Membrane emulsification technology: Twenty-five years of inventions and research through patent survey

Abstract

Membrane emulsification technology is a drop-by-drop emulsification method through a porous membrane, introduced in Japan in 1988. Ever since, the attention on the method has increased significantly from both the scientific and technological point of views. After around twenty-five years of research and inventions, directions and trends in the development of membrane emulsification can be obtained through a critical analysis of the patents in this field. Patents are a powerful tool to assess the development stage of a technology and predict the potential impact on a productive scale. This paper aims to discuss critically innovation promoted worldwide during this half a century. A total of 103 patents from 1988 to 2013 were used as the database for the analysis. Patents distribution per year, country and field of the inventions will be illustrated, demonstrating territorial excellence and technological specialization. Significant examples of patents in process development and applications will be also presented. Thirty-one per cent of patents are on process development and only 11% of these are specifically related to membranes construction/modification for emulsions preparation. The rest is mainly dedicated to formulation. Many uses for membrane emulsification have been successfully achieved and medicine is the main field of application.