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US 12,642,269 B2Granted
Hydrogels as carriers of active ingredients and methods of producing the same
AssigneeWinField Solutions, LLC
InventorsDanny Brown, Christine Colby, Lillian Magidow, Megan Barta, Dustyn Sawall
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Active ingredient-carrying hydrogels include at least a hydrogel and an active ingredient. The active ingredient is released from the hydrogel onto an agricultural substrate or at an agricultural site in a controlled manner. The hydrogel may include lactose, which may be provided by a milk permeate waste stream from the dairy or food processing industry.
Claims20
A method of delivering an active ingredient to an agricultural substrate, the method comprising:
- delivering a carrier hydrogel precursor mixture from a spray tank to the agricultural substrate at an agricultural site, the carrier hydrogel precursor mixture comprising an active ingredient combined with a hydrogel precursor, wherein prior to delivery, the carrier hydrogel precursor mixture is not cross-linked;
- and
- at the agricultural site, allowing ambient light induced cross-linking, in the absence of a photoinitiator, of the carrier hydrogel precursor mixture to produce a carrier hydrogel.
A method of delivering an active ingredient from a spray tank, the method comprising:
- delivering a dilute carrier hydrogel precursor mixture to an agricultural site from the spray tank, the dilute carrier hydrogel precursor mixture being free of a photoinitiator and comprising an active ingredient, a hydrogel precursor, and water, wherein prior to delivery, the carrier hydrogel precursor mixture is not cross-linked, and
- wherein at the agricultural site, the dilute carrier hydrogel precursor mixture is exposed to ambient light to produce a cross-linked carrier hydrogel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.