Description:
A Novel and Low-Cost Method for Nano-emulsion Preparation
Princeton Docket # 13-2871-1
Nano-emulsions are used in novel multiphase materials for home and personal care products, drug-delivery applications, structured liquids, etc. However, current methods for the preparation of nano-emulsions require either high-energy methods or sophisticated devices. To improve current methods and reduce the cost, researchers at Princeton University have developed a simple and low-cost method for the formation of nano-emulsions by bubble bursting at a liquid-liquid interface.
This novel nano-emulsion preparation method does not require any sophisticated or small devices. It requires simply the formation of bubbles below a liquid bath whose surface is coated with a thin film of an immiscible liquid phase, which leads, upon bubble bursting, to the formation of nano-sized droplets in the bulk of the solution. The nano-particles can be fluid droplets or droplets made from a material that can be solidified. The preparation method is simple, low-cost, and easy to handle.
This method is applicable to a wide range of industries. In the food industry, it can be used for condition optimization for food production. In the cosmetic industry, it is applicable for the formulation of personal care products such as various lotions, gels and creams. The simplified nano-emulsion preparation method also has application potential in the construction material industries, for example the production of architectural coatings, and in agro-chemistry for preparation of products containing pesticides and herbicides. The use of nano-emulsions can also be used for controlled drug delivery. It is anticipated that the employment of this novel method would significantly reduce the complexity and expense for the preparation of nano-emulsions for multiple industries.
Application
· Food industry condition optimization;
· Personal care product formulation;
· Controlled drug delivery;
· Construction material industry;
· Agro-chemistry industry.
Advantages
· No requirement for high-energy and sophisticated devices;
· Significantly reduced cost;
· Simple and easy to handle.
Faculty Inventor
Howard Stone is the Donald R. Dixon '69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University. His research has been concerned with a variety of fundamental problems in fluid motions dominated by viscosity, so-called low Reynolds number flows, and has frequently featured a combination of theory, computer simulation and modeling, and experiments to provide a quantitative understanding of the flow phenomenon under investigation. Prof. Stone is the recipient of the most prestigious fluid mechanics prize, the Batchelor Prize 2008, for the best research in fluid mechanics in the last ten years. He is also part of the Class of 2011 inductees of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Intellectual Property status
Patent protection is pending.
Princeton is currently seeking commercial partners for the further development and commercialization of this opportunity.
Contact
Michael R. Tyerech
Princeton University Office of Technology Licensing
(609) 258-6762 tyerech@princeton.edu
Laurie Bagley
Princeton University Office of Technology Licensing
(609) 258-5579 lbagley@princeton.edu