Reference #: 01243
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for tunable persistent micelles
Background:
This technology can be useful for many applications in which the size of micelles largely determines their performance. Managing the conditions that prevent micelles from changing their size therefore have many advantages. However, the adjustment of micelles under such conditions is very difficult.
Invention Description:
The subject invention is a method that can be used to quickly adjust the size of micelles and then return them to a persistent state.
Potential Applications:
Controlled delivery of dispersions such as organic electronic coatings, paint, or drug delivery
Advantages and Benefits:
To the best of the inventors’ knowledge, this is the first example of the rapid growth of block copolymer micelles under high-χN solution conditions. The invention demonstrates rapid micelle growth under kinetically challenging high-χN solution conditions. Such persistent micelles offer numerous benefits where a desired micelle size may be tuned first and then maintained constant despite changing solution conditions.