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US 2001/0055561 A1Published application
Material processing by repeated solvent expansion-contraction
AssigneeBoehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
InventorsSaid Saim, Stephen Horhota, David Joseph Bochniak
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for repeatedly converting a solvent from a state of solvent to a state of antisolvent with relatively little loss of solvent. The method is used to allow for processing of large amounts of solute material with minimum amounts of solvent.
Claims26
A method for processing a solute comprising the steps of:
- (a) dissolving said solute, or a portion of said solute, in a liquid solvent that has an affinity for the solubilization of said solute, thereby forming a solvent/solute liquid phase;
- (b) dissolving a gaseous fluid in the solvent/solute liquid phase to form a solvent/solute/gaseous fluid liquid phase;
- (c) causing the solvent/solute/gaseous fluid liquid phase to expand through a retention medium comprising a filter that can retain unsolubilized solute particles;
- (d) causing the gaseous fluid to be dissolved to a concentration such that the solvent/solute/gaseous fluid liquid phase expands until it loses its affinity for the solubilization of said solute and said solute precipitates;
- (e) retaining precipitated solute on a retention medium comprising a filter, which retention medium is the same as the retention medium used in step (c) or is a different retention medium;
- (f) reducing the pressure in the liquid phase to a point where a substantial amount of the gaseous fluid is expelled so as to provide a resultant liquid phase having an affinity for the solubilization of said solute;
- and
- (g) optionally adding more solute to the liquid phase produced in step (f).
5 more elements
A process for recrystallizing from a solution material dissolved in said solution, said solution being housed in a enclosure having a top portion and a bottom portion and a longitudinal portion connecting said top portion and said bottom portion, comprising the steps of:
- (a) imbuing in said solution a gaseous fluid that is substantially non-reactive with said dissolved material and other components of said solution, to expand the volume of said solution to a level along the longitudinal portion of said enclosure where crystallization of said dissolved material occurs, said point being below said top portion of said enclosure and above said bottom portion of said enclosure;
- (b) reducing the pressure in the gaseous fluid-imbued solution of step (a) to a point such that gaseous fluid is expelled from said gaseous fluid-imbued solution and the volume of the gaseous fluid-imbued solution is contracted to a level along the longitudinal portion of said enclosure below the point where crystallization of the dissolved material occurred in step (a);
- (c) if any excess material is present at the bottom portion of the enclosure or is present in suspension in the enclosure, allowing said excess material, or a fraction thereof, to be dissolved in the contracted solution;
- (d) optionally adding more material to the contracted solution;
- and
- (e) repeating steps (a) through (c), or steps (a) through (d), until a substantial portion of the material is recrystallized.
3 more elements
A method for extracting material from a composition comprising the steps of:
- (a) contacting at least a portion of said material with a liquid solvent that has an affinity for the solubilization of said material thereby forming a solvent/material liquid phase;
- (b) dissolving a gaseous fluid in the solvent/material liquid phase to form a solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase wherein the gaseous fluid is dissolved to a concentration such that the solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase loses its affinity for the solubilization of said material and said material precipitates;
- (c) reducing the pressure in the solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase to a point where a substantial amount of the gaseous fluid in the liquid phase is expelled so as to provide a resultant liquid phase having an affinity for the solubilization of said material;
- and
- (d) repeating steps (a) through (c) until the composition is substantially free of said material.
2 more elements
A method for coating material on a substrate comprising the steps of:
- (a) dissolving at least a fraction of said material into a liquid solvent that has an affinity for the solubilization of said material, thereby forming a solvent/material liquid phase;
- (b) dissolving a gaseous fluid in the solvent/material liquid phase to form a solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase;
- (c) contacting said substrate with said solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase;
- (d) continuing to dissolve said gaseous fluid into the solvent/material/ gaseous fluid liquid phase to a concentration such that the solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase loses its affinity for the solubilization of said material and said material precipitates onto said substrate;
- (e) reducing the pressure in the solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase to a point where a substantial amount of the gaseous fluid is expelled so as to provide a resultant liquid phase having an affinity for the solubilization of said material;
- and
- (f) repeating steps (a) through (e) until the substrate is partially or fully coated with the material.
4 more elements
A method for impregnating material into a matrix comprising the steps of:
- (a) dissolving said material into a liquid solvent that has an affinity for the solubilization of said material but not said matrix, thereby forming a solvent/material liquid phase;
- (b) dissolving a gaseous fluid in the solvent/material liquid phase to form a solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase;
- (c) contacting said matrix with said solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase;
- (d) continuing to dissolve said gaseous fluid into said solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase until it is dissolved to a concentration such that the solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase loses its affinity for the solubilization of said material and said material comes out of said solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase and impregnates into said matrix;
- (e) reducing the pressure in the solvent/material/gaseous fluid liquid phase to a point where a substantial amount of the gaseous fluid is expelled so as to provide a resultant liquid phase having an affinity for the solubilization of said material;
- and
- (f) repeating steps (a) through (e) until the matrix is adequately impregnated with the material.
4 more elements
A method for removing contaminants from an article comprising the steps of:
- (a) dissolving a gaseous fluid in a liquid solvent so as to form an expanded solvent/gaseous fluid liquid phase;
- (b) contacting said solvent/gaseous fluid liquid phase with said contaminants;
- (c) dissolving such contaminants in said solvent/gaseous fluid liquid phase to form a solvent/gaseous fluid/contaminant liquid phase;
- (d) reducing the pressure to a point where a substantial amount of the gaseous fluid is expelled from the solvent/gaseous fluid/contaminant liquid phase such that the liquid phase contracts to a level away from the article leaving the article in contact with a gaseous phase;
- and
- (e) repeating steps (a) through (d) until the contaminant is adequately removed from said article.
3 more elements
A method for conducting chemical reactions to produce reaction product comprising the steps of:
- (a) dissolving one or more reactants in a liquid solvent thereby forming a solvent/reactant liquid phase;
- (b) dissolving a gaseous fluid in the solvent/reactant liquid phase to form a solvent/reactant/gaseous fluid liquid phase, wherein the gaseous fluid has a low affinity for said reaction product;
- (c) continuing to dissolve said gaseous fluid in said solvent/reactant/gaseous fluid liquid phase to a concentration such that the solvent/reactant/gaseous fluid liquid phase loses its solubilization affinity for said reaction product but not its solubilization affinity for said reactants, and said reaction product precipitates;
- (d) retaining precipitated reaction product on a retention medium;
- and
- (e) reducing the pressure in the solvent/reactant/gaseous fluid liquid phase to a point where a substantial amount of the gaseous fluid in the liquid phase is expelled so as to provide a resultant liquid phase having an affinity for both the solubilization of said reactants and said reaction product.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.