Application of film forming technology to fragrance control release systems; and resultant fragrance control release systems

• US 6,063,365 A
• Filed: 09/10/1998
• Issued: 05/16/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Flavors & Fragrances Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Flavors & Fragrances Incorporated
• Inventors: Shefer, Adi, Shefer, Shmuel David, Teffenhart, John M.
• Primary Examiner(s): VENKAT, JYOTHSNA A
• Application Number:
  US09/150,240
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: 424/65, 424/76.3
• US Class Current: 424/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 9/042 with the help of a macromolecular compound as a carrier or diluent A61L9/048 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 9/048 air treating gels
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/905 Odor releasing material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/2139 Coating or impregnation specified as porous or permeable to a specific substance [e.g., water vapor, air, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/2303 Coating or impregnation provides a fragrance or releases an odor intended to be perceptible to humans
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/3854 Woven fabric with a preformed polymeric film or sheet
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/674 Nonwoven fabric with a preformed polymeric film or sheet

Abstract

Described is a fragrance control release system which is an emulsifier-free, single phase, nonporous, continuous, permeable polymeric film having a substantially uniform thickness of from about 1 up to about 150 microns, having entrapped and dissolved therein molecules of at least one fragrance substance capable of evolving from said film into the environment proximate said film by means of molecular diffusion at a permeation rate of from about 1×10^-7 up to about 0.1 mg-mm/cm² -min in a sustained and controlled release manner. Also described is a process for using the aforementioned system for imparting a fragrance into the environment above the unobstructed outer surface of the aforementioned polymer film which is coated on the surface of a solid or semi-solid support, e.g., a solid surface or human epidermis.

Claims

1. A film which is an emulsifier-free, single phase, nonporous, continuous, permeable, polymeric film comprising a polymer and a fragrance substance located on the surface of a substantially planar solid or semi-solid support, said polymeric film having two substantially parallel laminar surfaces, a first laminar polymer surface and a second laminar polymer surface, said second laminar polymer surface being juxtaposed with at least a portion of said surface of said planar solid or semi-solid support, said polymeric film having a substantially uniform thickness of from 1 up to about 150 microns, said polymeric film having entrapped and dissolved therein molecules of at least one fragrance substance in an initial weight ratio R_i of fragrance:

polymer of from about 0.01;

20 up to about 50;

0.01, said fragrance substance being;

(i) capable of evolving from within the polymeric film through said first laminar polymer surface into the environment proximate to and above said first laminar polymer surface by means of substantially steady state molecular diffusion at a substantially constant permeation rate of from about 1×

10^-7 up to about ##EQU34## in a sustained and controlled release manner; and

(ii) substantially incapable of permeating that portion of said second laminar polymer surface which is juxtaposed with the surface of said planar solid or semi-solid support,

said polymeric film having two regions located across the cross-section of said polymeric film, taken along the directional vector from said first laminar polymer surface to said second laminar polymer surface;

(a) a first permeation region proximate and immediately adjacent to said first laminar polymer surface; and

(b) a second reservoir region proximate and immediately adjacent to said second laminar polymer surface,

said first permeation region being juxtaposed with said second reservoir region, said second reservoir region containing a high proportion of said fragrance substance relative to the proportion of said fragrance substance contained in said first permeation region.