Cationic Laundry Deposition Polymer for Fabric Care Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fabric care benefit agents in laundry products suffer from inadequate delivery efficiency due to repulsive forces with anionic fibers, leading to limited benefits such as mechanical and chemical damage to textiles.
Innovation Solution
A deposition aid polymer with specific structural units and molecular weight, balancing cationic charge, is used to enhance the delivery efficiency of fabric care benefit agents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fabric care benefit agents are made anionic or nonionic to avoid interaction with anionic surfactants, then cleaning compatibility is improved, but delivery efficiency to fabrics deteriorates due to repulsive forces with anionic fibers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cationic polymer as a mediator between the anionic surfactant system and the anionic fabric fibers. This cationic polymer acts as a delivery vehicle that can approach the negatively charged fabric surface (attracted by electrostatic forces), adsorb the fabric care benefit agents onto itself, and subsequently transfer them to the fabric. The cationic polymer thus serves as an intermediary that overcomes the repulsive force barrier without requiring the fabric care benefit agents themselves to be cationic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the charge parameter of the delivery vehicle (polymer) rather than changing the charge parameter of the fabric care benefit agents. By using a cationic polymer with sufficient molecular weight and specific structural units, the system enables effective delivery while maintaining the original charge characteristics of the fabric care benefit agents, thereby preserving their compatibility with anionic surfactants.
2Device complexity
If conventional fabric care benefit agents are used without deposition aid, then formulation simplicity is maintained, but deposition efficiency remains poor due to lack of attractive forces with fabric
Solution Approach 1:
The cationic polymer serves as an intermediary carrier that bridges the gap between hydrophobic fabric care benefit agents and anionic fabric surfaces. The polymer's cationic charge enables it to be attracted to negatively charged fabric, while its hydrophobic regions can interact with and transport hydrophobic care agents, solving the deposition efficiency problem without fundamentally complicating the overall formulation approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite delivery system where the cationic polymer combines different functional characteristics: cationic charge for fabric attraction, appropriate molecular weight for stability and delivery, and structural units that can interact with various fabric care benefit agents. This composite structure enables multifunctional performance that overcomes the limitations of simple conventional agents.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Significantly increases the deposition efficiency of fabric care benefit agents, reducing mechanical and chemical damage to textiles.
Implementation Method 1
Given that most fibers used in fabric (e.g., cotton, wool, silk and nylon) carry a slightly anionic charge in the laundry solution, there exist repulsive forces between the fabric care benefit agents and the fabric leading to the noted poor delivery efficiency. A deposition aid polymer for laundry, comprising: (a) 82 to 96 wt%, based on weight of the deposition aid polymer, of structural units of formula (I) wherein each R1
Data Source
AI summary
A deposition aid polymer for laundry is provided, comprising >50 to 99 wt% of structural units of formula (I) wherein R1 is selected from hydrogen, -C1-4 alkyl and -CH2OR3; wherein R3 is selected from -C1-12 alkyl and phenyl; and 1 to < 50 wt% of structural units of formula (II) wherein R2 is selected from a moiety of Formula (III), a moiety of Formula (IV) and a moiety of Formula (V) wherein A- is a counter anion balancing the cationic charge on the N; wherein R4 is selected from hydrogen, -C1-12 alkyl and phenyl; and wherein R5 is selected from hydrogen and -C1-8 alkyl; wherein the deposition aid polymer has a weight average molecular weight of < 100,000 Daltons; and with the proviso that the deposition aid polymer has an average of at least two structural units of formula (II) per molecule.