SmartSorb™ Technology
The absorption problem, solved.
On average, less than 7% of an active ingredient ever reaches the body. SmartSorb™ changes that, delivering ingredients faster, deeper, and with measurably better results across health, wellness, and lifestyle products.
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Even great ingredients fail when they can't get where they need to go.
Brand owners pay for premium actives like vitamins, peptides, botanicals, and cannabinoids, and consumers pay premium prices to use them. But across nutraceuticals, skincare, beverages, and functional foods, most of those actives are filtered out, broken down, or simply never absorbed.
The fix isn't a better ingredient.
It's a better way to deliver the ingredient.
That's what SmartSorb™ does.
The Technology
A smarter delivery platform for smarter products.
SmartSorb™ is a patented, all-natural nano-encapsulation technology developed by NuVessl that solves the absorption problem at the molecular level. It encapsulates active ingredients (water-soluble, oil-soluble, or both at once) inside a self-assembling lipid sphere smaller than 200 nanometers. Once the product reaches the body, those particles release their payload exactly where it needs to go: into skin, into the bloodstream, into cells.
Rapid + Sustained Release
Custom release timing (rapid, delayed, timed, or sustained) engineered to the use case.
Higher Bioavailability
Up to 4× more active delivered. Up to 3× deeper skin penetration. 85%+ consistent ingredient loading.
All-Natural & GRAS
Water, ethanol, lecithin. Nothing more. Clean-label by default; GMO-free and organic-compliant versions possible.
Easy to Manufacture
Drops into existing manufacturing lines. No specialized equipment.
Botanical actives
Turmeric, green tea, ashwagandha, aloe vera, ginseng, bakuchiol.
Skincare and wellness actives
Peptides, vitamin C, retinol, biotin, growth factors, mushrooms, marine extracts.
Functional food and beverage
Resveratrol, polyphenols, adaptogens, dairy, proteins.
One particle, hundreds of payloads. See all 240+ validated actives
Past the barrier, not just onto it.
Most topical actives never clear the stratum corneum, the skin's outermost defensive layer. SmartSorb™ particles are engineered small enough to migrate through it and into the epidermis.
Once through, they form a reservoir and time-release their payload toward the dermo-epidermal junction and the vascular network below, which is what turns a surface treatment into a delivered dose.
Topical CBD Penetration Study
SmartSorb™-formulated CBD penetrated deeper into skin and delivered more active versus standard formulations.
Oral Bioavailability Study
SmartSorb™-encapsulated caffeine appeared in the blood in under 15 minutes, with significantly higher peak concentration. Similar results observed with CBD and THC.
Delivery interfaces SmartSorb™ supports
Finished formats
Competitive advantages
- Delivers individual or multiple concurrent ingredients in one particle
- Custom release: rapid, delayed, timed, and/or sustained
- Flavor masking or enhancing
- Increased active-ingredient lifespan and stability
- Optically clear when loaded
- Dial-a-size custom particles and assemblies
- Inexpensive manufacturing and loading
- Class-leading, consistent 85%+ ingredient loading
Better absorption. Better outcomes. Built on 24 years of delivery science.
- “Dial-a-size”: nanoparticles engineered from 20 nm to 400 µ depending on the use case.
- Stable across pH 3.0 to 8.0 and across heat / cold / freeze cycles, which is what makes frozen alcoholic dessert applications possible.
- U.S. patents protect our encapsulation technology, SmartSorb™, through 2039 and 2040, built on a heritage of 14 U.S. patents. See our patents.
Why SmartSorb™?
Innovation at the core.
SmartSorb™ is built for brands that refuse to compromise, combining cutting-edge science with all-natural ingredients to deliver products that truly perform.
All-Natural Ingredients
Formulated with clean, natural components that meet the demands of today's health-conscious consumers.
Effective Products
Engineered for superior bioavailability and real, measurable results across every application.
Value Innovation
Empowering brands to differentiate and lead with breakthrough formulations that set new industry standards.
Applications
One technology. A new wave of high-performance products.
