Applications

Potential real-life uses for AQUAGEL^®s:

Diet Control Aid

The large swelling ratio of superporous hydrogels can be used to occupy a significant portion of the stomach so that the space available for food intake is reduced significantly. The elastic superporous hydrogels are ideal for this particular application. In addition, particulate superporous hydrogels can be loaded into gelatin capsules for easy administration. This application is in research stages and does not yet represent an actual "retail ready" product. Akina does have interest in partnering with other companies on this application to develop it further.

Hydrogel Tablets for Oral Administration

Depending on the nature of the drug to be delivered, oral tablet dosage forms require different disintegration rate of the tablet formulations. Akina's HydroTab technology utilizes superporous hydrogel particles to control the disintegration rate of the tablets.

HydroTab technology allows control of the disintegration time of tablets from less than 20 seconds to more than several hours. For the long-term disintegration tablets, tablets can be made to swell slowly while maintaining the matrix shape. This long-term HydroTab technology is ideal for making 12-hour drug delivery systems using conventional tablet methods.

Non-pharmaceutical Applications

Superporous hydrogels are also useful in the development of simple tools for prevention of water leakage. They can also be used for preventing water spill around water-sensitive materials. Superporous hydrogels are useful for making toys that can change their sizes and colors extremely fast.