Chromatography for Diet and/or Nutrition/Chemical Control

Technology Description

UC San Diego researchers have developed a chromatographic approach to selectively or simultaneously adsorb and remove ingested food or drug components that are highly caloric and/or harmful. The separation technique has been demonstrated in a simulated stomach environment for specific fat, oil, sugar and chocolate samples and can be generalized to most forms of these food components as well as others such as caffeine and various similarly common drugs and chemicals. The invention can find application in the field of nutrition and weight management/loss with specific advantages foreseen relative to its capacity to separate out fat and other undesirable components, inhibit absorption of these components by the body and/or their exposure to the digestive system, and provide a controlled mechanism to eliminate these components. The invention can in principle be fine-tuned to discriminate between different types of fats and carbohydrates. It can also be applied for poison control within a hospital or bio-defense context. This technology is available for licensing, sponsored research, or both.