Production of dyed polymer microparticles
First Claim
1. A method of incorporating at least one dye into polymer microparticles comprising:
- (a) providing;
(i) at least one first solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer are soluble;
(ii) at least one second solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said first and second solvents being immiscible or at most partially miscible;
(iii) at least one third solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said third solvent being miscible with the first and second solvents;
(b) suspending the polymer microparticles in a designated volume of a mixture comprising at least one second solvent and at least one third solvent;
(c) adding to said polymer microparticle suspension a dye solution comprising at least one first solvent and at least one dye dissolved therein, the amount of dye corresponding to the desired final state of dye incorporation in the microparticles;
(d) adding to said polymer microparticle suspension at least one second solvent to induce substantially complete partitioning of the dye from the suspension liquid phase to the microparticles.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A dye, such as a fluorescent dye, is incorporated into polymer microparticles using a solvent system composed of a first solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer are soluble, a second solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble, and a third solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble. The first and second solvents are immiscible with each other, or at most partially miscible. The third solvent is miscible with the first and second solvents. The formulation provides substantially complete partitioning of the dye to the microparticles. The method may be used to obtain dyed polymer microparticle formed of cross-linked or non-cross-linked polymers. Libraries are provided comprising two or more sets of microparticles of different dye loadings. Fluorescent core-shell microparticles are produced from a mixture of microparticle cores incorporating one or more fluorescent dyes, a polymerization mixture comprising at least one polymerizable shell monomer, at least one free radical polymerization initiator comprising a water-insoluble oxidizing agent, and at least one water-soluble reducing agent.
153 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A method of incorporating at least one dye into polymer microparticles comprising:
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(a) providing;
(i) at least one first solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer are soluble;
(ii) at least one second solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said first and second solvents being immiscible or at most partially miscible;
(iii) at least one third solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said third solvent being miscible with the first and second solvents;
(b) suspending the polymer microparticles in a designated volume of a mixture comprising at least one second solvent and at least one third solvent;
(c) adding to said polymer microparticle suspension a dye solution comprising at least one first solvent and at least one dye dissolved therein, the amount of dye corresponding to the desired final state of dye incorporation in the microparticles;
(d) adding to said polymer microparticle suspension at least one second solvent to induce substantially complete partitioning of the dye from the suspension liquid phase to the microparticles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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25. A method for producing fluorescent core-shell microparticles comprising:
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(a) providing microparticle cores incorporating one or more fluorescent dyes;
(b) contacting said microparticle cores with a polymerization mixture comprising at least one polymerizable shell monomer, at least one free radical polymerization initiator comprising a water-insoluble oxidizing agent, and at least one water-soluble reducing agent;
(c) polymerizing said shell monomer to form a polymer shell around said microparticle core. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification