Encapsulation of active substances

Purpose

Encapsulation techniques are today essential in several application areas, such as agriculture, medical devices, food, and personal care products. For example, biocides or antimicrobial agents can be encapsulated in wound care products to extend their effectiveness, or nutrients in food to improve their stability and uptake into the body.

Encapsulation serves two main functions:

• Protection against degradation
  By isolating sensitive substances from the surrounding environment, their chemical stability can be preserved, enabling longer shelf life and maintained efficacy.
• Controlled release
  Encapsulation enables controlled release of active substances, improving resource efficiency and reducing overdosing or waste. This also extends the functional lifespan of the product.
  Formulations can be tailored to achieve different release profiles – from slow, continuous release over hours to years, to stimuli-responsive release triggered by light, temperature changes, or pH shifts.

Method

RISE can assist with feasibility studies on a laboratory scale to develop and optimize processes for encapsulating active substances in micro- or nanoscale reservoirs. Depending on the chemical properties of the active substance (water solubility, charge, functional groups), several formulation methods can be used, including:

• Internal phase separation for the formulation of polymeric micro- and nanoparticles with controllable morphology.
• Encapsulation of water-soluble substances in solidified double emulsions with an aqueous core..
• Formulation and encapsulation in porous silica particles.
• Formulation and encapsulation in microgels.
• Instrumentation and analysis
  Within RISE, there is expertise to evaluate the structure and morphology of the formulated particles, interactions between the delivery vehicles and the active substance, and encapsulation capacity:
  • Light, fluorescence, and electron microscopy
  • FTIR spectroscopy
  • UV-vis spectrophotometry
  • Gas and liquid chromatography

Delivery

Our goal is to deliver customized solutions for the encapsulation of active substances, tailored to meet each customer’s unique needs. Deliverables may include optimized process parameters summarized in a report or formulated micro- and nanoparticles containing active substances. The encapsulated active substance can also be further formulated for use as a component in, for example, functional fibers, paints and other surface coatings, or 3D-printed structures.