Ordered colloids
OwnerGarry Maskaly, Yet-Ming Chiang +1inventors
InventorsGarry Maskaly, Yet-Ming Chiang, W. Carter
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Abstract
Ordered colloids are rapidly formed by dialysis and exhibit unusual levels of shock resistance. Ordered colloids may be used to form a “fingerprint” optical diffraction pattern for security marking, and may also be used for freshness dating by controlling the timing of the formation or loss of order. The ordered colloids may be biocompatible, and may be directly incorporated into foods, drugs, or other ingestible substances, or they may be incorporated into distinctive packaging.
Claims41
A method of preparing ordered colloids, comprising:
- placing a suspension of particles in a dialysis bag;
- immersing the dialysis bag in a solution having a selected salt concentration;
- and
- allowing the particles to self-assemble into an ordered colloid.
A method of identifying an object, comprising:
- associating with the object to be identified an ordered colloid solution having a known particle concentration and salt concentration;
- and
- measuring an optical diffraction pattern or a diffracted beam from the ordered colloid solution.
A method of determining the freshness of an item, comprising:
- associating a colloidal solution having a known particle concentration and salt concentration with the item;
- and
- visually monitoring the colloidal solution for changes indicative of a change of order, said change of order being indicative of loss of freshness.
An ordered colloid solution, comprising a predetermined volume fraction of particles in colloidal solution arranged in a periodic crystalline lattice structure, wherein the ordered colloid is stable for a predetermined period of time at a predetermined temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.