At particle sizes between one and five microns, the rules governing bioavailability, absorption kinetics, and ingredient interaction change fundamentally. UFP500 is a processing platform built around that change — a measurable, reproducible physical reality.
Conventional milling and grinding reduces particle size in the 100–500 micron range — enough to improve texture and homogeneity, but not enough to meaningfully alter the biophysics of absorption. The shift in behaviour begins somewhere between 10 and 20 microns, and becomes pronounced below 5 microns.
At 1–5 microns, three things change simultaneously:
These are not hypotheses. They are well-documented in the pharmaceutical literature on fine-particle APIs, and in the food science literature on nanoparticle and microparticle absorption. UFP500 applies the same physics to botanical and functional ingredient matrices — a category the pharma and food science communities have largely approached with far less scientific discipline than synthetic actives.
The challenge is not the theory. It is achieving this particle range reliably, without heat, without solvents, and without destroying the very bioactive structures you are trying to preserve. That is where UFP500 operates.
→ Explore the Literature section for full references and supporting evidenceUFP500° particle reduction does not improve bioavailability through a single mechanism — it affects several simultaneously. Understanding the distinct contributions matters for predicting which ingredient categories will respond most significantly.
At conventional particle sizes, the bioactive compounds in botanical, fungal, and fruit materials are physically locked inside intact cell walls. Only what escapes from cells that happen to rupture during chewing or digestion becomes accessible — a variable, incomplete process that happens differently in every person, every time. UFP500° processing opens cell walls mechanically, at defined particle scale, before ingestion. The compound is liberated under controlled conditions — not left to the unpredictability of the digestive process. This is the upstream step that all other mechanisms depend on: a compound still trapped inside a cell wall cannot dissolve, cannot cross a mucosal surface, and cannot be absorbed. This mechanism is particularly significant for fungal materials, where a chitin-reinforced wall architecture makes conventional digestion especially ineffective at releasing intracellular beta-glucans and polysaccharides. (Holland et al., Foods, 2020; Gil-Chávez et al., Food Chemistry, 2021)
The Noyes-Whitney equation governs dissolution rate: it is directly proportional to surface area. Reducing particle diameter by 100× increases surface area by 100× in equivalent mass. At 1–5 microns, poorly soluble compounds that would ordinarily require lipid formulation or solubilisation technology dissolve at physiologically relevant rates in aqueous media alone — removing the formulation dependency on emulsifiers, carriers, and excipients. This is particularly significant for hydrophobic polyphenols, terpenoids, and fat-soluble vitamins. A controlled human crossover trial (n=23) demonstrated 5–14× bioavailability uplift from micronisation alone — no carrier, no surfactant, no piperine. (Sasaki et al., Mol Nutr Food Res, 2014)
dC/dt = DA(Cs−C) / hVUltra-fine particle reduction without heat is a prerequisite for the mechanisms that follow. Myrosinase — the enzyme responsible for sulforaphane conversion in broccoli — is denatured above approximately 60°C. Polyphenol oxidation accelerates significantly above 40°C. Volatile terpene compounds are lost at even lower temperatures. Cold-process particle refinement preserves these structures through the full processing cycle — a category of benefit that conventional hot-milling and spray-drying cannot offer. The compound arrives in the formulation as it left the plant.
For glucosinolate-containing botanical systems — most critically broccoli sprout — the conversion of glucoraphanin to sulforaphane requires intimate contact between substrate and the enzyme myrosinase. At conventional particle sizes, this reaction is incomplete: cells containing glucoraphanin and cells containing myrosinase never fully meet. UFP500° processing increases the contact surface between these compartments, substantially improving conversion yield. Human data illustrates the scale of the difference: raw broccoli (intact myrosinase, high surface contact) delivers 37% sulforaphane bioavailability; cooked broccoli (heat-denatured myrosinase) delivers 3.4% — an 11× gap caused entirely by the same variable UFP500° controls. (Vermeulen et al., J Agric Food Chem, 2008)
Glucoraphanin + Myrosinase → Sulforaphane + GlucoseParticles in the 1–10 micron range spend more time in proximity to the intestinal epithelial surface than larger particles, which settle faster and disperse less completely in luminal fluid. This increases the concentration gradient driving passive diffusion, and prolongs the residence time of active compounds in the absorptive zone of the small intestine — the narrow window where most absorption actually occurs.
