Water-soluble prolamin, preparation thereof, and uses thereof for food-grade application including prolamin compositions combining prolamin and DNA taggants
Inventors
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Assignees
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SafeTracesSafeTraces provides technology-driven solutions for indoor air quality validation, biosafety, and supply chain traceability. The company specializes in aerosol tracing, DNA-based product tagging, rapid qPCR detection, and cloud-based analytics. Clients span healthcare, infrastructure, real estate, food, and government sectors, supporting regulatory compliance, operational safety, and risk management.
SafeTraces provides technology-driven solutions for indoor air quality validation, biosafety, and supply chain traceability. The company specializes in aerosol tracing, DNA-based product tagging, rapid qPCR detection, and cloud-based analytics. Clients span healthcare, infrastructure, real estate, food, and government sectors, supporting regulatory compliance, operational safety, and risk management.
Publication Number
US-12612623-B2
Publication Date
2026-04-28
Expiration Date
Abstract
A water-soluble prolamin composition, such as a zein composition, and methods for producing the same. A method for tagging items comprising applying a plurality of non-coding DNA tags in a prolamin composition, such as a zein composition, wherein the selection of the particular taggants corresponds with a binary or nonbinary code sequence containing information about the tagged items.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to an alcohol-free, water-soluble composition that includes zein together with cyclodextrin, a surfactant, casein, and [1,3]-propanediol in an aqueous carrier solution. Zein is provided as a self-assembled nanoscale or liposome-like carrier in aqueous dispersion, enabling a stable formulation suitable for non-ethanol handling. The composition forms a zein-based mixture that can incorporate additional components in the aqueous carrier solution.
The composition is described as being prepared through phase-based mixing, including a Phase 1 solution containing zein, surfactant, and [1,3]-propanediol, and a Phase 2 solution containing water, cyclodextrin, and casein. The Phase 1 solution is combined with the Phase 2 solution to provide a zein mixture comprising cyclodextrin, the surfactant, and casein. Optional handling includes providing the composition as a powder by freeze-drying or spray-drying after formulation and/or after application.
In addition, the invention describes using the zein-based carrier to deliver non-coding DNA taggants for tagging items and for sanitation verification. A method for tagging items mixes a plurality of non-coding DNA tags with zein and surfactant in [1,3]-propanediol to provide a DNA-containing amorphous zein solution, and combines this with cyclodextrin and casein to provide a zein mixture comprising the plurality of non-coding DNA tags, cyclodextrin, surfactant, and casein. A selection of particular non-coding DNA tags corresponds with a binary or nonbinary code sequence containing information about the tagged item.
Claims Coverage
The document includes two independent claims. The first covers a water-soluble zein-based composition in an aqueous carrier solution, and the second covers a method for tagging items using non-coding DNA tags embedded in that zein mixture, with a binary or nonbinary encoding scheme.
Water-soluble zein composition with cyclodextrin, surfactant, casein, and [1,3]-propanediol in an aqueous carrier
A water-soluble composition comprising zein, cyclodextrin, surfactant, casein, and [1,3]-propanediol, in an aqueous carrier solution.
Tagging items with non-coding DNA tags in a zein mixture to encode a binary or nonbinary code sequence
A method for tagging items comprising mixing a plurality of non-coding DNA tags with a solution of zein and surfactant in [1,3]-propanediol to provide a DNA-containing amorphous zein solution; combining the DNA-containing amorphous zein solution with cyclodextrin and casein to provide a zein mixture comprising the plurality of non-coding DNA tags, the cyclodextrin, the surfactant, and the casein; and applying the zein mixture to an item to create a tagged item, wherein a selection of particular tags corresponds with a binary or nonbinary code sequence containing information about the tagged item.
Overall, claim coverage centers on a defined water-soluble zein formulation containing cyclodextrin, surfactant, casein, and [1,3]-propanediol in an aqueous carrier, and item tagging by embedding selected non-coding DNA tags into an amorphous zein mixture and applying it to create a tagged item in which the chosen tags correspond to a binary or nonbinary information code.
Stated Advantages
Stable self-assembled (nanoscale/liposomal) carriers for aqueous dispersion.
Alcohol-free and water-soluble zein-based formulations.
Provides a tagging approach for surface sanitation verification using non-coding DNA taggants.
Documented Applications
Tagging items and applying the tagged carrier to surfaces requiring sanitation verification.
Item/product tracking using non-coding DNA tags encoding binary or nonbinary information.
Use in supply-chain processes, including integration with dispensing systems and recording in a blockchain ledger.
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