Search

WO-2026090761-A1 - PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR ENCAPSULATION OF HYDROPHOBIC MOLECULES

WO2026090761A1WO 2026090761 A1WO2026090761 A1WO 2026090761A1WO-2026090761-A1

Abstract

The present document describes an apparatus for the encapsulation of a hydrophobic molecule into a capsule formed from biological molecules from a bulk multicellular biological material, and a process for extracting and encapsulating biological molecules from a bulk multicellular biological material.

Inventors

  • GHOSH, ANIRBAN

Assignees

  • PIVIDL BIOSCIENCE INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251104
Priority Date
20241104

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A system for extracting and encapsulating a hydrophobic molecule into a capsule formed from biological molecules from a bulk multicellular biological material, the system comprising: (a) a vacuum pump; (b) a first vessel, said first vessel having a first outlet, said first vessel being operable to contain and contact said bulk multicellular biological material with a first solvent to make a solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material, said first vessel being connected to said vacuum pump, said first vessel being adapted to perform at least 2 cycles of (b-i) and (b-ii): (b-i) using the vacuum pump, selectively creating a negative pressure inside said first vessel containing said solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material; and (b-ii) returning to atmospheric pressure said first vessel containing said solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material, wherein (b-i) and (b-ii) are performed for a time sufficient to permeate said first solvent through, and to extract and separate said biological molecules from said solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material in a mixture of soluble biological molecules in said first solvent; (c) a filter, said filter having a filter inlet and a filter outlet, said filter inlet being fluidly connected to said first outlet of said first vessel through a first connection for receiving said mixture of soluble biological molecules in said first solvent, said filter being operative to separate remaining fragments of said bulk multicellular biological material to produce a filtered mixture of soluble biological molecules in said first solvent; (d) a second vessel, the second vessel having a second inlet and a second outlet, said second inlet being fluidly connected to said filter outlet through a second connection for receiving said filtered mixture of soluble biological molecules in said first solvent, said second vessel being operable for receiving said filtered mixture of soluble biological molecules in said first solvent; and (e) a third vessel, said third vessel having a third inlet and a third outlet, said third inlet being fluidly connected to said second outlet of said second vessel through a third connection for receiving said filtered mixture of soluble biological molecules in said first solvent from the File No.: P6501 PC00 said second vessel and a solution of the hydrophobic molecule in a second solvent, thereby producing a homogeneous mixture, said third vessel being operable to contact said mixture of soluble biological molecules in said first solvent with a solution of said hydrophobic molecule in a second solvent to produce said homogeneous mixture. (f) if the bulk multicellular biological material contains one or a plurality of hydrophobic molecules of interest for encapsulation which are present along with the soluble biological molecules in the first solvent, the second solvent is free of the hydrophobic molecule or the first solvent comprises the hydrophobic molecule.
  2. 2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a fourth vessel having a fourth inlet and a fourth outlet, said fourth inlet being fluidly connected to the third outlet of the third vessel through a fourth connection for receiving said capsule encapsulating said hydrophobic molecule, the fourth vessel being operable to contact said capsule encapsulating said hydrophobic molecule with a third solvent to cause formation of the capsule by self-aggregation of the biological molecules and encapsulation of the hydrophobic molecule therein, thereby producing encapsulation of said hydrophobic molecules in said aqueous liquid.
  3. 3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a treatment unit, said treatment unit being connected to said fourth vessel for further treatment of said encapsulation of said hydrophobic molecules in said aqueous liquid, the treatment unit being selected from the group consisting of a concentrator, a freezer, a frost-free freezer, an oven, a sprayer and a gel-producing device.
  4. 4. The system of any one of claims 1 to 2, further comprising a liquid-liquid mixing chamber within said fourth connection, said liquid-liquid mixing chamber having a main inlet, said main inlet being fluidly connected to said fourth outlet of said fourth vessel through a fifth connection for receiving said encapsulation of said hydrophobic molecules in said aqueous liquid; a main outlet, said main outlet being fluidly connected to said fourth inlet of said fourth vessel through a second portion of said fourth connection; an auxiliary inlet, said auxiliary inlet being fluidly connected through a first portion of said fourth connection to said third outlet of said third vessel for receiving said capsule encapsulating said hydrophobic molecule; and a mixing cavity intermediate said main inlet and said main outlet, said auxiliary inlet being fluidly connected to said mixing cavity, File No.: P6501 PC00 wherein said liquid-liquid mixing chamber is operable to mix in said mixing cavity said capsule encapsulating said hydrophobic molecule received from said third vessel through said auxiliary inlet with said encapsulation of said hydrophobic molecules in said aqueous liquid received from said fourth vessel through said main inlet.