SmartSorb™ is used across clinical skincare, oral wellness supplements, functional beverages, nootropic and energy sublinguals, alcohol-infused functional foods, and animal health products. It doesn't compete with active ingredients. It makes them work harder.
Clinical Skincare & Topicals
Penetrates the stratum corneum and into the epidermis with consistent, measurable delivery. The basis for clinically credible serums, creams, and dermaceuticals.
Oral Wellness Supplements
Liquids, sprays, and gummies with bioavailability that finally matches the label. Faster onset, sustained release, and a smaller effective dose.
Functional & Clean-Label Beverages
Optically clear delivery for vitamins, nootropics, electrolytes, and botanicals, without the off-tastes, settling, or shelf-life issues of conventional emulsions.
Nootropics, Energy & Immunity Sublinguals
Caffeine in the bloodstream in under 15 minutes. Same physics for adaptogens, B-vitamins, and immune actives.
Alcohol-Infused Functional Foods
The technology behind real frozen cocktails. SmartSorb™ stabilizes alcohol in formats previously impossible: sorbets, ice creams, gels, gummies.
Animal Health Products
Topical and oral formats for equine, companion-animal, and livestock applications. Same delivery science, optimized for veterinary categories.
Whatever's precious, protected. Encapsulation shields an active ingredient from degradation, masks what it would otherwise taste like, and holds it intact until it reaches the place it's meant to work. That principle is the same whether the payload is a peptide, a botanical, a vitamin, or a cannabinoid.
Every ingredient below has been successfully encapsulated with SmartSorb™, spanning water-soluble (hydrophilic) and oil-soluble (lipophilic) actives. If yours isn't listed, our R&D team can run a feasibility assessment.
- Acetyl hexapeptide - 8
- Acetyl hexapeptide-3/ argireline
- Acetyl tetrapeptide- 9
- Acetyl Zingerone
- Ahnfeltia concinna extract
- Algae extract
- Allantoin
- Almond oil
- Aloe barbadensis extract
- Aloe barbadensis leaf juice
- Alpha bisabolol
- Althea extract
- Ammonium Phosphate
- Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract
- Arbutin
- Argania spinosa kernel extract/ argan
- Arnica extract
- Arnica Montana Flower Extract
- Arnica tincture
- Artemia extract
- Ascorbic Acid
- Ashwagandha
- Aspirin
- Beer
- Bellis perennis (daisy) flower extract
- Benzocaine
- Benzophenone- 3
- Bilberry fruit extract
- Birch leaf extract
- Bromelain extract/ pineapple
- Burea
- Caffeine
- Caffeine anhydrous
- Caffeine, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride
- Calendula extract
- Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water
- Canadian willowherb extract
- Carbon Dioxide (carbonation)
- Carrot seed oil
- Catnip extract Nepeta Cataria Extract
- Chamomile extract
- Cheap Spirits
- Chondroitin
- Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract
- Clotrimazole
- Cocoa Extract
- Concentrace
- Cucumber extract
- Culti Biota, Quoranys, Relipidium (Microbiome Complex)
- Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Water
- Electrolytes
- Erythrulose
- Ethanol
- Ferrous Sulfate
- Ginger Mint Extract Water (Ginger Root + Peppermint Leaf Extract)
- Glycerin
- Goji extract
- Gotu Kola
- GP4G Water, Artemia Extract
- Green tea extract
- HA (Low Molecular Weight)
- Haematococcus pluvialis- extract/ astazanthin
- Himanthalia elongatea / brown marine algae
- Honey
- Honeysuckle extract
- Hops Extract (CO2 and Powdered)
- Hyaluronic acid
- Hydrolyzed elastin
- Hydroquinone
- Ibuprofen
- Ilex Paraguariensis Leaf Extract, Water
- Insulin
- Kojic acid
- Lactobacillus, Papaya Fruit Ferment Extract
- Lemon Extract Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract
- Lemon fruit extract
- Licorice extract
- Lidocaine
- Linden extract
- Liquor
- Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate
- Matcha Extract Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water
- Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract
- Menthyl Ethylamido Oxalate
- Nannochloropsis oculata and polysaccharides
- Naproxen
- Nepeta Cataria Extract
- Nicotine
- Oat beta glucan
- Oxybenzone
- Palmitoyl - pentapeptide 3
- Palmitoyl oligo peptide
- Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7
- Papaya Enzymes Lactobacillus, Papaya Fruit Ferment Extract
