Laundry treatment for fabrics

• US 20030130159A1
• Filed: 09/26/2002
• Published: 07/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unilever Home & Personal Care Usa Division Of Conopco, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Unilever Home & Personal Care Usa Division Of Conopco, Inc.
• Inventors: Jones, Christopher Clarkson, Hopkinson, Andrew, Mealing, David Arthur
• Granted Patent: US 6,869,452 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 510/475
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/0021 Dye-stain or dye-transfer inhibiting compositions
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/226 esterified

Abstract

A method of reducing dye loss during the laundry treatment of dyed fabrics using a laundry treatment composition comprising a water-soluble or water-dispersible rebuild agent for deposition onto a fabric during a treatment process wherein the material undergoes during the treatment process, a chemical change by which change the affinity of the material for the fabric is increased.

Claims

1. A method of reducing dye loss during the laundry treatment of dyed fabrics, comprising using a laundry treatment composition comprising a water-soluble or water-dispersible rebuild agent for deposition onto a fabric during a treatment process wherein the rebuild agent undergoes during the treatment process, a chemical change by which change the affinity of the rebuild agent for the fabric is increased, said chemical change resulting in the loss or modification of one or more groups covalently bonded to be pendant to a polymeric backbone of the rebuild agent via an ester linkage, the ester-linked group(s) being selected from monocarboxylic acid esters.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the rebuild agent is selected from one or more materials of general formula (I):

—

3. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the polymeric backbone of the rebuild agent comprises cellulose units or other β

-1,4 linked polysaccharide units.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the average degree of substitution of the total of all groups on the saccharide rings of the rebuild agent is from 0.4 to 3, preferably from 0.4 to 1, more preferably from 0.5 to 0.75, most preferably from 0.6 to 0.7.

11. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein, in the rebuild agent, the groups of the rebuild agent which undergo the chemical change are independently selected from one or more of acetate, propanoate, trifluoroacetate, 2-(2-hydroxy-1-oxopropoxy) propanoate, lactate, glycolate, pyruvate, crotonate, isovalerate, cinnamate, formate, salicylate, carbamate, methylcarbamate, benzoate and gluconate groups.

12. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the rebuild agent comprises cellulose monoacetate.

13. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein up to 65%, preferably up to 10% of the total number of pendant groups of the rebuild agent are groups other than those which undergo the chemical change.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein up to 20%, preferably up to 10%, more preferably up to 5% of the total number of the other groups of the rebuild agent are water-solubilising groups.

15. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the laundry treatment composition further comprises a surfactant.

16. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the laundry treatment composition comprises from 0.005% to 25%, preferably from 0.01% to 10%, more preferably from 0.025% to 2.5% by weight of the rebuild agent.

17. Use of a laundry treatment composition as defined in any of the preceding claims to reduce dye loss during the laundry treatment of dyed fabrics.

5. A method of reducing dye loss during the laundry treatment of dyed fabrics, comprising using a treatment composition comprising a water-soluble or water-dispersible rebuild agent for deposition onto a fabric during a treatment process wherein the rebuild agent undergoes during the treatment process, a chemical change by which change the affinity of the rebuild agent for the fabric is increased, the chemical change occurring in or to a group or groups covalently bonded to be pendant on a polymeric backbone of the rebuild agent and which backbone comprises cellulose units or other β

-1,4 linked polysaccharide units, the average degree of substitution of the total of all groups pendant on the saccharide rings of the backbone being from 0.3 to 3, preferably from 0.4 to 1, more preferably from 0.5 to 0.75, most preferably from 0.6 to 0.7.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the chemical change is lysis, for example hydrolysis or perhydrolysis, or bond-cleavage, optionally catalysed by an enzyme or another catalyst.

7. A method according to either claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the chemical change is not protonation or deprotonation.

8. A method according to any of claims 5-7, wherein the pendant group(s) of the rebuild agent comprise one or more groups attached via a respective linkage independently selected from ester, carbamate, urea and silyl linkages to the polymeric backbone.

9. A method according to any of claim 5-8, wherein the rebuild agent is selected from one or more molecules of formula (II):

—

10. A method according to any of claims 5-9, wherein, at least some of the groups of the rebuild agent which undergo the chemical change are selected from one or more independently selected from methanesulphonate and toluene sulphonate groups and hemiester groups of fumaric, malonic, itaconic, oxalic, maleic, succinic, tartaric, glutamic, aspartic and malic acids.