Garti explained that nutraceuticals and cosmetoceuticals are natural materials, mainly derived from plants, which have health benefits. Many of them are not soluble in water and/or oils and therefore are difficult for the body to absorb.
Nutraceuticals today are often taken in capsule form or as food additives in the hope that the nutraceutical will be a beneficial diet additive. However, the effect of this is generally marginal, even though there may be some advantage over normal consumption through a balanced diet. However, most of these nutraceuticals are not absorbed but are simply flushed through the body's digestive system. The same is true of the cosmetoceuticals, such as face creams, which also are not efficiently absorbed.
The nanovehicles which Garti and Aserin have developed are microemulsions made out of water, oil, an emulsifier and sometimes alcohol as a cosolvent. The microemulsions, or nanoemulsions as Garti prefers to call them, are more stable than regular emulsions and can absorb a significantly higher amount of the active beneficial material from plant sources than a regular emulsion. Nanodroplets of the microemulsion bind with nanoparticles of the nutraceutical or cosmetoceutical. The nanodroplets carry the nutraceutical nanoparticals through membranes and release them upon reaching their destination.
The microemulsions are highly dilutable and also can be turned into powders. As a result, they can be used as liquid or powder food additives or taken on their own.
Each microemulsion must be specifically designed to suit the nutraceutical. This involves extensive research using highly sophisticated equipment that allows Garti and Aserin to study the nanostructure of the new vehicles and the locus of the solubilizate (nutraceutical) at the interface.
Garti and Aserin, in cooperation with the Yissum Research and Development Company of the Hebrew University and other investors, have established a start-up called NutraLease which designs vehicles. Their clients include several major food and pharmaceutical companies which have asked for vehicles for nutraceuticals such as lycopene (which can lower the risk of contracting prostrate or breast cancer and also can slow down certain signs of aging), phytosterol (which helps prevent the accumulation of cholesterol), and lutein (which retards cataract growth). A cooking oil which can lower cholesterol in the blood has been developed and is in the early stages of being introduced to the market.
Yissum, a private company wholly owned by the university, serves as a bridge between the university and industry. It aims to develop business links between them which will allow industry to use the results of university research to advance commercial ventures.
This is the tenth anniversary year for The Kaye Innovation Awards at the Hebrew University. Isaac Kaye of England, a prominent industrialist in the pharmaceutical industry, established the awards in 1994 to encourage faculty, staff and students of the university to develop innovative methods and inventions with good commercial potential, which have benefited or will benefit the university and society.