- Passionflower
- Pineapple enzymes Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract
- Pisum sativum extract (pea)
- Potassium Chloride
- Potassium Phosphate
- Red marine algae extract
- Rhodiola
- Rose hips extract/ natural vitamin c
- Rumex occidentalis extract/ rumex occidentalis
- Sambucus extract
- Schisandra Extract
- Sederma-coroda
- Siberian ginseng
- silver diamine fluoride
- Sodium Chloride
- Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride
- Sodium pca
- Sodium Phosphate
- Sorbitol
- Spilanthes extract
- Spirits
- Synoxyl AZ Acetyl Zingerone
- Synoxyl HSS Trimethoxybenzylidene Pentanedione
- Tart Cherry Extract
- Terbinafine
- Tetracaine
- Trimethoxybenzylidene Pentanedione
- Tryptophan
- Turmeric Extract Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Water
- Ubiquinone
- Urea
- Valerian
- Vitamin B (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 12)
- Vitamin C (and ascorbyl/ascorbate derivatives)
- Vitamin C Ascorbic Acid
- Vitis vinifera (grape) fruit extract
- Water Soluble Flavor
- White oak extract
- Wine
- Witch hazel
- Yeast beta glucan
- Yerba Mate Extract Ilex Paraguariensis Leaf Extract, Water
- (Ginger) Root Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Citrus Grandis
- 4-terpineol
- Amla curcumin
- Amla Oil
- Anise oil
- Apricot kernel oil
- Ascorbyl Palmitate
- Avobenzone(Parsol 1789)/butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane
- Avocado oil
- Basil oil
- Beeswax
- Bergamot oil
- Boswellia Carterii Oil/Resin
- Butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane
- Butyrospermum parkii butter/ shea butter
- Camphor
- Cannabidiol
- Cedrus Atlantica Wood Oil
- Cetyl alcohol
- chamomile (roman) oil
- Chamomile oil
- Chinese geranium oil
- Ciclopirox Olamine
- Cinnamon oil
- Citronella, Cedarwood, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Geranium, Oregano, Peppermint & Lavender Oil Blend
- Citronella, Rosemary, Cedarwood & Oregano Oil Blend
- Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil
- Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil
- Clary sage oil
- Clove, Oregano, Tea Tree, Citronella, Eucalyptus, Geranium, Rosemary, Peppermint & Lavender Oil Blend
- Cumin Oil
- Cymbopogon Nardus (Citronella) Oil
- Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil
- Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil,
- DHA
- Dihydroxyacetone
- Egyptian geranium oil
- Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate
- Ethylhexyl salicylate
- Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil
- Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Flower Oil
- Fennel Oil
- Flavorings
- Garlic oil
- Geranium Maculatum Oil
- Ginger Oil
- Ginger, Lemon & Ruby Red Grapefruit Peel Oil Blend
- helichrysum italicum oil
- Homosalate
- Hybrid sunflower oil
- Jasmine oil
- Jojoba oil
- Ketoconazole
- Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil
- Lemon oil
- Lemongrass oil
- Medium Chain Triglycerides
- Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil,
- Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil
- Menthol
- Monolaurest
- Neem Oil
- Octinoxate/ ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate
- Octisalate/ethylhexyl salicylate
- Octocrylene
- Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Origanum
- Oil Soluble Flavor
- Olibanum oil/ frankincense
- Olive fruit oil
- Omega-3/6 Acids
- Onion Oil
- Orange flower oil
- Orange oil
- Origanum Vulgare Oil
- Palma rosa oil
- Piper Negra Seed Oil
- Prickly Pear oil
- Prunus amygdalus dulic oil/ sweet almond oil
- Retinol
- Rose centifolia
- Rose oil
- Rosemary oil
- Rosewood oil
- Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil
- Safflower oil
- sage clary oil
- Salicylic Acid
- Sandalwood oil
- Sesame seed oil
- Simmondsia chinesis seed oil/ jojoba oil
- Squalane
- Sunflower oil
- Sweet almond oil
- Sweet marjoram oil
- Sweet orange oil
- Synthetic fragrances
- Tangerine oil
- Tea Tree Oil
- thyme oil
- Tocopherol
- Tocopheryl Acetate
- Trolamine Salicylate
- Tulsi holy basil extract
- Turmeric Oil
- Usp medilan/ medical grade lanolin
- Vitamin A (and retinol derivatives)
- Vitamin D (and derivatives)
- Vitamin E Tocopheryl Acetate
- Vitamin E α-Tocopherol
- Wheat Germ Glycerides
- Ylang ylang oil
Who We Partner With
Built for B2B partners who refuse to compromise.
