Methods and formulations for enhancing the dissolution of a solid material in liquid

#This invention is directed to techniques for enhancing the dissolution of an active-containing material in a liquid and in particular to effervescent systems that are incorporated into the material, and/or techniques for generating a consumer recognizable signal from an effervescent system. The effervescent system may produce a gas. The gas may facilitate dissolution of a material when it is placed in a liquid environment and/or may generate a consumer recognizable signal, such as by communicating a signal to a consumer using the effervescent system that the effervescent system is working for its intended purpose.

#Many consumer products are manufactured and sold in solid form for use in a liquid environment. These products include, for example, laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents, antacids, vitamins, contact lens cleaners, and denture cleaners. Often, these products exhibit sub-optimal dissolution rates when they are placed in the liquid environment. As a result, the active ingredients do not become rapidly available as desired and/or the consumer is required to agitate the liquid to dissolve the product. Sub-optimal dissolution is often characterized by the presence of residue in the liquid. The art is in search of techniques for enhancing the dissolution rates of solid products in liquids and for providing a consumer signal to indicate that such dissolution has occurred.

#The invention is based in part on the discovery that the dissolution of a material can be enhanced by incorporating an effervescent system that is capable of producing a gas upon contact with a liquid, e.g., aqueous medium and/or that an effervescent system can be used to provide a consumer recognizable signal. Without being limited to any theory, it is believed that the gas produced increases the material's overall surface area that is in contact with the liquid and thus increases dissolution.

#FIGS. 1 to 9 illustrate various embodiments of solid compositions containing effervescent systems.

#This invention is directed to methods and formulations for enhancing the dissolution of a material in a liquid system and particularly in aqueous environments. Preferred techniques of this invention incorporate an effervescent system into the material. The effervescent system can be formulated into any suitable material and/or the effervescent system itself can be the material. Preferred materials include non-liquid household consumer products.

#Effervescent systems and/or compositions of the present invention are formulated from at least two components that provide a consumer recognizable signal and/or may generate a gas when they are combined in a liquid environment. The effervescent systems and/or compositions of the present invention may be in the form of a single particle and/or in a granule, co-granule, tablet, agglomerate, and/or mixtures thereof. In the single particle and/or co-granule form, the two components of the effervescent system are present on a single particle. In the tablet and/or agglomerate form, the two components may be on separate, discrete particles. This is the case even in the form of tablets and/or agglomerates wherein the tablets and/or agglomerates are physically made of compressed and/or agglomerated separate, discrete particles. In one embodiment, the effervescent system and/or composition comprises a first component and a second component such that when the first component and second component interact, chemically and/or physically, as a result of contacting an environment, such as a liquid environment, a consumer recognizable signal is generated.

#In another embodiment, the effervescent system and/or composition comprises (i) one or more enzymes and (ii) one or more substrates for said enzymes such that the efferevescent system and/or composition generates a consumer recognizable signal upon contacting an environment from which generation of a consumer recognizable signal is desired.