Recent Patents on Nanotechnology - Volume 12, Issue 3, 2018

Background: In the recent years, polymeric nanofibers have gained lots of attention in the area of drug delivery applications. Owing to its simplicity, ease of composition method and high drug loading capacity, it provides various benefits for the therapeutic applications. Nanofibers are useful for the delivery of antibiotics, anticancer drugs, analgesic's agents and various proteins for drug delivery applications. Electrospinning method is widely used method for the preparation of nanofibers, based on their feasibility background for scale-up process from laboratory to the industrial applications. Method: A literature review was conducted to summarize the reported articles as well as patents that have been granted and filed for work related to nanofibers in drug delivery. Efforts have been made to include various types of research undertaken by the researchers for the fabrication of nanofiber and its application in drug delivery system. Results: In this paper, a detailed information is reported about researches and developments related to electrospun polymer nanofibers including its fabrication process, structure, properties, characterization, applications, and patent. Amongst all the patents available, 18 most relevant granted patents and 14 filed patents was summarized in the review article. Conclusion: We expect that these fundamental applications of nanofibers could help the researchers to develop and gain knowledge about nanofibers in drug delivery application.

Background: Pharmacokinetic issues and poor solubility in water are the most important concerns of numerous recently developed chemical entities. Objective: The drugs which are poorly soluble in water demonstrate numerous formulating troubles in conventional dosage forms and the low bio-availability is the critical problem linked with it. A nanosponge is an emerging technology which can overcome these problems and precisely control the release rates of controlled drug delivery. Method: Nanosponges are tiny mesh-like structures with a size less than 1μm. Due to their porous structure and small size; they can easily bind to drugs which are poorly-soluble leading to better bioavailability and solubility of such drugs. A broad range of drugs including both hydrophilic and lipophilic can be easily loaded into nanosponges. Results: These minute sponges can circulate until they reach the definite target site, attach themselves to the surface and initiate the discharge of drugs in a predictable and controlled way. Nanosponges are solid in character and can be developed in various dosage forms such as parenteral, topical, oral or inhalational. Nanosponge drug delivery system has been developed as one of the most capable aspects in the field of pharmaceuticals. Conclusion: In this review, an attempt has been made to highlight the advantages, characteristics, application, methods of preparation and characterization of nanosponges along with the recent patents on nanosponges.

Background: In this study, the ultracapacitor has been fabricated based on the BaTiO3/ PEDOT: PSS separator film and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrolyte. On the paper-substrate was coated a film of the graphite nanoparticles (GNPs) as an electrode. The GNPs and surface morphology of the separator, electrolyte and electrode have been characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) respectively. Method: A piece of white commercial paper (3 cm) as a substrate was used. The typical paper has a porosity which transferred electrons between both sides of the separator. For the prevalence of this defect, the dielectric solution was coated on both sides of the separator and blocking layer was fabricated. For the preparation of the dielectric layer, at first PEDOT/PSS (3 g) was added to BaTiO3 (3 g) and the mixture was dispersed with ultrasonic for 10 min. Results: To further explore the electrochemical performance of the paper ultracapacitor, several measurements are carefully analyzed including cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic. From the cyclic voltammetry method (C-V curves) the specific capacitance of the ultracapacitor were 350 F g-1, 98 F g-1 and 58 F g-1 for voltage scan rate 20 mV/s, 150 mV/s and 300 mV/s respectively. Conclusion: Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy test is an effective method to analyze and measure the internal resistance of the paper ultracapacitor. From the Nyquist curve, the internal resistance was 80 Ω. The ultracapacitor based on the GNPs electrode due to flexibility and high performance is more suitable for energy storage. In this paper few relevant patents to the ultracapacitors have also been reviewed and cited.

Background: Amphoteric membranes such as Titania Pillared Clay (TiPILC) membranes exhibit different charges at different pH ranges, subsequently show efficient separation for cationic and anionic organic pollutants in wastewater based on solution pH. The structural properties of such membranes determine their permeability and selectivity to a large extent. The present work is initiated to explore the possibility of enhancing the surface area of TiPILC membranes by grafting with 3- aminopropyltriethoxysilane. Method: Grafted TiPILC membranes were fabricated by colloidal sol- gel route followed by dip coating, drying and sintering the membranes at 300°C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of the pillared photocatalyst membranes show the presence of only anatase phase, which exhibits better photocatalytic activity. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectra reveal the formation of delaminated TiPILC material. The specific surface area of TiPILC membrane obtained at pH3.5 is 183m2/g. Results: Literature survey of 47 papers was carried out for the work. 10 papers were based on patents being dealt on degradation of organic dyes in wastewater by conventional methods, though reports of membrane technology are limited in literature. The rest 37 papers outlined the importance of widespread use of titania photocatalyst powder for degradation studies. Conclusion: The membrane material thus developed is efficient in complete decolouration of both Methylene Blue and Methyl Orange dyes on account of the high surface charge and high surface area in just one cycle of filtration.