Ideal B2B partners value innovation, effective products, and all-natural ingredients. NuVessl licenses SmartSorb™ to five types of partners, from indie disruptors to global market leaders. What they share is a commitment to products that deliver.
Indie disruptor or global market leader. If your products compete on science, we want to talk.
FAQ
Answers to the questions partners ask first.
If you're new to encapsulation technology or evaluating whether SmartSorb™ fits your product roadmap, start here. Each answer below is a short version. We're happy to go deeper on a call.
SmartSorb™ is a patented nano-encapsulation technology developed by NuVessl that improves the absorption, onset, and bioavailability of active ingredients in supplement, topical, and functional food and beverage and animal health products. It uses self-assembling lipid nanoparticles made from three GRAS components: water, ethanol, and lecithin.
Unlike emulsions, which suspend ingredients in a mixture, SmartSorb™ encapsulates them. That difference matters. SmartSorb™ can carry water-soluble and oil-soluble actives in the same particle, protect them from degradation, mask off-tastes, and release them at a controlled rate. In comparative studies, SmartSorb™-formulated CBD penetrated 3 times deeper into skin and delivered 4 times more active than unencapsulated CBD. SmartSorb™-encapsulated caffeine appeared in the bloodstream in under 15 minutes.
NuVessl licenses the SmartSorb™ technology to brand owners, contract manufacturers, and ingredient distributors who want to incorporate it into their products. A typical engagement includes three things: access to the underlying patent portfolio, supply of the SmartSorb™ precursor ingredient that's required to manufacture the nano-encapsulated formulation, and direct support from NuVessl's R&D team during formulation, scale-up, and commercialization.
The model is designed to be low friction. Partners use their existing manufacturing lines and don't need specialized equipment. License terms are negotiated case by case and can include category exclusivity, co-branded “Powered by SmartSorb™” programs, or private-label arrangements. Cost varies by industry segment, active ingredient, and dosing. We'll work through the specifics on a call rather than publishing a single number that wouldn't apply broadly.
SmartSorb™ has been validated with more than 240 active ingredients spanning both hydrophilic (water-soluble) and lipophilic (oil-soluble) compounds: cannabinoids, vitamins (A, C, D, E, B-complex), peptides, caffeine and other stimulants, alcohol, sunscreen actives, marine extracts, botanical extracts, amino acids, electrolytes, food preservatives, and a range of pharmaceutical actives. The full validated portfolio is browsable in the Applications section above.
If your active ingredient isn't on that list, our R&D team can run a feasibility assessment to confirm compatibility. The technology works with both water-soluble and oil-soluble compounds and can carry both at once in a single particle.
Yes. SmartSorb™ is built from three components that are all Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the FDA: water, ethanol, and lecithin (a phospholipid derived from soy or sunflower). It contains no synthetic surfactants, no preservatives, and no animal-derived ingredients in its base formulation.
The technology is suitable for clean-label, all-natural, and Non-GMO product positioning. Non-GMO and organic-compliant versions are available. SmartSorb™ has been used in commercialized Rx, OTC, cosmetic, nutraceutical, and food and beverage products for more than 20 years through its prior generations, and the safety profile is well established.
