The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 25, 1998
Filed:
May. 14, 1996
John Charles Hobson, Staffordshire, GB;
Roderick Norman Greenshields, Swansea, GB;
CPC International Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ (US);
Abstract
An encapsulated product is provided containing a substance such as essential oil used in flavors and fragrances encapsulated in dyed cell wall-derived material such as from a fungus. The encapsulated product can be produced by contacting a microbial cell having an intact cell wall and which is preferably alive with the substance to be encapsulated, allowing the substance to diffuse through the cell wall into the microbial cell to encapsulate the substance and contacting the microbial cell with a dye to adsorb the dye to the surface of the cell wall to give a visible color to the cell wall. Alternatively, the microbial cell wall can be dyed before the microbial cell is contacted with the substance to be encapsulated. The cell wall can be dyed with a color associated with a naturally occurring source from which the substance encapsulated is obtained. For example, when the substance is lemon oil, the cell wall is dyed yellow. The encapsulated substance may be released from the microbial cell by chemical biodegradation or mechanical rupture of the cell wall. The encapsulated product can be used in foodstuffs to provide color and flavor, or for other uses where microcapsules are conventionally used.