US
Radient Technologies Inc. has filed a provisional patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for innovation related to methods for obtaining nicotine depleted tobacco, without materially altering certain desirable properties of the tobacco.
The patent application provides a method to selectively extract nicotine from tobacco via Radient’s continuous-flow microwave-assisted processing (MAP™) extraction technology and provides a composition of tobacco that is depleted in nicotine, but retains its appearance and organoleptic properties.
The invention discloses the ability of Radient’s proprietary technology to achieve nicotine depletions of over 95% across multiple cured tobacco types, leaving the reduced nicotine tobacco intact and fit for processing into cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products. This provisional application was first filed in the USPTO to create a priority date and allow for future filings in other selected jurisdictions, as appropriate.
The patent application also includes methods of recovering and purifying the nicotine as a co-product. Nicotine has commercial value for inclusion in smoking cessation products and in e-liquids for use in e-cigarettes and vaping products.
Dr. Steven Splinter, founder and c.t.o. of Radient, said, “Radient is committed to innovation in new and developing industries, and we see the potential market opportunity in providing a safe, effective industrial-scale method of nicotine extraction from tobacco, specifically during the primary manufacturing phase of cigarettes or other combustible tobacco products. Furthermore, a high-purity nicotine co-product could have wide-scale applications in the growing smoking cessation product market.”