ESTUDO PROSPECTIVO SOBRE ENCAPSULAMENTO DE COMPOSTOS BIOATIVOS
With the advent of nanotechnology, there was the development of techniques involving processing, manufacture and application of structures, with controlled shape and size, and in the food industry, these formulations (in micrometer and nanometer range), have been used with the objective of promote the final product. Considering the technological importance of this technique and the great national and international interest, especially in the food industry about the benefits of encapsulation, the present prospective study aimed to assess the outlook for the global theme, correlating it documents filed with the patents. So, a survey of the patent in the European database Espacenet ® was carried out, using the descriptors of the topic under study associated with classification codes. The information found in charts were compiled and discussed. After analyzing the graphs, it was observed that the largest number of patents referred to the code A23L1/00 and there was a slight upward trend of patent applications from the last 10 years, and the United States is the leading country in number of patents deposited. Firmenich and CIE leads the ranking with more patents filed. Regarding the performance area, dominates the food industry (69%). With respect to Brazil, the country appears only 1 of this technology patent holds, with a very small number, which shows the lack of incentive in this sector. Based on these results, it was concluded that, despite being a new technology, there is the growth of patent applications, currently the United States leading in number of patents.