Peyer's patches and associated M-cells in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue can sample and transcytose particles in the 1–5 micron range. Unlike conventional intestinal absorption — which routes compounds through the portal vein and then the liver, where many botanical compounds are significantly metabolised — particles absorbed via Peyer's patches enter lymphatic circulation directly, bypassing hepatic first-pass metabolism. This is particularly relevant for lipophilic botanical compounds — terpenoids, fat-soluble polyphenols, resin acids — where liver metabolism would otherwise substantially reduce systemic exposure. The particle size sensitivity of this mechanism is well-documented in the oral vaccine delivery literature.
UFP500 processes natural materials across botanical, fungal, marine, cereal, and fruit categories on a continuous basis. What matters is not a list of ingredients — it is understanding what ultra-fine particle processing unlocks in each material class, and why that changes what is possible in the application it is destined for.
Aromatic herbs, resins, roots, and plant-derived bioactive fractions. Ultra-fine particle processing dramatically improves the accessibility of polyphenols, terpenoids, and volatile compounds that conventional processing leaves largely trapped inside plant cell wall structures.
Fresh, dried, and upcycled fruit fractions — including juice and processing industry side streams with significant residual bioactive value. Anthocyanins, ellagitannins, and carotenoid fractions respond strongly to ultra-fine particle processing, with cold-process preservation of oxidation-sensitive pigment fractions critical to outcome quality.
Malt, whole grain fractions, and cereal-derived enzyme systems. Ultra-fine particle processing changes how these materials behave in dough matrices, fermentation systems, and functional food formats — opening new textural, nutritional, and bioactive dimensions that conventional milling cannot reach.
Crustacean shell biomass, microalgae, and coastal botanical matrices — among the most structurally complex and underutilised bioactive sources available. Ultra-fine particle processing unlocks chitin fractions, marine polyphenols, and structurally complex carbohydrates that standard processing cannot efficiently access.
Medicinal and functional fungi with complex cell wall architecture that severely limits bioavailability in conventionally processed form. Ultra-fine particle processing disrupts cell walls mechanically — without heat or solvents — releasing beta-glucan, polysaccharide, and bioactive alkaloid fractions into a form the body can actually use.
UFP500 processes new materials on a continuous basis. The platform expands with every material that moves through it. If the scientific rationale is clear and the application context is a genuine fit, the conversation starts with a feasibility evaluation — not a capability checklist.
UFP500° appears on products built on the ultra-fine particle processing standard documented on this site — cold-process, solvent-free, additive-free, with particle size verified by laser diffraction per reference material. The mark speaks to performance, natural integrity, and clean-label output simultaneously. The science here is what it promises.
Answers to the questions that come up in every early conversation — honest, direct, and without regulatory overreach.
No. UFP500 produces particles in the 1–5 μm range (D50), with D10 below 1 μm and D90 below 10 μm. Nanotechnology is generally defined as particles below 100 nanometres (0.1 μm). UFP500-processed material sits well above that threshold and does not carry the regulatory, toxicological, or safety considerations associated with true nanoparticles. This is an important distinction — and one we take seriously.
Particle size distribution is measured by laser diffraction — the standard analytical method for this size range — and confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) where morphology matters. D10, D50, and D90 values are documented for every reference material. Results are ingredient-specific and vary based on feedstock characteristics and application target.
