Smoking articles enhanced to deliver additives incorporated wtihin electrospun microfibers and nanofibers, and related methods

Abstract

A large variety of electrospun fibers can be produced to encapsulate a large variety of additives within the subcompartments or substructures of the manufactured electrospun fiber. Furthermore, the manufactured electrospun fibers can be electrostatically arranged within a filter component of a smoking article during the manufacturing process. By modifying the various parameters that control the electrospinning process, a diverse set of electrospun fibers can be manufactured that vary in composition, in substructural organization, and in dimension. The electrospun fiber produced by electrospinning comprises at least one type of polymeric material that encapsulates or supports the retention of at least one type of a flavorant or a non-flavorant within the electrospun fiber. A polymeric material provides a supporting structure for encapsulating at least one type of a flavorant or a non-flavorant. The electrospun fibers that can be produced by various electrospinning processes described below include microfibers in a micro-scaled range, nanofibers in a nano-scaled range, and various mixtures of microfibers and nanofibers.

1 - 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A method for manufacturing a filter component of a smoking article, the method comprising:
 incorporating at least one electrospun fiber into a filter component,
 wherein the electrospun fiber is produced by electrospinning
 at least one type of flavorant and/or a non-flavorant additive and 
 at least one type of polymer. 
 
   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the polymer is a sacrificial polymer selected from the group consisting of: polyetherketone, polyoxytrimethylene, atactic polypropylene, low density polyethylene, poly (alkyl siloxane), poly (butylene adipate), polyacrylate, polymethacrylate, and polyitaconate. Suitable polymers include water-soluble polymers, or hydrolyzable polymers, such as poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO), polylactide (PLA), polyglycolide (PGA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyhydroxyvalerate (PHBV), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and various polyanhydrides. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the electrospun fiber is a core-shell electrospun fiber, and is produced by electrospinning that comprises:
 loading a first capillary of a spinneret of a co-axial electrospinning apparatus with at least one type of flavorant and/or non-flavorant additive;   loading a second capillary of the spinneret with at least one type of polymer;   extruding from the spinneret an electrospun fiber comprising at least one type of flavorant and/or nonflavorant that forms an inner core of the electrospun fiber, and at least one type of polymer that forms an outer shell of the electrospun fiber encapsulating the flavorant and/or the nonflavorant; and   collecting the electrospun fiber on a grounded target.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the electrospun fiber is a hollow-core, non-sacrificial shell electrospun fiber, and is produced by electrospinning that comprises: loading a first capillary of a spinneret of a co-axial electrospinning apparatus with at least one type of flavorant and/or nonflavorant combined with a sacrificial polymer; and
 loading a second capillary of the spinneret with at least one type of non-sacrificial polymer,   extruding from the spinneret an electrospun fiber comprising at least one type of flavorant and/or nonflavorant that forms an inner core of the electrospun fiber, and at least one type of non-sacrificial polymer that forms an outer shell of the electrospun fiber encapsulating the flavorant and/or the nonflavorant; and   collecting the electrospun fiber on a grounded target.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the electrospun fiber is a hollow-core, sacrificial shell electrospun fiber, and is produced by electrospinning that comprises:
 loading a first capillary of a spinneret of a co-axial electrospinning apparatus with at least one type of flavorant and/or non-flavorant additive, and a first sacrificial polymer;   loading a second capillary of the spinneret with a second sacrificial polymer;   extruding from the spinneret an electrospun fiber comprising the flavorant and/or non-flavorant additive that forms an inner core of the electrospun fiber, and a second sacrificial polymer that forms an outer shell of the electrospun fiber encapsulating the flavorant and/or the nonflavorant; and   collecting the electrospun fiber on a grounded target.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the electrospun fiber is a non-sacrificial, residual-core electrospun fiber, and is produced by electrospinning that comprises:
 loading a first capillary of a spinneret of a co-axial electrospinning apparatus with at least one type of non-sacrificial polymer;   loading a second capillary of the spinneret with at least one type of flavorant and/or nonflavorant combined with a sacrificial polymer;   extruding from the spinneret an electrospun fiber comprising at least one type of non-sacrificial polymer that forms an inner core of the electrospun fiber, and at least one type of flavorant and/or nonflavorant and a sacrificial polymer that form an outer shell; and   collecting the electrospun fiber on a grounded target.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the electrospun fiber is a sacrificial, residual-core electrospun fiber, and is produced by electrospinning that comprises:
 loading a first capillary of a spinneret of a co-axial electrospinning apparatus with a first sacrificial polymer;   loading a second capillary of a spinneret with at least one type of flavorant and/or nonflavorant combined with a second sacrificial polymer;   extruding from the spinneret an electrospun fiber comprising a first sacrificial polymer that forms an inner core of the electrospun fiber, and at least one type of flavorant and/or nonflavorant and a second sacrificial polymer that form an outer shell; and   collecting the electrospun fiber on a grounded target.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the electrospun fiber is a two-phase matrix electrospun fiber, and is produced by electrospinning that comprises:
 loading a single capillary of a spinneret of an electrospinning apparatus with at least one type of flavorant and/or non-flavorant additive combined with at least one type of sacrificial polymer;   extruding from the spinneret an electrospun fiber comprising the flavorant and/or non-flavorant additive formed as a dispersed phase, and the sacrificial polymer formed as a continuous phase, wherein the dispersed phase and the continuous phase are mixed together to form a micro-emulsion so that the flavorants and/or non-flavorant additives are encapsulated by the polymeric matrix; and   collecting the electrospun fiber on a grounded target.   
     
