Vive Nano Awarded For Nanomaterial Encapsulation Innovation
22 June 2010 TORONTO, Canada — Frost & Sullivan has chosen Vive Nano as recipient of its 2010 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation for its unique encapsulation technology to synthesize nanoparticles, according to a press release. Vive Nano’s current focus is on crop protection, with secondary applications in pharmaceuticals and other industrial markets.
Initial testing has shown Vive Nano’s nanotechnology-based formulated active ingredient to be highly effective at killing weeds without using chemical additives. The company’s nanoparticles can load a variety of hydrophobic molecules –- including those commonly used to deliver fragrance and color, as well as many pharmaceuticals –- and could also efficiently remove hydrophobes from water.
Vive Nano’s technology improves the water dispersibility of insoluble and poorly soluble materials by up to 1,000,000 times, company President and CEO Keith Thomas told FCI about its encapsulation product. “Allosperse offers many advantages in formulating hydrophobic molecules,” Thomas said, “including the ability to form stable, high-solids dispersions in water with low viscosity, as well as solution stable encapsulation products with organic actives; tunable hydrophobic cores that can enhance the interactions between Allosperse and active molecules for specific applications; and the ability to be loaded to weight ratios of 1:1.”
Allosperse is currently available to formulators worldwide in testing quantities via special order. Thomas told FCI: “The company is working with several global crop protection companies to incorporate their active ingredients into the Allosperse formulation, and is scaling up production for a broader product launch soon. The company has not entered into any exclusive agreements, and is open to working with a range of manufacturers, distributors and formulators.”
Allosperse — which is made from ingredients already in common use in the personal care, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries — can be used as is, and no additional system will need to be purchased. The ultrasmall size and excellent water dispersibility may provide enhanced bioavailability of low solubility and/or low permeability (USFDA Class II and IV) active ingredients.
“The company is continuing to execute on its Allosperse development work with current crop protection companies, actively looking to work with additional crop protection companies and is also in the process of deploying its encapsulation technology in other related fields such as industrial, personal care, pharmaceuticals, etc.,” says Thomas.
In November 2009, Vive Nano received financial support of almost $3.8 million through the Innovation Demonstration Fund in its home province of Ontario for the development of its environmentally-friendly process for creating products and materials using nanotechnology. The investment helped the company build a pilot plant, refine its processes and come to full production levels.
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works with Global 1000 companies to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class innovation and leadership positions.
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