Insect Repellent-Polymer Gel for Extended Efficacy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing insect repellent materials face challenges such as short efficacy times due to evaporation, phase separation between insect repellents and polymers, and high processing temperatures that lead to vaporization and loss of insect repellents.
Innovation Solution
A composition comprising an insect repellent compound and a polymer that is miscible with the insect repellent at 23°C, allowing for high loading of insect repellent and formation of physical gels through simple dissolution methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If traditional aerosol sprays or topical lotions are used for outdoor protection, then application is simple, but efficacy time is short due to evaporation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a porous polymer matrix that physically entraps the insect repellent substrate, allowing controlled release while preventing rapid evaporation. The porous structure provides high surface area for repellent loading while the polymer network restricts molecular mobility, extending efficacy duration.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite material system combining polymer matrix with insect repellent substrate. This composite approach allows the polymer to provide structural integrity and controlled release properties while the repellent provides the active protective function, resolving the contradiction between simple application and extended efficacy.
2Duration of action of moving object
If insect repellent is physically entrapped in polymeric material to increase efficacy time, then duration of protection is extended, but processing requires high temperatures that cause vaporization and loss of insect repellent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs low-temperature processing methods to form the polymer-insect repellent composite, avoiding the high temperatures that cause vaporization. By changing the processing temperature parameter from traditional high-temperature curing to low-temperature formation, the invention preserves the insect repellent substrate while achieving effective entrapment and extended release.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces thermal processing mechanisms with alternative formation methods that do not rely on high-temperature curing or crosslinking. This substitution allows the polymer matrix to be formed at temperatures below the flash point of the insect repellent, preventing vaporization loss during manufacturing.
3Quantity of substance
If high insect repellent loading is achieved in polymer systems, then repellency is enhanced, but phase separation occurs between insect repellent and polymer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses carefully selected polymer matrices that act as compatible intermediaries between the insect repellent substrate and the final product. The polymer chemistry is designed to be miscible with the repellent at processing temperatures while providing physical entrapment at use conditions, preventing phase separation even at high loading concentrations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention achieves homogeneous distribution of insect repellent throughout the polymer matrix by selecting polymers with compatible chemical properties and using low-temperature processing. This homogeneity prevents phase separation and ensures uniform repellent release, maintaining both high loading and compositional stability.
4Ease of manufacture
If polymer melting is used to process insect repellent-infused materials, then product formation is achieved, but high temperatures cause vaporization and safety concerns
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of melting the polymer and then adding the insect repellent (traditional approach), the invention inverts the sequence by first incorporating the insect repellent into the polymer matrix at low temperatures, then forming the final product. This inversion allows product formation without exposing the repellent to high temperatures, eliminating vaporization risks while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
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
The solution achieves significant improvements in insect repellent loading, reduces processing temperatures, and extends the duration of insect repellent release, providing long-term protection against biting arthropods.
Implementation Method 1
a polymer that is miscible in the insect repellent compound at 23° C.
Implementation Method 2
The insect repellent loading in a physical gel is maximized if the repellent acts as the gelling solvent. Therefore, the polymer and insect repellent must be miscible with one another.
Implementation Method 3
Physical gels are a miscible polymer and solvent system that exhibit a storage modulus greater than its loss modulus (G′′/G′=tan(δ)≤1) at a frequency of 1 Hz.
Implementation Method 4
Physical gels are a miscible polymer and solvent system that exhibit a storage modulus greater than its loss modulus
Implementation Method 5
Physical gels give the added benefit of thermos-reversal properties through the formation and deformation of microcrystals at polymer chain entanglement junctions.
Implementation Method 6
thermos-reversal properties through the formation and deformation of microcrystals at polymer chain entanglement junctions
Implementation Method 7
Passively-controlled substrate release has most commonly been investigated for in vivo drug delivery systems through gelled polymer morphologies.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a composition having an insect repellent compound and a polymer that is miscible in the insect repellent compound at 23° C. Also disclosed herein is a method of: providing an insect repellent compound, providing a polymer that is miscible in the insect repellent compound at 23° C., and dissolving the polymer in the insect repellent compound to form a composition.