     
         22 . A method for producing a flavor-enhanced smoking article, the method comprising:
 producing a filter component according to the method of  claim 14 ; and   assembling together a tobacco rod and the filter component.   
     
     
         23 . An electrospun fiber comprising:
 at least one type of flavorant; and   at least one type of polymer.   
     
     
         24 . The electrospun fiber of  claim 23  having
 a substantially cylindrical cross-sectional shape, 
 a substantially constant diameter throughout the length of the electrospun fiber, 
 an outer diameter from about 10 nanometers (nm) to about 50 micrometers (μm), and 
 a length from about 1 millimeters (mm) to about 20 millimeters (mm). 
 
     
     
         25 . The electrospun fiber of  claim 23 , wherein the polymer stabilizes the retention of the flavorant and an optional the nonflavorant additive in an initial unsmoked state. 
     
     
         26 . The electrospun fiber of  claim 23 , wherein the polymer is a sacrificial polymer that loses structural integrity by thermal transition and/or chemical decomposition, and wherein the structural integrity is reduced by at least 1% from that of the initial unsmoked state of the filter component. 
     
     
         27 . The electrospun fiber of  claim 23 , wherein the polymer is a sacrificial polymer selected from the group consisting of: polyetherketone, polyoxytrimethylene, atactic polypropylene, low density polyethylene, poly (alkyl siloxane), poly (butylene adipate), polyacrylate, polymethacrylate, and polyitaconate. Suitable polymers include water-soluble polymers, or hydrolyzable polymers, such as poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO), polylactide (PLA), polyglycolide (PGA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyhydroxyvalerate (PHBV), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and various polyanhydrides. 
     
     
         28 . The electrospun fiber of  claim 23 , wherein the flavorant is selected from the group consisting of menthol, eugenol, spearmint, peppermint, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, licorice, citrus flavor, fruit flavors, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         29 . The electrospun fiber of  claim 23 , wherein the electrospun fiber is a core-shell electrospun fiber comprising:
 at least one type of flavorant and an optional nonflavorant that forms an inner core of the electrospun fiber; and   at least one type of polymer that forms an outer shell of the electrospun fiber encapsulating the flavorant and/or the nonflavorant.   
     
     
         30 . The electrospun fiber of  claim 23 , wherein the electrospun fiber is a hollow-core, sacrificial shell electrospun fiber comprising:
 at least one type of flavorant and an optional nonflavorant combined with a first sacrificial polymer that forms a sacrificial polymeric core of the electrospun fiber; and   a second sacrificial polymer that forms a sacrificial polymeric shell of the electrospun fiber encapsulating the sacrificial polymeric core containing the flavorant and/or the nonflavorant and the first sacrificial polymer.   
     
     
         31 . The electrospun fiber of  claim 23 , wherein the electrospun fiber is a non-sacrificial, residual-core electrospun fiber comprising:
 at least one type of non-sacrificial polymer that forms the core of the electrospun fiber; and   at least one type of flavorant and an optional non-flavorant additive combined with a sacrificial polymer that forms the outer shell of the electrospun fiber.   
     
     
         32 . The electrospun fiber of  claim 23 , wherein the electrospun fiber is a two-phase matrix electrospun fiber comprising:
 at least one type of flavorant and an optional non-flavorant additive that forms a dispersed phase; and   at least one type of sacrificial polymer that forms a continuous phase.   
     
     
         33 . A method for manufacturing an electrospun fiber, the method comprising:
 electrospinning
 at least one type of flavorant and 
 at least one type of polymer. 
   
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the polymer is a sacrificial polymer selected from the group consisting of: polyetherketone, polyoxytrimethylene, atactic polypropylene, low density polyethylene, poly (alkyl siloxane), poly (butylene adipate), polyacrylate, polymethacrylate, and polyitaconate. Suitable polymers include water-soluble polymers, or hydrolyzable polymers, such as poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO), polylactide (PLA), polyglycolide (PGA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyhydroxyvalerate (PHBV), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and various polyanhydrides