Patent ID: 8303992
Filing Date: 2012-11-06
Classification: A23L,A23P,A23V,A61J,A61K,A61Q,B01J,B82Y

Abstract:
1. A method of producing a dried formulation for an active substance, said method comprising the steps of: (i) dispersing a lipidic medium into an aqueous phase so as to form a two-phase liquid system comprising an aqueous emulsion of droplets of said lipidic medium, each of said droplets having, at its surface, a phase interface, and wherein said lipidic medium comprises an active substance, and an emulsifier selected from lecithin and oleylamine; (ii) allowing silica nanoparticles provided to said two-phase liquid system to congregate at the phase interface to coat said surface of the droplets in at least one layer of said nanoparticles, wherein said at least one layer of nanoparticles provides sufficient structural integrity to the droplets to enable the subsequent removal of the aqueous phase, and wherein the average diameter of the nanoparticles is in the range of 5-80 nm, and the nanoparticles are provided at a mass ratio of the lipidic medium to nanoparticles of, when the emulsifier present is lecithin, at least 1:0.2 or, where the emulsifier present is oleylamine, at least 1:0.05; and (iii) removing the aqueous phase from the nanoparticle-coated droplets to produce a dried formulation.