76 results about "Hydrophobic matrix" patented technology

The invention provides an implantable membrane for regulating the transport of analytes therethrough that includes a matrix including a first polymer; and a second polymer dispersed throughout the matrix, wherein the second polymer forms a network of microdomains which when hydrated are not observable using photomicroscopy at 400× magnification or less. In one aspect, the homogeneous membrane of the present invention has hydrophilic domains dispersed substantially throughout a hydrophobic matrix to provide an optimum balance between oxygen and glucose transport to an electrochemical glucose sensor.

The present invention relates to an improved controlled delivery system that can be incorporated in soap bars to enhance deposition of active ingredients and sensory markers onto skin. The carrier system also provides controlled release or prolonged release of these actives from the skin over an extended period of time. The controlled delivery system of the present invention comprises substantially free-flowing, powder formed of solid hydrophobic, positively charged, nanospheres of encapsulated active ingredients, that are encapsulated in moisture sensitive microspheres. The high cationic charge density of the nanosphere improves deposition of active ingredients onto skin. The high cationic charge density on the nanosphere surface is created by incorporating a cationic conditioning agent into the solid hydrophobic matrix of the nanospheres, by incorporating a cationic charge “booster” in the moisture sensitive microsphere matrix, or by using a cationic conditioning agent in the nanosphere matrix in conjunction with a cationic charge “booster” in the microsphere matrix. The invention also pertains to soap products comprising the controlled release system of the present invention.

Pharmaceutical formulations and methods are provided for the sustained delivery of a pharmaceutical agent to a patient by injection. The injectable formulation includes porous microparticles which comprise a pharmaceutical agent and a matrix material, wherein upon injection of the formulation a therapeutically or prophylactically effective amount of the pharmaceutical agent is released from the microparticles for at least 24 hours. A method for making the injectable, sustained release pharmaceutical formulation may include dissolving a hydrophobic matrix material in a volatile solvent to form a first solution; adding a pharmaceutical agent to the first solution to form an emulsion, suspension, or second solution; and removing the volatile solvent from the emulsion, suspension, or second solution to yield porous microparticles which comprise the pharmaceutical agent dispersed, entrapped or encapsulated within the structure of the hydrophobic matrix material.

A polymeric membrane for separating oil from water has a pore size of 0.005 [mu]m to 5 [mu]m, a thickness of 50 [mu]m to 1,000 [mu]m, a water contact angle of 0 DEG C to 60 DEG C, an oil contact angle of 40 DEG C to 100 DEG C. The membrane contains a hydrophobic matrix polymer and a functional polymer that contains a hydrophobic backbone and side chains. The side chains each have an oleophobic terminal segment and a hydrophilic internal segment. The weight ratio of the matrix polymer to the functional polymer is 99:1 to 1:9. Also disclosed is a method of making the above described membrane.

A novel miniaturized and highly automated method for the controlled printing of large arrays of nano- to femtoliter droplets is presented by actively transporting mother droplets over hydrophilic-in-hydrophobic micropatches. The proposed technology consists of single plate or double-plate devices where mother droplets can be actuated and hydrophilic-in-hydrophobic micropatches on one or both plates of the device where nano- to femtoliter droplets are printed. Due to the selective wettability of the more wettable hydrophilic micropatches in a hydrophobic matrix, large nano- to femtoliter droplet arrays are created when mother droplets are transported over these arrays. The parent droplets can be moved by different droplet actuation principles, for example, by using the principle of electrowetting-on-dielectric droplet actuation. We propose another method that uses two plates that are placed on top of each other while being separated by a spacer. One plate is dedicated to confirming and guiding of parent droplets by using hydrophilic patches in a hydrophobic matrix, while the other plate contains hydrophilic-in-hydrophobic arrays dedicated to the printing of nano- to femtoliter droplets. When the plate dedicated to parent droplet guiding is rotated over the plate dedicated to printing of nano- to femtoliter droplets, nano- to femtoliter droplets are dispensed inside the hydrophilic-in-hydrophobic array due to their selective wettability. All these proposed methods allow the parent droplets to be moved over the hydrophilic-in-hydrophobic arrays many times, providing unique advantages for performing bio-assays or miniaturized materials synthesis in nano- to femtoliter sized droplets. Upon the controlled evaporation of the dispensed droplets of solution, large arrays of the printed material can be generated on an automated way in seconds of time on a very flexible way. The method disclosed herein provides a distinct nano- to femtoliter droplet printing technique for a wide variety of applications such as protein- or cell-based bio-assays or printing of crystalline structures, suspensions of nanoparticles or components for microelectronics.