Introduction

Microencapsulation is a technology which entraps active material with other material by forming a wall around it. The product of this process is called a microcapsule which can be of various sizes but usually within the range from 100nm to 2000microns. There are different methods of microencapsulation; depending the field where the final product is going to be used. One of our preffered system is complex coacervation, due to the natural source of ingredients used in a production process making a final product friendly to human health and wellbeing.

The complex coacervation is a phenomenon that takes place in colloid systems. Macromolecular colloid rich coacervate droplets surround dispersed microcapsule cores to form a viscous microcapsule wall which is solidified with cross-linking agents. The final product is water suspension with floating microcapsules called slurry.

An additional challenge of microencapsulation is drying. Especially food supplements are preferably sold as dried material in different final forms. Spray drying is usually used for this purpose, however due to the heat created during this process the demands of the active material and wall material sometimes cannot be met. We developed a proprietary methods of drying different microencapsulated ingredients concerning the termic properties of material and still obtaing a fine, self-emulsifying powder. One of these processes is patented under number P-201900223.