
4Quantity of substance
If the number of viable probiotics is increased to meet the minimum intake requirement, then physiological effects can be achieved, but the probiotics will be further inactivated during digestion, resulting in fewer than the theoretical minimum viable probiotics reaching the intestinal tract
Solution Approach 1:
The nested dual emulsion structure provides multiple protective barriers that accompany the probiotics through the digestive system. The internal water phase W1, oil phase O, and external water phase W2 work together to protect the probiotics from gastric juice, digestive enzymes, and bile salts, ensuring that a higher proportion of the administered viable probiotics survive digestion and reach the intestinal tract.
Solution Approach 2:
The emulsion system acts as an intermediary protective vehicle that shields the probiotics from the harsh digestive environment. The emulsifiers and protective agents in the emulsion layers mediate between the probiotics and digestive factors, reducing inactivation and ensuring that sufficient viable probiotics reach the intestinal tract to achieve the required physiological effects.
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 double emulsion system significantly improves the storage and freeze-thaw stability of probiotics, maintaining their viability and physiological activity, ensuring a higher survival rate and prolonged shelf life for probiotic products used in foods, animal health, and personal care.
Implementation Method 1
A W1/O/W2 double emulsion system is developed to protect probiotics, where probiotics are embedded in an internal water phase within an oil film and interface film
Implementation Method 2
probiotics are embedded in an internal water phase within an oil film and interface film, using emulsifiers and protective agents like trehalose, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, and whey protein isolate to enhance stability
Data Source
AI summary
A method for preparing a probiotic preparation based on a W1/O/W2 double emulsion structure includes steps of: using a solution containing probiotics or a mixed solution of probiotics and a probiotic protective agent as an internal water phase W1; dissolving an emulsifier in a lipid phase O, and mixing the lipid phase O with the internal water phase W1; then preparing a primary emulsion W1/O by stirring and low-energy emulsification or high-energy emulsification; and using an emulsifier-contained solution as an external water phase W2, and adding the external water phase W2 to the primary emulsion W1/O; then preparing a W1/O/W2 double emulsion by stirring and the low-energy emulsification or the high-energy emulsification, thereby obtaining the probiotic preparation. The double emulsion system is used to embed the probiotics, which can keep the probiotics active during low-temperature storage and freezing and thawing.