The purpose of this project is the development of a product design based on the discovery of stable aqueous colloids. Such a colloidal system, with a particle size of about one hundred nanometer, consists only of small simple molecules, in contrast to current industrial processes where the addition of surfactants, electrolytes, or viscosity modifiers is needed. Colloids are widely used in medicine and industry to create liquid-based products such as pharmaceuticals, food/beverages, agrochemicals. The process consists of creating a colloidal system by dispersing hydrophobic compounds in an aqueous medium and stabilizing them by small amphiphilic molecules known as hydrotropes. Low molecular weight alcohols are typical examples of hydrotropes. The creation of such a system requires only simple mixing, thus contributing to significant savings in raw materials, equipment, and energy costs. This technology, so far, has been proven for dispersing hydrophobic compounds such as cyclohexane. This proposal aims to connect fundamental research discoveries and potential novel applications, so that this research can be transformed into new products, processes, and services.
This interdisciplinary project is at the intersection of physical chemistry, molecular physics, materials science, and chemical engineering. The proposed research will enrich engineering education, by bridging the gap between fundamentals, applications, and commercialization. In addition to anticipated commercial targets, which include pharmaceuticals, food/beverages, agrochemicals, cosmetics/detergents, the relevant commercial landscape can be further extended to a much broader list of industrial and medical applications, such as nano-encapsulated drug delivery or soft-matter engineering. Recently, the interest in aqueous solutions of propanol and butanol isomers, as a new clean energy source, has greatly increased because such alcohols are considered promising alternatives to ethanol. These alcohols can be produced via metabolic engineering, which involves bacteria. Making nanosize colloids in these solutions could enable one to control the rate of metabolism through encapsulation of bacteria.
The outcome of this project includes the development of a novel product design based on our discovery of stable aqueous colloids, with a particle size of about a hundred nanometers, consisting only small simple molecules in addition to water. Usually, colloid solutions, broadly used in industry and medicine, are made stable by addition of surfactants (soaps), electrolytes, or viscosity modifiers. Broad use of colloids includes, but not limited to, food and beverage products, agrichemicals, pharmaceuticals, paints, cosmetics, and consumer goods. Our research at the University of Maryland has proved the possibility of creating stable aqueous colloids without addition of these substances. These novel colloids typically consist of water, water-insoluble molecules (hydrotropes), and a specific stabilizer called hydrotrope. Simple commercially available alcohols are examples of hydrotropes. The raw hydrotropes and mixing procedure are of much less cost than current stabilization techniques This technology represents a novel method to stabilize colloidal suspensions that could result in huge cost and energy savings and lead to improved final products. So far, the technology has been only proven for several model hydrophobic compounds, such as simple hydrocarbons and alcohols and is needed to identify various applications which will be commercially promising. This project connects these fundamental research discoveries and novel potential applications, so that the research can be transformed into new products and services. The project has the grounds in interdisciplinary science, at the intersection of physical chemistry, molecular physics, materials science, and chemical engineering and thus results not only in the development of novel product and process design, but also in the advance of knowledge across several fields, from nanoscience to bioengineering. The research enriches engineering education, bridging the gap between fundamentals, applications, and commercialization. In addition to expected commercial targets, which include agrichemicals, paints, and cosmetics, the relevant commercial landscape has been further extended to a much broader list of industrial and medical applications, such as nano-encapsulated drug delivery.
