Cell Biotech Succeeds in Advancing Dual Coating Technology for Probiotics

Cell Biotech has successfully enhanced its proprietary “Dual Coating” technology, a core innovation in its probiotic formulations. The company has also completed patent registrations for this advanced technology in five key markets: South Korea, Japan, China, the United States, and Europe.

Building on this advancement, Cell Biotech has achieved a maximum probiotic survival rate of 91.6%. Human clinical trials confirmed that probiotics treated with the enhanced dual coating demonstrated intestinal survival rates up to 221 times higher than uncoated probiotics, reaffirming the company’s world-class technological capabilities.

Originally developed by Cell Biotech as a world-first, the 4th-generation Dual Coating technology involves encapsulating live probiotics with a dual layer of protein and polysaccharides. This coating protects the probiotics from harsh conditions such as stomach acid and bile, allowing them to reach the intestines safely. Leveraging the body’s natural pH gradients, the coating remains intact in the stomach and naturally dissolves in the intestines, where the probiotics become active. In the latest enhancement, the protein used in the coating was hydrolyzed into smaller molecules, significantly improving probiotic viability.

Cell Biotech optimized conditions for each of its proprietary CBT probiotic strains through experiments analyzing the effects of protein hydrolysis on cell viability during cultivation and freeze-drying. Subsequent experiments evaluating stability, acid resistance, and bile resistance—based on coated vs. uncoated formulations—scientifically validated the effectiveness of the upgraded technology.

Results showed:

85.2% survival in accelerated shelf-life (stability) tests,

90.7% survival in acid resistance tests simulating gastric conditions, and

91.6% survival in bile resistance tests.

These outcomes confirm both the stability and efficacy of the improved coating. The upgraded technology has been patented in South Korea (Patent No. KR 10-2009731), as well as in Japan, China, the U.S., and Europe.

Furthermore, in a human clinical study jointly conducted with Sahmyook Medical Center, the dual-coated probiotics showed up to 221 times higher intestinal survival compared to uncoated strains. In a randomized, double-blind trial involving 40 healthy adults, all probiotic strains demonstrated an average 100-fold increase in intestinal survival, with the CBT-LR5 strain showing the most significant improvement.

This advanced dual coating is now applied across all products under the DUOLAC brand, enabling both exceptional probiotic viability and high shelf stability at room temperature.

A Cell Biotech commented, “Many consumers mistakenly believe that the CFU (colony-forming unit) count on the label guarantees survival in the intestines. However, CFU only represents the number of live bacteria at the end of the product’s shelf life—it does not reflect how many actually survive digestion. The key to probiotic efficacy lies in the coating technology used. Cell Biotech continues to refine its world-first, 4th-generation Dual Coating technology to ensure our probiotics effectively reach the gut alive.”