Background: Salicylic acid (SA), used as an important component in a lot of skin care products, has been reported widely. And because of large specific surface area, high porosity and good surfactivity, electrospun drug-loaded nanofibers have been widely used in various applications including wound dressing, tissue engineering and drug release. Particularly, the electrospun SA loaded porous nanofibers could be fabricated by regulating electrospinning (ES) parameters, and the release property of SA from nanofibers could be improved by the porous structure. Few relevant patents to the topic have been reviewed and cited. Methods: Electrospun polylactic acid (PLA) porous nanofibers with different contents of SA were prepared successfully by modulating the ES parameters. The morphology and structure of the electrospun SA/PLA porous nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and flourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). And the cumulative drug release rates of SA from SA/PLA porous nanofibers were measured using ultraviolet spectrophotometer (UV). Results: The PLA concentration of 8 wt%, the SA concentrations of 4, 8, 12 wt% and the applied voltage of 15kv were selected as the optimal ES parameters. And the release percentage of low SA content was higher than that of high SA content, and the porous nanofibers had a higher cumulative release percentage of SA than the nonporous nanofibers. Conclusion: The release property of SA from nanofibers could be improved by the porous structure. It will provide a continuous and effective method for treating wounds.

Background: The TPP technology is a “nano-optics” 3D printing technology that develops in recent years. Compared with the traditional 3D printing technology, the TPP-3DP technique that takes near-infrared light femtosecond pulse laser as the light source can break through the limitation of optical diffraction and manufacture nanoscale 3D structures in arbitrary shapes with high resolution. Method: The research develops a claim-based patent analysis method to identify technical features via the analysis of claim, especially the analysis of plural elements of independent claim. Furthermore, we analyze the subject matters and technical features of claims through claim-base analytical method to observe the patent trend of competitors and understand the current situation of competitors' technical distribution in related industries, in order to provide useful information for enterprises to determine R strategies. Results: The result shows 3M Company possesses numerous patent portfolios that base on the diversified innovative applications of TPP technology. Nanoscribe Company has a long-term advantage in monopolizing this technology. The patents in TPP-3DP field can be grouped into five categories relating to application, including micro-optics device, photonic crystal, biomedical, microfluidics and MEMS. Conclusion: The findings of this review confirm the TPP-based 3D printing (TPP-3DP) technology has broad application prospects, of which the hydrogel material applied in tissue engineering and drug delivery is the future trend. Highly-initiated water-soluble initiators are particularly needed to increase its resolution and will be the direction of emerging technology in this domain.

Background: Because line width has been close to atom size, for semiconductor industry, except for achieving the target of line width, the cost will be more important. The mask-less laser interference lithography (LIL) technique lowers the cost makes it standing out in the market of lithographic equipment of the excessive cost in the semiconductor industry. Method: The Keywords of patent retrieval with the theme of LIL are based on the technical features of both the conditions of producing interference lithography and different types of experimental configuration of LIL. Method of patent retrieval include Boolean logic operators are used to express the relationship between sets. Furthermore, it's necessary to find whether common patent classification codes exist in the highly correlated patents and confirm the definition of that. Results: The patent review in this research show the patents of LIL technique are classified according to optical method and lithographic equipment. The patents related to optical method of LIL technique take beam splitter based configuration as the main stream; in the technique of lithographic equipment, the patents of system planning technique are the most. Conclusion: The findings of this review confirm the importance of improving the precision of LIL technique for avoiding the defocus of high-density line width. Besides, it's particularly suitable for the micro nanofluid device in the emerging bionanotechnology to observe fluid behavior at the minimum scale. It doesn't need mask and can produce periodic pattern with nanoscale make it devote to the field of periodicity.

Background: This paper examines nanotechnology patents in Mexico to gain some insights into: a) the growth of patents over the last twenty years; b) the distribution of assignee patents between private and public institutions; b) the economic sectors engaged in nanotechnology R and, c) whether R is oriented to basic research or more applied science and engineering. Method: The present research employs the DG concordance system. This approach establishes a procedure to match patents according to their potential use in economic sectors. The research incorporates a two-stage approach, each involving a different method: capturing basic information from Mexican nanotechnology patents; and, establishing concordance with economic sectors. Results: 217 patents were identified; 153 were analyzed. Private companies and individuals registered 30 %. The largest concentration (41%) is found in the economic sector “Manufacture of Chemicals and Chemical Products”. Most patents are located in basic research. There are virtually no patents related to the final place in the value chain (final products) or to nanotechnology instruments. Conclusion: The article provides an overview of nanotechnology in Mexico in terms of quantity and institutional allocation of patents; also with the economic sectors with which they are associated, and the relation with the place in a value chain. Patent concentration in public academic institutions suggests a lack of nanotechnology research and development capacity in firms. Most patents are related to electronics, an economic sector with significant development in the country.