  5. 5. The system of claim 4, wherein said auxiliary inlet comprises a plurality of nozzles, said plurality of nozzles being oriented at least partially counter-flow so as to inject said encapsulating molecules and said hydrophobic molecules received from said third vessel against a flow of said aqueous liquid received from said fourth vessel, or wherein said second solvent is free of said hydrophobic molecule if the bulk multicellular biological material contains one or more endogenous hydrophobic molecules of interest for encapsulation, present in the soluble biological molecules in the first solvent, where the first solvent may comprise the hydrophobic molecule.
  6. 6. The system of claim 1 wherein said vacuum pump is operative to generate a negative pressure of a maximum of -200 kPa.
  7. 7. The system of claim 1 , wherein said filter has pore size of from about 0.1 pm to about 1 pm, or from about 0.1 pm to about 0.8 pm, or from about 0.1 pm to about 0.5 pm, or about 0.1 pm to about 0.45 pm, or about 0.1 pm to about 0.2 pm.
  8. 8. The system of claim 1 , wherein said filter is operative to filter molecules having 10 3 - 10 6 Da.
  9. 9. The system of claim 1 , wherein said first vessel comprises a vacuum relief valve, said vacuum relief valve being selectively operable to return to atmospheric pressure said first vessel when said first vessel is initially under the negative pressure created by said vacuum pump.
  10. 10. A process for the encapsulation of a hydrophobic molecule into a capsule formed from biological molecules from a bulk multicellular biological material comprising the steps of: (a) contacting said bulk multicellular biological material with a first solvent, to obtain a solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material, (b) negative pressure-solvent extraction of said solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material comprising at least 2 cycles of (b-i) and (b-ii): (b-i) negative pressure treatment of said solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material; and File No.: P6501 PC00 (b-ii) return to atmospheric pressure of said solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material; for a time sufficient to permeate said first solvent through, and extract said biological molecules from said solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material, (c) separation of said solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material from said first solvent, to obtain a mixture comprising soluble biological molecules in the first solvent and optionally further comprising an endogenous hydrophobic molecule present in the bulk multicellular biological material; and (d) contacting said mixture of soluble biological molecules, and optionally the endogenous hydrophobic molecule present in the bulk multicellular biological material, in said first solvent with second solvent free of the hydrophobic molecule, or with a second solvent comprising said hydrophobic molecule and mixing thoroughly to obtain a homogeneous mixture, and (e) contacting said homogeneous mixture with a third solvent to cause formation of said capsule by self-aggregation of said soluble biological molecules and encapsulation of said hydrophobic molecule and/or the endogenous hydrophobic molecule therein, to form a capsule encapsulating said hydrophobic molecule.
  11. 11. The process of claim 10, wherein said mixture of soluble biological molecules comprises terpenoids, fatty-acids, amino acids, peptides, alkaloids, carbohydrates, polyketides, shikimates, phenylpropanoids, polyphenols, and combinations thereof.
  12. 12. The process of claim 10 or 11 , further comprising a further collection step (f) comprising at least one of concentration, freeze-drying, heat-drying, spray-drying and gelling, of said capsule encapsulating said hydrophobic molecule.
  13. 13. The process of any one of claims 10 - 12, wherein said negative pressure treatment is at a maximum of -200 kPa.
  14. 14. The process of any one of claims 10 - 12, wherein said negative pressure treatment is from about -1 kPa to about -200 kPa.
  15. 15. The process of any one of claims 10 - 14, wherein in step (c), said separation is a filtration for removal of a remaining fragment of said bulk multicellular biological material. File No.: P6501 PC00
  16. 16. The process of claim 15, wherein filtration is microfiltration, ultrafiltration, or combinations thereof.
  17. 17. The process of any one of claims 15 - 16, wherein filtration is with a filter having pore size of from about 0.1 pm to about 1 pm, or from about 0.1 pm to about 0.8 pm, or from about 0.1 pm to about 0.5 pm, or about 0.1 pm to about 0.45 pm, or about 0.1 pm to about 0.2 pm.
  18. 18. The process of any one of claims 16 - 16, wherein filtration is with a filter configured for filtration of molecules having 10 3 - 10 6 Da.
  19. 19. The process of claim 11 , wherein said capsule encapsulating said hydrophobic molecule comprises a core and an outer shell layer comprised of said soluble biological molecules providing a water compatible particle stability.
  20. 20. The process of any one of claims 10 - 19, wherein formation of said capsule encapsulating said hydrophobic molecule is performed at a temperature of from about 10°C to 80°C.

