The jaded palates of dedicated gum chewers may soon find relief with
a new gum that retains its flavour for as long as 6 hours.
Two scientists from The American pharmaceutical company Columbia Laboratories
recently patented the long-lasting gum and have tested their invention with
peppermint oil and popular flavourings. But the company produces drug-delivery
products, and it intends to use the gum to treat problems such as gum disease
by replacing flavours with drugs.
‘The mouth is a difficult place to deliver medication because it is
constantly washed with saliva,’ says a representative of the company. ‘This
should be an ideal way to deliver continuous-release doses.’
The new gum is a sandwich with layers of ordinary gum base surrounding
a polymer, usually polyvinyl acetate (PVAC), which is commonly used as a
binder in pharmaceuticals and foods. The scientists dissolve the polymer
in alcohol and add flavouring. They evaporate the solvent off leaving the
PVAC saturated with flavour. The flavouring acts as a plasticiser, and is
slowly released from the PVAC as the gum is chewed.
Advertisement
