PFI-TT: Production and Formulation of Janus Colloids for Personal and Healthcare Applications.

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this PFI project focuses on the production and formulation of biocompatible asymmetric colloids, termed Janus colloids, to create personal- and health-care consumer products with improved self-life and stability as well as performance including delivery of active ingredients, oil uptake and reduced skin irritation. Janus colloids for consumer products are not commercially available, in part, due to the lack of a scale technology that can i) drive the required translational research needed for fundamental insight and development and ii) be scaled to meet potential industry demand. The technology presented in this proposal overcomes these major bottlenecks towards the commercialization of Janus colloids that could lead to job growth, as the patents developed from this proposal will be licensed to a newly developed enterprise. Furthermore, fundamental insights into polymer-polymer phase behavior at the nanoscale and structure-property relationships of Janus colloids will be a natural outcome of addressing the bottlenecks towards commercialization. The proposal will facilitate an extensive education and outreach program with one aim of expanding access to science and technology and encouraging entrepreneurship as a career path. The proposed project addresses fundamental knowledge gaps which require understanding prior to the scale up of Flash NanoPrecipitation for the production and first-to-market commercialization of Janus colloids in consumer products. The study provides fundamental insights into how combining colloid formation using rapid micro-mixing and kinetically arrested precipitation with polymer phase separation at the nanoscale can lead to the production of Janus colloids. Commercialization requires connecting processing parameters of Flash NanoPrecipitation with the molecular parameters of the polymers from which the Janus colloids are assembled: process-structure relationship studies. The second-level of structure and property relationship is the connection between the geometry and properties of Janus colloids, as amphiphiles to the desired properties for formulations in personal- and health-care products. In particular, this proposal aims to develop the rules of biocompatible Janus colloid production by understanding how polymer-polymer interactions, interfacial properties, and molecular characteristics, e.g., molecular weight and glass transition, influence the structure of Janus colloids. Structure will be evaluated using state-of-the art three-dimensional microscopy tools. Furthermore, the work aims to reveal how Janus colloids stabilize emulsions and foams with respect to different formulations and process parameters including stability against centrifugal fields, temperature and polarity which will lead to enhanced formulation properties. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.