The Canadian Patent Office has granted the University of British Columbia (UBC) a technology and process patent for the use of radiant energy vacuum (REV) dehydration technology in the production of dried biological materials. The patent covers vacuum microwave dehydration of a wide range of materials in solid, liquid, or frozen state, including enzymes, drugs, vitamins, antimicrobial agents and preservatives. The protected IP was developed in the laboratory of Tim Durance, PhD, professor and program director of food nutrition and health at UBC. Durance serves as chair and co-CEO of Vancouver-based EnWave Corporation, which has exclusively licensed the patent under an ongoing collaboration agreement with UBC. “This is a general, broad-based patent which serves to substantially bolster EnWave’s growing patent portfolio over the use of vacuum microwave dehydration technology globally,” Durance says.
Using technologies developed in conjunction with UBC, EnWave is investigating new methods to apply REV technology, which combines microwave energy transfer under vacuum to dehydrate and alter structures and drive chemical reactions. REV technology creates unique product characteristics for both food products and medical applications, including fruit, vegetables, probiotics, enzymes, proteins, food cultures, vaccines, and antibodies. In addition to the company’s patent filings on other REV dehydration processes and equipment, EnWave holds an exclusive worldwide license from UBC for a number of food and biopharmaceutical dehydration patents.
Source: Market Watch