Two paths. If you have a specific product in mind and you're ready to evaluate SmartSorb™, schedule a meeting using the button at the top of the page or in the Contact section. We'll set up a 30-minute introductory call to understand your goals, your active ingredients, and your timeline.
If you have questions first, fill out the contact form in the Contact section. Tell us what category you're in and what you're trying to accomplish. We'll respond personally within one business day.
About Us
Why we built this.
Years of watching premium products underperform led us to one clear insight: the problem wasn't the ingredient; it was delivery. On average, less than 7% of an active ingredient ever reaches its target in the body. So no matter how good the formulation was, most products were failing before they had a chance to work.
NuVessl is a life science licensing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta and Tampa Bay, Florida, formed in 2017 to solve the absorption problem in health, wellness, and lifestyle products. We exist to enhance life, for people and for animals, by making products that deliver on their promise.
That's what Life. Enhanced. means, and it's only real if the product actually works.
Vision
Enhancing life with products that actually work.
Mission
To develop and deliver ingredient solutions using our SmartSorb™ encapsulation technologies for a healthier every day.
24 years of delivery science.
SmartSorb™ is the third generation of an encapsulation platform with a 24-year legacy (Lyphazome® → NLP™ → SmartSorb™). Our innovation team has developed multiple patents and numerous products for brand owners selling topical Rx, OTC, cosmetic skincare, topical medical device, functional beverages, supplements and animal healthcare powered by SmartSorb™.
NuVessl operates as a virtual organization with offices in Calgary, Alberta and Tampa Bay, Florida. Our R&D department is anchored at the University of South Florida Research Park. Members of our founding team have worked with USF's Center for Entrepreneurship, the College of Pharmacy, and the College of Nanotechnology for more than 20 years. We're also intentionally small: a science team, an executive team, and a network of subject-matter experts in nano-materials, pharmaceuticals, and global regulatory affairs.
Meet the Executive Team.
Nathan MacBey
Accomplished entrepreneur and operator with 25+ years founding, scaling, and leading businesses across energy, food & beverage, and life sciences, with $2.0B+ in executed transaction value.
Brent Bieber
Founding partner of NuVessl, bridging wellness marketing and real product performance, with a background in private equity and investment banking.
Deborah Duffey
Three decades leading high-tech, impact-focused companies; formerly co-founder of Dermazone Solutions and clinical skincare brand Kara Vita. Holds a U.S. patent on cannabinoid encapsulation.
News & Insights
Thinking on delivery, and news from NuVessl.
Practical articles on ingredient delivery and absorption for brand owners and formulators, plus company news and the organizations we are part of.
Solubility and Permeability: The Two Gates Every Ingredient Must Pass
An active has to dissolve and then cross a barrier before it can work. Why so many popular ingredients get stuck at one gate or the other.
ArticleThe Hidden Cost of Ingredients That Don't Get Absorbed
You pay for the whole active. The body may use a small fraction. What poor absorption really costs a brand, and how to get that value back.
ArticleSize Matters: How Particle Size Shapes Product Performance
Why the size of what carries an ingredient can matter as much as the ingredient itself, for skincare, scalp care, supplements, and beverages.
ArticleWhy Great Ingredients Don't Always Deliver
A formula is only as good as what reaches its target. Why delivery, not just ingredients, decides whether a product performs.
NewsNuVessl Featured in the ED12 Newsletter
NuVessl's May 2026 newsletter highlight: new R&D space at USF CONNECT, a new formulation scientist, and Plug and Play Japan accelerator cohorts.
MembershipsMemberships & Affiliations
The accelerators, industry associations, and Tampa Bay organizations NuVessl belongs to and takes part in.
Contact
Get started with SmartSorb™.
Whether you're ready to formulate, have questions, or want to see SmartSorb™ in action, we're here to help. We'll respond personally, usually within one business day.
Already know we're a fit?
Skip the form and book directly.
Schedule a Meeting- Brent Bieber, Co-CEObrent@nuvessl.com
- Nathan MacBey, Co-CEOnathan@nuvessl.com
- Deborah Duffey, COOdeborah@nuvessl.com
