Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification – Cleaning or laundering
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-04
2004-08-24
Einsmann, Margaret (Department: 1751)
Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification
Cleaning or laundering
C008S401000, C008S921000, C008S922000, C008S924000, C008S926000, C008S927000, C008S529000, C435S236000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06780202
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/335,691 filed Oct. 2, 2001, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to enzymatic methods and compositions for removing excess dye from dyed or printed materials, such as textiles, and to enzymatic methods and compositions for dyeing such materials.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A major problem involved with the use of disperse dyes for dyeing or printing of textile materials made from polyester fibers, polyester-containing blends and other fibers and fiber blends, is the tendency of these dyes to aggregate and deposit on the surface of the dyed or printed material. As a result of this residual dye formation, washfastness and wetfastness of the textile material is negatively affected, that is, the unintentional staining of other materials resulting from dyes that migrate from a dyed or printed fabric to another fabric during washing or wetting, often seen when white laundry becomes colored during washing. In addition to washfastness and wetfastness, residual dyes can also undermine the brightness of a shade as well as affect sublimation and crockfastness results of the dyed or printed material.
In order to improve the quality of textile materials, textile manufactures can select dyes that migrate as little as possible during washing. Alternatively, or in addition, textile manufactures can remove excess disperse dyes from newly prepared textiles in post-clearing or after-clearing processes. Traditional after-clearing processes involve repeated water rinses and/or chemical treatments, such as, reduction clearing processes, in which a dyed or printed fiber is treated with a strong alkaline reducing bath, usually containing sodium hydrosulfite and caustic soda. Reduction clearing processes, however, require high temperatures and alkaline conditions, which may damage the fabric and are expensive and time consuming to carry out.
Improvements in removing excess dye from dyed or printed materials, such as textile materials, are therefore desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One aspect of the present invention relates to methods and compositions for removing excess dyes, such as poorly soluble disperse dyes, that aggregate and deposit on the surfaces of dyed and/or printed materials. In accordance with the present invention, improvements to dyed and/or printed materials are obtained by treating a dyed and/or printed material, such as textile materials, paper materials, and films, with an esterase. Improvements resulting form the esterase treatment include, for example, improvements in washfastness, wetfastness, crockfastness, sublimation, and/or color quality (such as, for example, brightness) of dyed and/or printed materials.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to methods for printing or dyeing materials, such as textile materials, paper materials, and films. In accordance with this aspect of the present invention, a material is dyed or printed by dyeing and/or printing the material with a combination of a dye that is affected by esterase treatment and a dye that is not affected by esterase treatment, and after dyeing or printing the material, treating the material with an esterase. In an embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, a dye that is affected by esterase treatment, such as a disperse dye, can be used as a ground shade for a textile material, in combination with a dye, such as an illuminating dye, that is not affected by esterase treatment.
Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to methods for printing or dyeing materials, such as textile materials, paper materials, and films. In accordance with this aspect of the present invention, a combination of materials is dyed or printed by dyeing and/or printing the combination of materials (such as a fiber blend) with a dye that is affected by esterase treatment. In an embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, a dye that is affected by esterase treatment, such as a disperse dye, dyes one portion of the material in the combination, such as polyester, and subsequent to esterase treatment, which in this embodiment changes the affinity characteristics of the dye, the esterase modified residual dye dyes another portion of the material in the combination, such as wool, by virtue of the new affinity characteristics of the modified residual dye. In an embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, two materials with different dyeing properties, such as polyester and wool, are dyed with at least one dye whose affinity characteristics, such as hydrophobic versus ionic, are modified during the dyeing process by treatment with an esterase.
Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to dyed or printed materials, such as, for example, textile materials, paper materials and films prepared by the methods of the present invention.
Although not limited to any one theory of operation, the enzymatic treatment of dyed and/or printed materials according to the present invention is believed to improve the solubility of poorly soluble dyes and/or to decrease the affinity of dyes for materials, thereby improving the removal of excess dyes that aggregate and deposit on the surface of dyed and/or printed materials. In preferred embodiments, the methods of the present invention can eliminate the need for expensive and harsh chemical after-clearing processes, such as the use of heavy metal salts, and significantly reduce water usage.
DETAILED SPECIFICATION OF THE INVENTION
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, excess dye can be removed from dyed or printed materials, such as textile materials, paper materials or films, by treating the printed or dyed material with at least one esterase. Textile materials include, for example, fabrics, yarn, fiber, and garments. The textile materials can be made from synthetic materials, and blends of natural and synthetic materials. Preferably, blends of natural and synthetic materials comprise at least 20%, more preferably at least 40%, even more preferably at least 60%, most preferably at least 80%, and in particular at least 95% of a synthetic material. Examples of synthetic materials, include, for example, modified cellulose (e.g. acetate, diacetate and triacetate), polyamide (e.g. nylon 6 and 6,6), polyester (e.g., poly(ethylene terephthalate)), acrylic/polyacrylic, and polyurethane (e.g., spandex). Examples of natural materials, include, for example, regenerated cellulosics (e.g., rayon), solvent spun cellulosics (e.g., lyocel and tencel), natural cellulosics (e.g., cotton, flax, linen, and ramie) and proteins (e.g., wool and silk). The term “synthetic” as used herein is intended to mean non-naturally occurring or man-made. Films include synthetic films, such as films made of polymers, such as, modified cellulose, polyamide, polyethylene and polypropylene. Paper materials include paper made from natural and synthetic materials.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is used to remove dyes and dye intermediates, which contain at least one ester chemical group and can be hydrolyzed by an esterase. Generally, after dyeing or printing a material, such as a textile material, excess dye is present as an aggregate or deposit on the surface of the dyed and/or printed material. The methods of the present invention can be used to remove this excess dye. Dye present inside the material, such as inside a textile material, is protected or generally protected from the enzyme treatment process. Although not limited to any one theory of operation, it is believed that esterase treatment of dyed and/or printed material results in removal of excess dye by improving the solubility of the dye and/or reducing the affinity of the dye for the material in accordance with or similar to the following non-limiting reaction scheme:
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is directed to the use of esterases to remove excess disperse dyes from dyed and/or printed materials. Disperse dyes are typicall
Salmon Sonja
Shi Caroline
Xu Hui
Einsmann Margaret
Lambalris Elias J.
Novoymes North America, Inc.
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