Diblock Copolymer, a Manufacturing Method and Suited Applications

Simple SummaryContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

This invention describes a new class of diblock copolymers made by linking a glycerol-based hydrophilic block to a superhydrophobic, highly fluorinated hydrocarbon block. These copolymers act as advanced surfactants for stabilizing water-in-oil (W/O) and water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsions, especially in challenging conditions such as high temperatures. The patent also includes a novel synthesis method for these copolymers and various applications, particularly in the field of droplet-based microfluidics for chemical and biological reactions.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Stabilizing miniaturized droplets (emulsions) for biological assays, such as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) at high temperatures.
• Droplet-based microfluidic applications in high-throughput biological or chemical screening (e.g., drug discovery, single-cell analysis, enzyme evolution).
• Compartmentalization of reactions to prevent cross contamination in multi-reaction setups.
• In vitro cytotoxicity testing of drugs or other compounds on cells encapsulated within droplets.
• Encapsulation and delivery of sensitive biological or chemical substances in controlled environments.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Superior thermal stability of stabilized droplets, allowing assays like PCR to run at high temperatures without droplet coalescence.
• Greatly reduced cross-contamination ('cross-talking') between droplets, ensuring reaction integrity in multi-droplet systems.
• High biocompatibility, resulting in improved cell viability during encapsulation compared to traditional surfactants.
• Controlled and reproducible synthesis, minimizing batch-to-batch variation found in other block copolymer surfactants.
• Enables precise miniaturization and parallelization of chemical and biological assays, improving experimental throughput and accuracy.

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Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates in an aspect to a diblock copolymer consisting of a first block, a second block, and a linker, wherein the second block is covalently bound to the first block by the linker. Thereby, the first block is a glycerol block comprising 1 to 10 glycerol subunits that are optionally substituted, and the second block is a superhydrophobic block comprising at least 20carbon atoms, wherein at least 40 % of all possible substitution sites of the carbon atoms are substituted by fluorine. A manufacturing method for this diblock copolymer and appropriate applications thereof are also disclosed.