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Background: Essential oils (EOs) are natural substances that serve as sources of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties., Objective: This objective is to understand intellectual property related to patent documents on EOs and nanotechnology., Methods: The nanotechnology growth curve applied to EOs demonstrated that the period from 2015 to 2017 was the most prominent, with a peak in 2016. China is the dominant country, mainly through research developed in the academic area., Results: The food industry area had the highest number of patents filed, highlighting the preservation line. Ginger essential oil, chitosan and Tween 80 were preferentially used as a core, wall material, and emulsifier, respectively. In the market, the use of EOs is more associated with the pharmaceutical/ cosmetics industry. In addition, the food industry market bets more on products based on hemp oil nanocapsules., Conclusion: EO nanotechnology is promising for the development of sustainable food systems. However, this nanotechnology in Brazil has not yet advanced enough in the food industry, although there are government incentives that may change this paradigm in the future. The profile of the patent documents and the products in the market differ between the application and the types of oils. In addition, there is a gap between the volume of patent documents investigated and the transfer of technology to the commercial sector, but this constitution could be better explored, given the properties of EOs., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

The search for technological applications for oils has been growing largely due to their potential nutritional and economic applications. Encapsulation makes it possible to reduce the disadvantages of oils, such as physical instability or thermodynamics, or to improve their technological properties, enabling their use in various industrial areas. Nanoencapsulated oils have the potential to improve oil bioavailability and achieve controlled release and are able to target bioactive compounds with greater precision than microencapsulated oils. The present study aims to evaluate the primary characteristics and profiles of the technological prospection of oil nanoparticles. This technology foresight study investigates the patenting activity and the academic literature to map out the technological progress and difficulties in the area of nanoencapsulation. Exponential growth in patent filing was noted with a peak in 2017, with China filing the highest number of patents. Regarding the area of application, the food industry was most common followed by the pharmaceutical industry. The most commonly used terms in patent documents on the subject were nanoemulsion and nanoparticle. The most commonly used oil, technique, wall materials and emulsifiers were soybean oil, emulsification, chitosan and lecithin, and Span 80, Tween 80 and Tween 40, respectively. The obtained articles were typically patent documents. The main depositor was Jiangnan University, and most inventors filed the same number of patent documents. Nanoencapsulation of oils has many known advantages that have been widely published in the literature and used by industry. There is a trend in the growth of patent document deposits and related scientific publications, indicating that many innovations have been made, highlighting the importance of oil nanoencapsulation., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Background: Brazil is the fourth largest personal hygiene, perfumery and cosmetics (HPPC) consumer market in the world, leading industries to invest heavily in cosmetic research. Nanotechnology is studied and applied in several branches of health and, in the cosmetic area, focuses on the effectiveness of the products, safety of use and stability of the formulation. Thus, nanoemulsions appear as an attractive option for cosmetic manufacturers., Objective: In this context, a technological investigation was carried out, through a patent search, with the objective of verifying the current panorama of the nanoemulsions for the development of cosmetic formulations., Method: To do this, we consulted the Espacenet® database, using the word "nanoemulsion", associated with the IPC code "A61q19". A total of 188 patents were found, of which 118 were available for display, whose data were organized into charts for discussion., Result: The results show that developed countries are still the largest patent holders in the area, with the exception of South Korea, which ranked first with 39 patent applications. France appears as the most important in this research, but the largest market of interest for this technology is North America. Brazil seems to have less number of patents (3) and have not been registered in the country., Conclusion: The predominance of cosmetic nanoemulsions was mainly for aesthetic purposes. Nanoemulsions for cosmetic application still have potential for research and development, especially when related to raw materials of plant origin, where Brazil can be highlighted., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)