Patent ID: 11925730
Assignee: COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  C | IPC A  C

Claim 0:
1. A method for preventing retraction of an aqueous drop on a hydrophobic surface, the method consisting of the steps of:
a) preparing a composition comprising a nonionic surfactant mixture having a first nonionic surfactant and a second nonionic surfactants dispersed in an aqueous media; and
b) spraying said composition of step (a) on the hydrophobic surface; to deposit drops of said composition on the surface
wherein the first nonionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-1,2,3-hexadecanetriol, phytanetriol, and a lipid selected from glycerol monooleate (HLB of 3.8), and glycerol monostearate (HLB 3.4) and said second nonionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of polysorbate 20, polysorbate 40, polysorbate 80 and a polymer selected from the group consisting of (PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymer), PEO-PPO diblock copolymer, poloxamers, or mixture thereof,
wherein the first nonionic surfactant in said surfactant mixture has weight in the range of 85 to 98% by weight of the total surfactant mixture and the second nonionic surfactant in said surfactant mixture has weight in the range of 2 to 15% of total surfactant mixture;
wherein the ratio of water to surfactant in the surfactant mixture is in the range of 95:5 to 99.9:0.1 by weight and the aqueous drop retraction is less than 5%; and
wherein said hydrophobic surface is selected from the group consisting of plant leaf, surfaces covered with microcrystalline wax, hydrophobic biofilm, super hydrophobic surface that combine surface roughness with hydrophobic coating and surface functionalized using organosilane, organotitanate, or organozirconate.