Sonomechanics Blog

Industrial Sonomechanics (ISM) is proud to announce its breakthrough technology for Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE). Specifically focused on the most challenging and highest value extraction projects, ISM sets itself apart by combining the ability to deliver high-intensity ultrasound (enjoying a 4x advantage over the nearest competitor) with a scalable process flow (10 - 15 L/min flow rate) that is unique in the industry. ISM's versatile and custom-configured equipment set can be applied to multiple bioactives, botanicals, microorganisms, pharmaceuticals, and other related compounds.

Jeff Meyer, COO of Industrial Sonomechanics, dubs this new specialty line "a beast" when it comes to extraction. Meyer notes “The new ISM ultrasonic system empowers companies to swiftly extract a diverse array of botanicals on a large scale, creating a faster ROI for the customer.”

Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE)—The ISM Difference

ISM’s equipment package enables you to extract active pharmacological agents for drug formulation applications, polyphenols for the food and beverage industry, alkaloid-rich extracts from kratom leaves and mushrooms, as well as cannabinoids and terpenes.

Recent years have seen major breakthroughs in how vaccines and antiviral drugs are formulated and manufactured. Nanoemulsions and liposomes are now widely used as vaccine and drug carriers because they can easily incorporate lipophilic (in the case of nanoemulsions) and hydrophilic (in the case of liposomes) bioactive compounds, stabilize substances that otherwise undergo hydrolysis, and significantly reduce side effects of potent drugs. For the past 14 years, Industrial Sonomechanics (ISM) has been conducting R&D and supplying its scalable ultrasonic technology to many companies in this field, including those using it in ultrasonic vaccine production and, more recently, in the development of SARS-CoV-2 (novel coronavirus) vaccines and/or treatments of the associated COVID-19 disease. This article describes some of the challenges faced by commercial-scale manufacturers of vaccines and antiviral medications and explains how our technology contributes to overcoming them.  

The cannabis (marijuana, hemp) plant has been used for medicinal purposes for millennia.  In addition to terpenes and flavonoids, over 100 types of therapeutically active compounds known as cannabinoids have been identified in these plants [1]. The two most important and well-known cannabinoids are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) [2]. Cannabinoids have the ability to directly and/or indirectly affect receptors in our cells because they mimic endocannabinoids produced by our own bodies endogenously, for example, in response to injury [3].

Liquids exposed to high-intensity ultrasound can undergo acoustic cavitation. This phenomenon can typically be seen as a cloud of bubbles forming in the vicinity of the ultrasonic source (e.g., ultrasonic horn) and heard as an intense hissing noise. Cavitation is the formation of low-pressure voids (a.k.a., vacuum bubbles or cavities) in the liquid, which grow, briefly oscillate and then asymmetrically implode with great intensity.

This blog post focuses on six common terms used in conjunction with ultrasonic processing: ultrasonic amplitude, power, frequency, power intensity, power density and processing rate.

Whether you use ultrasonic processing for making nanoemulsions, milling pharmaceutical crystals, degassing, extracting botanical oils, manufacturing bio-fuels, dispersing pigments, disrupting cells or enhancing a chemical process, there are several general terms you need to be familiar with. Knowing these terms and keeping track of the corresponding parameters will insure reproducibility of results and simplify process-related discussions with your peers.