Imperial Chemical Industries Limited

Electrosols Ltd.

Battelle Memorial Institute

Zeneca Limited

Other

Keates, Richard

Ronald Alan Coffee

David Neville Davies

Alastair Bruce Pirrie

Peter C Bennett

Leonard E Houghton

Graham C Johnson

Timothy J Noakes

James M Dunwell

Edward J Bals

William J Currall

Michael R Middleton

John A Sommerville

Brian W Young

Derek J Toms

Margaret Sin Ka Wan

Lee Adrian Davies

Marie Pollard

Peter H Boyce

Alistair J Jackson

Robert A Anstey

Stephen J Bancroft

David Neville Electrosols Limited Davies

Margaret Wan

Richard Keates

Johnathan Electrosols Limited Essex-Lopresti

A housing has a dispensing outlet () and contains: a liquid supplier () for supplying liquid containing at least one volatile component to a liquid outlet (); an electric field provider () for causing liquid issuing from the liquid outlet to provide electrically charged droplets from which at least a part of the at least one volatile component evaporates to produce vapour; a collection receptacle () for collecting electrically charged droplets to inhibit the electrically charged droplets from passing through the dispensing outlet; an attraction electrode () for attracting electrically charged droplets into the collection receptacle (); and a flow director () for directing vapour away from the collection receptacle () and towards the dispensing outlet ().

Aroma dispensing device

Described is a method of supplying an active ingredient to a location beneath the outer layer of skin or into soft tissue which includes the steps of providing a polymer-containing liquid comprising an active ingredient; subjecting the liquid issuing from an outlet to an electric field to cause the liquid to form at least one electrically charged jet that breaks up to provide charged fiber fragments or fibrils containing an active ingredient, the fiber fragments or fibrils being capable of sticking onto the outer layer of skin or soft tissue to supply the active ingredient beneath the outer layer of skin or soft tissue; and contacting skin with the fiber fragments or fibrils.

Dispensing device and method for forming material

Consumable or dissolvable tablets are manufactured by supplying a liquid containing a biodissolvable carrier to an outlet; establishing an electric field between the outlet and a support surface to cause liquid issuing from the outlet to form at least one fiber or fibrils of the biodissolvable carrier which fiber or fibrils deposit(s) onto the surface to form a fiber web or mat; separating the web or mat into a plurality of individual tablets; and incorporating at least one active ingredient on or in the tablets.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing dissolvable tablets

A method of providing a droplet spray, includes supplying a liquid polymer formulation within which substantially inert particulate material is suspended to an outlet and subjecting liquid issuing from the outlet to an electric field that causes the liquid to break up into droplets.

Liquid formations for electrohydrodymanic spraying containing polymer and suspended particles

Methods are described of delivering biological material, which methods include the steps of providing a liquid formulation containing the biological material, supplying the liquid formulation to an outlet and subjecting liquid issuing from the outlet to an electrical field thereby causing electrohydrodynamic processing of the liquid without denaturing the biological material. In one example, the liquid formulation is provided by removing salts from a formulation containing biological material that does not denature in alcohol and then adding an alcohol to the formulation before supplying the liquid formulation to the outlet. An acid may be added to the liquid formulation before supplying the liquid formulation to the outlet.

Devices and formulations

A dispensing device and method for forming a least partially solid or gel-like material from a liquid. At least one liquid issuing from an outlet is subjected to an electric field causing the liquid to form at least one electrically charged jet which, after formation, forms a fiber (F) or breaks up into fiber fragments (FF) or particles (D). The thus formed at least partially solid or gel-like material may be directly deposited, by virtue of the energy in the electrical field, onto a surface area, for example an area of skin enabling, for example, formation of a dressing for a wound or burn which is of high specific area and extremely absorbent. A biologically active ingredient such as a pharmaceutical ingredient or biological matter such as DNA may be incorporated into the fibers (F), fragments (FF) or particles (D). Fibrils, particles or microcapsules incorporating a biologically active ingredient may be supplied for oral or nasal administration to an animal such as a human being.

Method for forming material

An inhaler, comprising an electrohydrodynamic comminution means, a means for partially or fully discharging the liquid comminution and a conduit through which the liquid comminution is administered, wherein the discharging means is arranged to be activated by inhalation of the user.

Dispensing device

An inhaler has a housing containing a chamber ( ) providing a reservoir ( ) for liquid providing an active ingredient to be supplied to a liquid outlet ( ). First and second electrodes are spaced apart ( and ) with the first electrode being spaced apart ( and ) with the first electrode being provided at or adjacent the liquid outlet ( ). A voltage supply ( ) is activated in response to air flowing through an air inlet ( ) of the housing to provide a potential difference between the first and second electrodes ( and ) to create an electric field for causing comminution of liquid issuing from the liquid supply outlet ( ) to produce a stream of electrically charged comminuted matter for supply to the nasal passages of a user via an outlet ( ) of the housing.

Inhaler

A supply pipe ( ) supplies a liquid to a comminution site ( ) at which the liquid is subjected to an electric field so as to produce charged comminuted material. An electrical discharge electrode ( ) produces ions to at least partially electrically discharge the comminuted material. A further electrode ( ) spaced from the comminution site ( ) by the electrical discharge electrode ( ) electrically attracts ions produced by the electrical discharge electrode ( ) away from the comminution site ( ) until sufficient space charge is built up to divert the ions towards the charged comminuted material to enable the ions at least partially to discharge the comminuted material.

An inhaler for enabling inhaled administration, has a housing having an outlet duct defining a passageway through which air can be drawn by inhalation on the part of a user. The housing contains a capillary nozzle; a container for containing a quantity of liquid to be supplied to the capillary nozzle; and an electric field controller for applying a voltage to the liquid prior to issue from the container via the capillary nozzle to expose the liquid to an electric field to cause comminution of the liquid emerging from the capillary nozzle to product a spray of electrically charged droplets such that upon inhalation by the user, electrically charged droplets for the deposition in the user's airways.

A dispensing device has a liquid supplier having a liquid outlet; an electrical charger for generating an electrical field to cause liquid issuing from the liquid outlet to be comminuted to provide electrically charged comminuted matter; an electrical discharger for providing ions for at least partially electrically discharging the comminuted matter; and an ion attracter for attracting ions generated by the electrical discharger away from the electrical charger until a spray cloud of electrically charged comminuted matter has been established by the electrical charger.

A comminuting liquid device, a medicament delivery device, an inhaler, a method of providing droplets for delivery to the respiratory tract, a pocket-sized dispenser, and a method of mixing liquids by droplet coalescence. Liquids are subjected to electrical potentials to produce electrically charged droplets for delivery to the upper respiratory tract.

An electrohydrodynamic dispensing device for comminuting a liquid which comprises a comminution site, a means for supplying liquid to the comminution site and a means for inducing an electrical charge at the comminution site sufficient to comminute the liquid supplied to it.

A device for comminuting liquid has a liquid supply with first and second outlets, a first electrohydrodynamic comminuter for subjecting liquid issuing from the first outlet to an electrical potential to cause the liquid to be commrinuted to form a comminution of one polarity and a second electrohydrodynamic comminuter for subjecting liquid issuing from the second outlet to an electrical potential to cause liquid to be commninuted to form a comminution of the opposite polarity. The first and second electrohydrodynamic comminuters are arranged so as to cause substantial admixing of two opposite polarity comminutions.

Growing community of inventors

Haslemere, United Kingdom

Ronald Alan Coffee