Aqueous based process to fabricate nanostructured block copolymer films
AssigneeThe Governing Council of the University of Toronto
InventorsNikhil A. Gunari, Gilbert C. Walker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention provides a method to transfer block copolymers from water immiscible organic phase to aqueous phase using a phase transfer agent. At higher concentrations, micellar networks of the block copolymers were obtained in the aqueous solution that can be coated onto a variety of substrates. Block copolymer films showed very good antifouling properties. The phase transferred block copolymers can be used to synthesize encapsulated nanoparticle aggregates for biodiagnostic imaging applications. The phase transferred block copolymer micelles can be used to encapsulate active compounds. The invention has applications in drug delivery, crop protection, and medical device coating.
Claims23
A method of transferring a block copolymer from an organic phase to an aqueous phase comprising:
- a) dissolving an amphiphilic block copolymer in an organic solvent or a mixture thereof;
- and
- b) transferring the amphiphilic block copolymer to an aqueous solution in the presence of a phase transfer agent to obtain a micellar solution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.