Compositions – Compositions containing a single chemical reactant or plural... – Organic reactant
Patent
1992-07-02
1995-09-05
Lieberman, Paul
Compositions
Compositions containing a single chemical reactant or plural...
Organic reactant
25217412, 252DIG12, 252DIG14, 252DIG19, 435188, 435198, C11D 3386, C11D 318
Patent
active
054476496
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a lipase containing liquid pre-spotter and to a use of such pre-spotter.
In relation to washing processes it is described that fat or oil stains, which are difficult to remove, can be treated with a lipase containing liquid pre-spotter, which is applied directly to the stain before the washing process. However, to the best of our knowledge no lipase containing pre-spotter is commercialized, probably due to lipase stability or performance problems. It is further described that the thus treated laundry is subsequently washed, usually at relatively low temperature, normally after a short period of time. It is one of the advantages by using a lipase containing pre-spotter that the subsequent washing process can be carried out at relatively low temperature, i.e. below around 60.degree. C. If no lipase containing pre-spotter is used, usually the washing process will have to be carried out at around 100.degree. C. and at high alkalinity in order to have the fat or oil stains removed effectively, but even under these conditions, i.e. at around 100.degree. C. and at high alkalinity, some obstinate fat or oil stains cannot be removed. Reference can be made to EP 177 183, which describes special lipase containing pre-spotters in which the enzymes are encapsulated in reversed micelles. It has been found that the fat and oil removing effect of the prior art lipase containing pre-spotters and the lipase stability in the prior art lipase containing pre-spotters are open to improvement.
Thus the purpose of the invention is the provision of a simple lipase containing liquid pro-spotter, which exhibits an improved fat and oil removing effect and an improved lipase stability.
The lipase containing and surfactant free liquid pre-spotter according to the invention comprises a liquid mixture of an alcohol and water, with an alcohol content above 20% by weight, and an effective amount of lipase, whereby the balance is water. It should be noted that the pre-spotter according to the invention does not contain any surfactant, and thus exhibits a simple composition, in spite of the fact that the pre-spotter according to the invention is very effective, as demonstrated in the following examples.
In this specification with claims the term alcohol comprises both monovalent alcohols like ethanol and polyvalent alcohols (polyols) like propylene glycol. If the alcohol content is below 10% by weight, the effect and the stability of the lipase tend to be unsatisfactory.
The term "an effective amount of lipase" means an amount, which is able to remove fat and oil stains effectively, when evaluated by swatch tests described later in this specification. It is intended that all lipases can be used in the pre-spotter according to the invention. Reference can be made to Research Disclosure June 1988, No. 290, 29056.
DE patent no. 3 003 766 describes a lipase containing liquid pre-spotter which besides an alkanolamine contains at least 10% of a surfactant. This is a typical example of an aqueous, enzyme containing pre-spotter, as this kind of prior art pre-spotter all contain a surfactant. The pre-spotter according to the invention, however, is surfactant free and does not need to contain alkalolamine. The effect of the pre-spotter according to the invention is as good as or better than the known surfactant containing pre-spotter and the pro-spotter according to the invention is cheaper than the prior art pre-spotters, because the pre-spotter according to the invention does not contain the relatively expensive surfactant.
In a preferred embodiment of the pro-spotter according to the invention the pre-spotter further comprises a lipase stabilizer. Examples of suitable lipase stabilizers are CaCl.sub.2 (e.g. 0.1-0.5%) or a protease inhibitor (such as borate and formate).
In a preferred embodiment of the pro-spotter according to the invention the alcohol is a mono- or polyvalent alcohol with 2-3 carbon atoms, preferably ethanol, propylene glycol, glycerol or a mixture of two or more of these. It has been found that the fat an
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Fries Kery
Lambiris Elias J.
Lieberman Paul
Novo Nordisk A S
Zelson Steve T.
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