Patent Picks—Silk Encapsulation

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Patent Picks are compiled by the editors from publicly available sources. The present inventions feature developments using silk to encapsulate flavor and/or fragrance materials.

Silk encapsulation of labile molecules
U.S. Patent Application 20150202304
Publication date: July 23, 2015
Inventors: D.L. Kaplan, F. Omenetto and E.M. Pritchard

According to these inventors, there is still an unmet need for the development of novel encapsulation techniques that can reduce the loss of labile molecules, e.g., volatile and/or lipophilic molecules, sustain their presence in consumer products, and/or protect and stabilize them. Described herein is a method for encapsulating oil in silk biomaterials using emulsion-based processes that exploit the unique properties of silk, including its amphiphilicity, biocompatibility, aqueous and ambient processing and tunable physical cross-linking behavior. The compositions described can be used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, diagnostics and tissue engineering applications.

Encapsulation of flavor, fragrance in silk fibroin
U.S. Patent Application 20150164117
Publication date: June 18, 2015
Assignee: Tufts University and Firmenich SA

This patent describes a novel encapsulation technique that can improve the efficiency of fragrance and/or flavors, protect and stabilize these labile molecules, and/or controllably release them. Embodiments provided herein relate to compositions including an emulsion of an oil phase comprising an odor-releasing substance and/or a flavoring substance dispersed in a silk-based material, as well as methods of making and using the compositions.

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