This technology is a modified polymer for the removal of both grease and non-grease stains.
Current methods for removing oily stains involve incorporating the oily stains into surfactant micelles to solubilize the insoluble substance. Since solubilizing the oily stains requires micelles or similar supramolecular structures, the concentration of the surfactant in water must exceed the critical micelle concentration, even after the adsorption of the surfactant on the fabric has taken place. Calculations have shown that the concentrations of surfactants used in practical laundering do not exceed micelles the critical micelle concentration to solubilize oily stains. Consequently, it is difficult for a currently available general heavy-duty liquid (HDL) formulation to remove all types of undesirable materials from different substrates.
This technology provides a hydrophobically modified polymer as an additive to HDL detergents. The polymer poly(maleic acid/vinyl octyl ether) (PMAOVE) generates nanodomains to encapsulate and solubilize the hydrophobic stain. As a result, the hydrophobically modified polymer exhibits the behavior of both polymers as well as surfactants, enabling it act as a stain specific surfactant capable of effectively solubilizing oily stains.
This technology has been validated using oleic acid stains.
Ponisseril Somasundaran, Ph.D.
IR M08-080
Licensing Contact: Richard Nguyen