Description

File No.: P6501 PC00 PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR ENCAPSULATION OF HYDROPHOBIC MOLECULES CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority from and the benefit of US Provisional Patent Applications Nos. 63/715,819, and 63/715,825, filed on November 4, 2024, and No. 63/843,627, filed on July 14, 2025, the specifications of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. BACKGROUND (a) Field [0002] The subject matter disclosed generally relates to processes for the encapsulation of a hydrophobic molecule into a capsule, and more specifically to processes for the encapsulation of a hydrophobic molecule into a capsule formed from biological molecules from a bulk multicellular biological material, as well as systems for performing the encapsulation of a hydrophobic molecule into a capsule formed from biological molecules from a bulk multicellular biological material. (b) Related Prior Art [0003] Disclosed herein are processes and system for the encapsulation of hydrophobic molecules for formulation developments utilizing molecules from one or a plurality of biological matter to formulate biological capsules encapsulating hydrophobic molecules. [0004] The delivery of hydrophobic bioactive molecules in water-based media requires emulsification and encapsulation technologies that require surfactant and emulsifier molecules. These molecules make ultra-tiny droplets encapsulating the hydrophobic molecules in a structure that is energetically stable and structurally sufficiently resilient to always be in the state of Brownian Motion or in a colloidal state of suspension in water, without getting stuck to each other, merge, aggregate, precipitate, or flocculate together, or bind to the walls of the container over time. Many commonly used surfactants in emulsification or encapsulation excipients are derived from petroleum-based chemicals and or synthetic molecules, which are often toxic. [0005] There is a trend for cleaner and greener alternatives to current emulsification and encapsulation systems utilizing these synthetic surfactant and emulsifier. A most preferred solution to this problem would be one completely devoid of any synthetic surfactants or emulsifiers and carrier oils used for encapsulating hydrophobic compounds of interest in current art. SUMMARY [0006] According to an embodiment, there is provided a system for extracting and encapsulating a hydrophobic molecule into a capsule formed from biological molecules from a bulk multicellular biological material, the system comprising: File No.: P6501 PC00 (a) a vacuum pump; (b) a first vessel, the first vessel having a first outlet, the first vessel being operable to contain and contact the bulk multicellular biological material with a first solvent to make a solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material, the first vessel being fluidly connected to the vacuum pump, the first vessel being adapted to perform at least 2 cycles of (b-i) and (b- ii): (b-i) using the vacuum pump, selectively creating a negative pressure inside the first vessel containing the solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material; and (b-ii) returning to atmospheric pressure the first vessel containing the solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material, wherein (b-i) and (b-ii) are performed for a time sufficient to permeate the first solvent through, and to extract and separate the biological molecules from the solvent contacted bulk multicellular biological material in a mixture of soluble biological molecules in the first solvent; (c) a filter, the filter having a filter inlet and a filter outlet, the filter inlet being fluidly connected to the first outlet of the first vessel through a first connection for receiving the mixture of soluble biological molecules in the first solvent, the filter being operative to separate remaining fragments of the bulk multicellular biological material to produce a filtered mixture of soluble biological molecules in the first solvent; (d) a second vessel, the second vessel having a second inlet and a second outlet, the second inlet being fluidly connected to the filter outlet through a second connection for receiving the filtered mixture of soluble biological molecules in the first solvent, the second vessel being operable for receiving the filtered mixture of soluble biological molecules in the first solvent; and (e) a third vessel, the third vessel having a third inlet and a third outlet, the third inlet being fluidly connected to the second outlet of the second vessel through a third connection for receiving the filtered mixture of soluble biological molecules in the first solvent from the said second vessel and a solution of the hydrophobic molecule in a second solvent, thereby producing a homogeneous mixture, the third vessel being operable to contact the mixture of soluble biological molecules in the first solvent with a solution of the hydrophobic molecule in a second solvent