Print quality of polymeric surfaces with amphiphilic protein coating

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016160082-A1
Application number	US-201514742747-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 18, 2015
Priority date	Jun 18, 2014
Publication date	Jun 9, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

This Invention relates to an inkjet printable article of polymeric surface coated with an amphiphilic protein, such as a hydrophobin, to enhance the quality of images printed thereon and to a method of coating of the polymeric surface with the amphiphilic protein with a proviso that the water contact angle of the polymeric surface ≧80° at 25° C. The coated amphiphilic protein functions as an “ink receiving layer”.

First claim

1 . An inkjet printable article, comprising a polymeric surface, coated on at least one side by an amphiphilic protein layer with a proviso that the water contact angle of the polymeric surface is ≧80° at 25° C.

2 . The inkjet printable article of claim 1 , wherein the amphiphilic protein layer is derived from an aqueous solution comprising at least one hydrophobin protein at a concentration range of about 10 ppm to about 1000 ppm.

3 . The inkjet printable article of claim 2 wherein the hydrophobin protein is hydrophobin class II.

4 . The inkjet printable article of claim 2 wherein the coating of the amphiphilic protein layer on the polymeric surface has a weight between about 0.002 g/m 2 and about 0.175 g/m 2 , and more preferably between about 0.005 g/m 2 and about 0.10 g/m 2 .

5 . The inkjet printable article of claim 1 , wherein the polymeric surface includes one or more polyolefin selected from the group of: high density polyethylene (HDPE); ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMPE); linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE); ethylene copolymers; polypropylene (PP); and propylene copolymers.

6 . The inkjet printable article of claim 1 , wherein the water contact angle of the polymeric surface ranges between about 80° and about 140° at 25° C., and more preferably between about 100° and about 130° at 25° C.

7 . The inkjet printable article of claim 5 , wherein the polymeric surface comprises a membrane, film, tape, non-woven fabric, woven fabric or the like.

8 . The inkjet printable article according to claim 2 , wherein the aqueous solution further comprises additives such as UV stabilizer, light fastness imparting agent, dye mordant, thermal stabilizer, biocide, or a combination thereof.

9 . A method of coating a polymeric surface with an amphiphilic protein layer comprising the steps;
a) providing an aqueous solution of an amphiphilic protein; b) coating the polymeric surface with a solution of (a) at ambient temperature; c) drying the article resulting from step (b) at ambient temperature till constant weight is obtained; and d) treating the article resulting from step (c) by heating the article at a temperature in the range between about 60° C. to about 120° C. for 1 min to 120 min.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the amphiphilic protein layer is derived from an aqueous solution comprising of at least one hydrophobin protein at a concentration ranges of about 10 ppm to about 1000 ppm.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the amphiphilic protein layer comprises a hydrophobin class II protein.

12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein heat treatment is carried out in the temperature ranges between about 60° C. and about 120° C., and more preferably in the temperature ranges between about 80° C. and about 90° C.

13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein heat treatment is carried out between about 1 min and about 120 min, and more preferably between about 2 min and about 30 min.

14 . The amphiphilic protein layer according to claim 10 , wherein the coating weight of the amphiphilic protein layer on polymeric surface after drying is between about 0.002 g/m2 and about 0.175 g/m2, and more preferably between about 0.005 g/m 2 and about 0.10 g/m 2 .

15 . The method according to claim 9 , wherein polymeric surface includes one or more polyolefin selected from the group consisting of high density polyethylene (HDPE), ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), ethylene copolymers, polypropylene (PP), and propylene copolymers.

16 . The method according claim 9 , wherein the water contact angle of the polymeric surface ranges between about 80° to about 140° at 25° C., and more preferably ranges between about 100° and about 130° at 25° C.

17 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein the polymeric surface comprises a membrane, film, tape, non-woven fabric, woven fabric and the like.

18 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein, the aqueous solution further comprises additives such as UV stabilizer, light fastness imparting agent, dye mordant, thermal stabilizer, biocide, or a combination thereof.

19 . The printable article of claim 1 wherein the article is a inkjet printable surface selected from the likes of packaging materials; documents; labels; a bar code; clothing and garments; decoration or the like.

Assignees

• Du Pont

Inventors

• Misra Anuradha
• Misra Rahul
• Esukapalli Manohar Reddy

Classifications

• B41J3/4078

  Printing on textile · CPC title

• A41D31/02

  Layered materials (characterised by special function or use A41D31/04) · CPC title

• C09D189/00 Primary

  Coating compositions based on proteins; Coating compositions based on derivatives thereof (foodstuff preparations A23J3/00) · CPC title

• D06P5/30

  Ink jet printing · CPC title

• D06P1/46

  using compositions containing natural macromolecular substances or derivatives thereof · CPC title