Organic compounds -- part of the class 532-570 series – Organic compounds – Carbohydrates or derivatives
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-30
2004-05-11
Wilson, James O. (Department: 1623)
Organic compounds -- part of the class 532-570 series
Organic compounds
Carbohydrates or derivatives
C536S056000, C510S470000, C510S471000, C510S473000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06734299
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a material comprising a benefit agent and a deposition aid for deposition of the benefit agent onto a substrate. It further relates to a method of depositing a benefit agent from solution or dispersion, onto a substrate.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The deposition of a benefit agent onto a substrate, such as a fabric, is well known in the art. In laundry applications typical “benefit agents” include fabric softeners and conditioners, soil release polymers, sunscreens; and the like. Deposition of a benefit agent is used, for example, in fabric treatment processes such as fabric softening to impart desirable properties to the fabric substrate.
Conventionally the deposition of the benefit agent may rely upon the attractive forces between the oppositely charged substrate and the benefit agent. Typically this requires the addition of benefit agents during the rinsing step of a treatment process so as to avoid adverse effects from other charged chemical species present in the treatment compositions. For example, cationic fabric conditioners are incompatible with anionic surfactants in laundry washing compositions.
Such adverse charge considerations can place severe limitations upon the inclusion of benefit agents in compositions where an active component thereof is of an opposite charge to that of the benefit agent. For example, cotton is negatively charged and thus requires a positively charged benefit agent in order for the benefit agent to be substantive to the cotton, i.e. to have an affinity for the cotton so as to absorb onto it. Often the substantivity of the benefit agent is reduced and/or the deposition rate of the material is reduced because of the presence of incompatible charged species in the compositions.
The deterging nature of laundry wash compositions also places severe limitations upon the inclusion of neutral but hydrophobic or oily benefit agents which are not effectively deposited in the presence of surfactant.
Alternatively, when deposition of a conventional benefit agent is effected by mechanisms that do not rely upon charge interaction but upon other non-covalent forces, for example soil release polymers, other problems may occur, namely where interaction of an anionic surfactant with the benefit agent can also make the material so negatively charged and/or soluble as to overcome the other attractive interactions.
Furthermore, there is frequently another complication in achieving optimum deposition of a benefit agent onto a substrate, in that, the need for solubility of the benefit agent in the medium used to treat the substrate is in principle, incompatible with the requirement for the benefit agent to deposit/adsorb onto the substrate.
The present invention is directed towards materials for solving one or more of the above problems.
WO-A-98/00500 discloses detergent compositions comprising a peptide or protein deposition aid having a high affinity for fibres or a surface, and a benefit agent attached/adsorbed to the deposition aid. However, this deposition aid does not change chemically such as to increase its affinity for the substrate during the treatment process.
The present invention relates to materials for achieving initial solubility or dispersibility in the medium used to treat the substrate and effective deposition of one or more benefit-endowing groups thereon.
GB-A-1 031 484 discloses stable aqueous dispersions of elastic copolymers which can be converted to cross-linked polymers by the action of heat or acid. They can be used to produce films or covering layers. However, none of the compounds has a benefit agent attached to the deposition enhancing part. There is no disclosure of using these materials in methods of laundry or fabric care.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,760 discloses a process of fabric washing in which a dye redeposition inhibiting agent is used. The dye redeposition inhibiting polymer used is of a specific type, being produced by polymerising, for example, vinylester monomers. There is not any mention of materials having any surface substantive properties nor is there a description of any reaction by which such surface substantive properties increase during use.
WO-A-92/13114 discloses hair fixative polymers which form a film after application. The polymers are fundamentally different from those of the present invention in that they do not comprise a deposition part attached to a benefit agent. The polymeric material has no particular affinity for hair—it is just applied onto it. There is certainly no mention of a reaction which increases the affinity. Any reaction which occurs leads to the cross-linking of polymer and the formation of film. It is not disclosed that the polymers should be water-soluble of dispersible—they are normally dissolved in an inert carrier such as alcohol.
WO-A-95/35087 discloses a hair fixative amphoteric polymer composition. It is insoluble in water but can be solubilised by use of neutralisers or solubilising alcohol/water mixtures. The polymers do not to undergo any reaction which increases their affinity for hair. There is no benefit agent attached to the polymer.
WO-A-98/29528 discloses cellulose ethers in which some substituents are (poly)alkoxylated, analogues of the latter in which the (poly)alkoxylated groups are terminated with a cationic moiety in the form of a quaternary ammonium group, and cellulose ethers in which some substituents are carboxylic acids in the salt form (i.e. the materials are essentially carboxymethylcellulose variants). None of these substituents in any variant is of a kind which would undergo a chemical change to enhance fabric affinity.
WO-A-99/14245 discloses laundry detergent compositions containing cellulosic based polymers to provide appearance and integrity benefits to fabrics. These polymers are cellulosic polymers in which the saccharide rings have pendant oxygen atoms to which substituents ‘R’ are bonded, i.e. they are attached to the rings via an ether linkage. The groups ‘R’ can be hydrogen, lower alkyl or alkylene linkages terminated by carboxylic acid, ester or amide groups. Optionally, up to five alkyleneoxy groups may be interspersed between the groups are the respective oxygen atom. None of the pendant groups is a benefit agent group. However, at least some of these groups may undergo a chemical change such as hydrolysis, in the wash liquor. However no such change would result in an increased affinity for the fabric. On the contrary, because the “ester” group is configured with the carbonyl group closer to the polysaccharide than the oxygen atom (i.e. esters of carboxyalkyl groups), any hydrolysis will result in free acid substituents which will actually result in an increase in solubility and therefore, a decrease in affinity for the fabric.
WO-A-99/14295 discloses structures analogous to those described in WO-A-99/14245 but in one alternative, the substituents ‘R’ together with the oxygen on the saccharide ring, constitute pendant half-esters of certain dicarboxylic acids. A single example of such a material is given. Again, no pendant group is a benefit agent group. However, the dicarboxylic acid half-esters would tend to hydrolyse in the wash liquor and thereby increase affinity of the material for a cotton fabric. However, first, this mechanism of action or behaviour is not mentioned. Second, the hydrolysis rate of such dicarboxylic acids half esters is not as great as that of esters of monocarboxylic acids (which are not disclosed or claimed in WO-A-99/14295). Third, the degree of substitution for this variant is specified as being from 0.001 to 0.1. This is so low as to make the enhancement of fabric affinity too low to be worthwhile for this mechanism of action. Fourth, the structures described and claimed insofar as they have such half ester substituents, must also have substituents of the type which are carboxyalkyl groups or esters thereof, i.e. of the type also described in WO-A-99/14245. In the latter (ester) case, these would hydrolyse to the free acid form. The degree of substitution of the latter (0.2
Clark Judith Mary
Hopkinson Andrew
Jones Christopher Clarkson
Khoshdel Ezat
Bornstein Alan A.
Krishnan Ganapathy
Unilever Home & Personal Care USA , division of Conopco, Inc.
Wilson James O.
LandOfFree
Treatment for substrates does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Treatment for substrates, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Treatment for substrates will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3259140