UFP500 operates as a cold process — no heat is applied, and ambient temperature is maintained throughout. This is critical for enzymatically active materials (myrosinase is denatured above ~60°C), polyphenol-rich fractions (oxidation accelerates with heat), and volatile terpene compounds. Bioactive retention is assessed against incoming material reference values for each ingredient category processed.
No solvents. No additives. No carrier agents. UFP500 is a dry, mechanical process. The output is the input ingredient — at a fundamentally different particle scale. This clean-label characteristic is one of the platform's most commercially relevant properties, particularly for food, supplement, and veterinary applications where label simplicity matters.
It refers to the potential uplift in bioavailable fraction relative to the same ingredient processed conventionally — based on the surface area increase achieved at 1–5 μm particle scale (50–100× surface area increase drives substantially faster dissolution and improved absorption kinetics). The actual improvement observed in any specific application depends on the ingredient, the matrix, the delivery format, and the absorption pathway involved. We report what the physics predicts and what our materials demonstrate — not a universal statement. Application-specific validation is always the right next step.
No — and this is important. Particle size is a proxy for performance, not the end goal. What matters is how the processed material behaves in its intended application: dissolution rate in a liquid matrix, dispersion in a dough, absorption across a mucosal surface, enzymatic activity in a biological system. The optimal particle size for any given application is defined by the science of that application. UFP500 processing parameters are set accordingly — and validated through the application itself, not through particle size alone.
No. UFP500 is a processing platform — it improves how ingredients behave. Health and medical claims are the domain of the specific formulation, the application, and the regulatory framework governing that product in its market. BioFund's own research programmes (SENTINEL, companion animal oncology, circular bioeconomy) generate data that informs those claims through proper scientific process. We describe what the physics does. The biology is for the science to determine.
UFP500 is not an isolated processing technology — it is the operational foundation of BioFund's botanical and nutraceutical research pipeline. The science informing the platform is the same science driving BioFund's therapeutic development work.
Dogs and cats develop spontaneous cancers, osteoarthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, cognitive dysfunction, and metabolic disease with the same underlying biology as their human companions — often in comparable prevalence, in shared environments, exposed to many of the same dietary and environmental pressures. This shared biology is why BioFund's OneHealth methodology treats companion animal health as a research destination in its own right. Oral absorption pharmacokinetics in dogs are well-documented and directly comparable to human data across many compound classes — making them the most scientifically credible, ethically aligned non-rodent model available for botanical bioavailability science. UFP500-processed materials are the formulation core of this pipeline.
Industrial food and aquaculture processing generates enormous volumes of side streams — crustacean shell biomass, fruit and vegetable pomace, grain fractions, seed press cakes — that conventional technology cannot valorize into anything beyond low-grade disposal. UFP500 changes that equation. Ultra-fine particle processing unlocks the bioactive and structural compounds locked inside these complex matrices — chitin fractions, marine polyphenols, carotenoids, enzyme systems — transforming an industry disposal problem into a premium ingredient platform. The environmental and economic logic is the same: the most valuable material is the one already produced.
Professional firefighters carry an IARC Group 1 occupational carcinogen classification — a burden that BioFund believes nutritional science has a meaningful role in addressing. SENTINEL is a long-term development commitment to that science. UFP500-processed botanicals are the formulation core of a cold-formed functional nutrition concept targeting combustion-exposure biomarkers. The formulation follows the science.
Every material processed through UFP500 infrastructure generates a structured dataset — particle size distribution (D10, D50, D90), bioactive retention against incoming reference values, dissolution kinetics, and application-specific behaviour documentation. This body of material science, accumulated across botanical, fungal, marine, cereal, and fruit categories, is what the UFP Atlas is built from. Not a product catalogue — a living scientific dataset that makes feasibility evaluation faster, cross-material learning computable, and the platform's depth verifiable.
Every mechanism and material statement on this site is grounded in peer-reviewed literature. The references below are organized by topic. A full independent fact-check of all ufp500.org content is available as a linked document.
A systematic independent fact-check of all ufp500.org content is available as a complete reference document.