Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting – deodorizing – preser – Process disinfecting – preserving – deodorizing – or sterilizing – Deodorizing
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-27
2002-12-17
McKane, Elizabeth (Department: 1744)
Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser
Process disinfecting, preserving, deodorizing, or sterilizing
Deodorizing
C422S120000, C424S076210, C424S076400, C424S076600, C424S076800, C424S065000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06495097
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a composition and method for using the composition to neutralize or reduce malodors and bad tastes. More particularly, the present invention is directed to the use of undecylenic acid, its esters and/or salts, with fragrance and flavor components, and in products containing same to provide for odor neutralization of undesired aromas and tastes while maintaining the effect of the fragrance and flavor components. The composition of the present invention comprises undecylenic acid, its esters and/or salts with desirable fragrances and flavors at such concentrations that scavenging of the desirable volatilized fragrance and flavor components are minimized while maintaining an effective scavenging activity for undesired aromas and tastes. The present invention finds application in a wide variety of products such as, but not limited to, fabric and linen spray, candles, carpet deodorizer, hand sanitizer gels, room sprays and oral care products such as dentrifrices and mouth washes.
BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED ART
Fragrances and flavors are often used to provide sensory aesthetic benefits. Release of a particular fragrance and/or flavor from a composition can serve as a signal that the composition is not fouled or ineffective, or may be associated with particular attributes such as a strength, cleanliness and usefulness. Fragrances and flavors are added to numerous consumer products to provide sensory signals indicating the quality and worth of the product.
The practical use of a composition may be limited due to fouling of the composition with undesirable contaminants, break-down products, or other materials which produce undesired aromas and tastes (“malsensory agents”). While prevention of the formation of malsensory agents may be deemed preferable, and may be practicable in certain circumstances, such as when antibacterial or antifungal agents are used to reduce the number of microorganisms which excrete malsensory agents, often it is not possible to prevent fouling of a composition used in an environment exposed to malsensory agents.
Undesired aromas and tastes in a composition may be ameliorated by chemical modification of the malsensory agent (e.g., by reacting it with reactant so as to produce a new composition, such as an adduct or further breakdown product which lacks an undesired aroma and/or taste), reducing the release of the malsensory agent from the composition (as by absorption and/or adsorption of the malsensory agent onto another compound such as charcoal or zeolites), reducing the vapor pressure of the malsensory agent (making it less volatile), or by removal of the malsensory agent from the composition (as by solvent extraction). Undesired aromas and tastes may also be ameliorated by judicious use of fragrances and/or flavors in amounts sufficient to mask the malsensory agent.
Numerous compounds, which range from non-descript plant extracts to single and multiple chemical entities, have been touted to reduce the sensory perception of malodors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,005 to Fry et al. discloses the use of chlorophyll to remove the smell from used cat litter, while U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,727 discloses a deodorant consisting of deodorizing ingredients extracted from plants said to be useful for a wide variety of smells including sulfur and nitrogen compound odors.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,986 to Kobayashi et al., discloses compounds useful as deodorants including water-soluble organic polymers having an average molecular weight of at least 100,000.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,207 to Ueda et al. discloses a mixture of an undecylenic acid anhydride with a copper compound.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,091,511 to Calhoun discloses a salicylic undecylenic acid ester of phenol and p-acetylaminophenol.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,887 to Wolf et al., discloses &OHgr;-alkanedicarboxylic acids and moncarboxylie acid-esters of oligoglycerols as useful in reducing body odor, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,165 to Pilosof et al. discloses beta-cyclodextrin as a deodorant.
Among the many compounds said to have deodorizing activity are undecylenic acid and its derivatives. Undecylenic acid (C
11
H
20
O
3
) is a naturally occurring acid found in tears and sweat. It is commonly derived from cracking C
18
, often derived from castor oil, into C
7
and C
11
(where C
11
is known as undecylenic acid or undecanoic acid).
Undecylenic acid and its derivatives display interesting biological profiles which have been used in such diverse products as pediculicides (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,116) and wild game repellants (to protect against the damage of crops—See, e.g., DE-A-1,792,467). Initially undecylenic acid was proposed as a deodorizing agent based on its bacteriostat (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,875) and fungistat activities (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,882,868, 3,899,616 and 4,462,981) where bacterial and fungal break-down products are frequently malsensory in nature. Later it was recognized that undecylenic acid, and a number of its derivatives are effective deodorizing agents in and of themselves.
Undecylenic acid has been used as deodorant in several products, including animal litter boxes (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,919 which discloses the use of undecylenic acid in a flexible absorbent pad for use in animal litter boxes). It has also been used in conjunction with other deodorizing agents to enhance deodorization. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,103 discloses undecylenic acid, among many other compounds, to be useful in combination with an aluminometasilicate coated composite to provide an improved deodorant for refrigerators, garbage cans, automobiles, leather insole for shoes, paper diapers, menstrual products and general in-room use.
Ester derivatives of undecylenic acid, in particular, have been found to possess significant deodorizing activity. Polyoxyalkylene and simple alkyl esters of undecylenic acid have been found to be quite useful in the treatment of animal excreta. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,783 discloses the use of polyoxyalkylene esters of undecylenic acid as useful for the deodorization of liquid manures, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,511 discloses the use of alkyl and polyoxyalkylene ester derivatives of undecylenic acid at a concentration on the order of 0.01% to 5% by weight as useful in the deodorization of sewage sludges. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,947 disclosing the use of undecyleneic acid, its esters and its polyoxyalkylenated esters in conjunction with superphosphates in the deodorization of animal excreta. Such ester derivatives have also found use in the deodorization of paper mill effluents (See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,641), the removal of odors from malodorous animal foodstuffs (See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,090 and EP-0-434-524 which disclose deodorization with an alkyl or polyoxyalkylene ester of undecylenic acid, and its methyl, propyl, hexyl and decyl ester derivatives), and the deodorization of paper products, cardboards and non-woven material, such as found in filters, vacuum cleaner bags, nappies and air freshener diffusers (See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,460). Use of undecylenic acid ester derivatives in conjunction with polyetheresteramide polymers as deodorants is also disclosed in European Patent Application Publication No. 0 596 772.
It is believed that undecylenic acid, and its derivatives, deodorize by forming an extended conjugated system that reduce the vaporization of malsensory agents thereby reducing the density of such agents in the gaseous phase by amounts detectable by the human olfactory receptors. This can be confirmed as shown by a decrease of the density of the agents in the gaseous phase by sophisticated analytical techniques, including gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. It was generally believed that intimate contact created for example, by physical mixing or spraying between the undecylenic acid, or its derivatives, and the malodor producing agent is necessary in order for a reduction in malodor to occur.
The deodorizing action of undecylenic acid and its ester derivatives appears to be indepen
Hayes Harry
Mudge Grant
Streit Allan L.
McKane Elizabeth
Shaw Mildge & Company
St. Onge Steward Johnston & Reens LLC
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