Amphiphilic Silicones to Extract Botanical Actives

Liquid-liquid extraction, also known as solvent extraction or partitioning, is a method used to separate compounds based on their relative partitioning in two different immiscible liquids. It is the extraction of a substance from one liquid phase into another liquid phase; in other words, it is the separation of a substance from a mixture by preferentially dissolving that substance in a suitable solvent. By this process, a soluble compound is separated from an insoluble matrix.

The present article deals with the ability to extract actives from botanical compounds or other mixtures in amphiphilic silicone compounds having different partition coefficients, which are obtained by altering the ratio of oil-soluble, water-soluble and fluoro-soluble groups on the silicone molecule. The ratio of the various groups determines the ability of the molecule to partition in different phases as well as what will be extracted into each phase.

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