ENZYMATIC DETERGENT COMPOSITION

Abstract: The invention relates to a detergent composition comprising lipases. By inclusion of a certain immunologically defined class of lipases in a detergent composition which comprises as detergent-active material solely an anionic synthetic detergent, and as builder a water-soluble inorganic or organic builder salt, an improved overall detergency is obtained. The builder salt is typically sodium tripolyphosphate or sodium carbonate, and the lipase is typically obtained from certain Pseudomonas or Chromobacter strains.

Description: The present invention relates to an enzymatic detergent composition. More particularly it relates to an enzymatic detergent composition which contains a lipolytic enzyme. Enzymatic detergent compositions are well known in the art. Enzymes of many types have been proposed for inclusion in detergent compositions, but the main attention has been focussed on proteases and amylases. Although lipases have been mentioned as possible enzymes for detergent compositions, there is relatively little prior art directly concerned with lipases for detergent compositions in general. Thus, our British Patent Specification 1,372,034 discloses the use of lipases produced by microorganisms of the Pseudomonas group, such as Pseudomonas stutzeri ATCC 19.154, in detergent compositions for soaking fabrics which contain specific nonionic detergent actives, optionally with a specific anionic detergent active.However, it was made clear that "the mere addition of lipoytic enzymes to any and all detergent compositions does not produce, (as was shown) a satisfactory and acceptable detergent composition both regarding the enzyme activity and the cleaning efficiency. Various ingredients of detergent compositions have been found to exert a negative influence on lipolytic enzymes". In British Patent Specifications 1,442,418 and 1,442,419 a two-stage laundering process is described wherein a soaking step with a lipase-containing liquor is followed by a washing step with a detergent-containing wash liquor. In specification 1,442,419 the "lipase-containing liquor" consisted of the claimed lipase(s) and a water soluble borax salt. Optional inclusion of conventional detergent surfactants or builders was mentioned but effectiveness in the presence of surfactants and builders was not demonstrated. In specification 1,442,418 the "lipase-containing liquor" consisted of the claimed lipase(s) plus borax and Ca⁺⁺ or Mg⁺⁺ ions. Surfactants were again mentioned but again no evidence relating to effectiveness in surfactant solutions was provided. Builders which bind Ca⁺⁺ and/or Mg⁺⁺ ions were specifically excluded in these pre-wash liquors. Overall, the wash process described by these specifications needed two separateformulated products; it was cumbersome and it would be of limited applicability in practice. In a more recent article in Journal of Applied Biochemistry, 2 (1980), pages 218-229, Andree et al. report on their investigations of lipases as detergent components. They concluded that the two tested commercially available lipases (pancreatic lipase and Rhizopus lipase) were unstable in solutions of active systems containing mixtures of typical detergent anionic and nonionic surfactants. They deduced that the lipases were inactivated by the presence of the anionic detergents, the pancreatic lipase somewhat less so than the Rhizopus lipase. Andree et al. further concluded that the tested lipases can improve the washing efficiency of full nonionic detergent formulations but that this improvement can be matched by increasing the concentrations of nonionic active in detergent formulations. A recently published European patent application, N° 0130064, describes the use of a lipase from Fusarium Oxysporum as detergent additive. The detergent compositions exemplified in this patent application contain a nonionic and an anionic detergent, or consist solely of a nonionic detergent. US-A-3 950 277 (Procter & Gamble) describes laundry pre-soak compositions comprising lipase enzyme and isopropyl-, methyl- or butyl-naphthalenesulphonate as lipase activator. Lipases from various mammalian, microbial and fungal sources are mentioned. DE-A-19 32 981 (Toyo Jozo KK) describes a lipase from Chromobacterium , especially new strains of Chr. viscosum , Chr. viscosum var . paralipolyticum and Chr. violaceum , and mentions its use inter alia as a cleaning and digestive agent. This document does not describe detergent compositions. The above prior art thus teaches the use of certain specific lipases in detergent compositions, or the formulation of specific detergent compositions and/or washing steps including lipases therein. It is an aim of the present invention to provide lipase-containing detergent compositions which have improved overall detergency performance and which show significant detergency improvements by the inclusion of lipases therein. We have now found that by including lipase from a certain class of lipases in a built detergent composition which contains as detergent-active material solely an anionic synthetic detergent, as builder a water-soluble organic and/or inorganic builder salt, and a bleaching agent, improved overall detergency can be achieved. In contrast with the above prior art, complete, lipase-containing detergent compositions are provided by the present invention with which a normal washing process can be carried out, also at lower temperatures, whereby the benefits of the lipases are obtained without having to resort to special carefully selected detergent compositions or special washing or soaking steps, or without having to treat the fabrics for long periods with the lipase-containing composition. The class of lipases to be used according to the present invention embraces lipases which show a positive immunological cross-reaction with the antibody of the lipase producible by the micro-organism Pseudomonas fluorescens IAM 1057. This lipase and a method for its purification have been described in Japanese Patent Application 53-20487, laid open to public inspection on 24th February 1978. This lipase is available from Amano Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Nagoya, Japan, under the trade name Lipase P "Amano", hereinafter referred to as "Amano-P". The lipases of the present invention should show a positive immunological cross reaction with the Amano-P antibody, using the standard and well-known immunodiffusion procedure according to Ouchterlony (Acta. Med. Scan., 133 , pages 76-79 (1950)). The preparation of the antiserum is carried out as follows: Equal volumes of 0.1 mg/ml antigen and of Freund's adjuvant (complete or incomplete) are mixed until an emulsion is obtained. Two female rabbits are injected with 2 ml samples of the emulsion according to the following scheme: day 0 : antigen in complete Freund's adjuvant day 4 : antigen in complete Freund's adjuvant day 32 : antigen in incomplete Freund's adjuvant day 60 : booster of antigen in incomplete Freund's adjuvant The serum containing the required antibody is prepared by centrifugation of clotted blood, taken on day 67. The titre of the anti-Amano-P-lipase antiserum is determined by the inspection of precipitation of serial dilutions of antigen and antiserum according to the Ouchterlony procedure. A 2⁵ dilution of antiserum was the dilution that still gave a visible precipitation with an antigen concentration of 0.1 mg/ml. All lipases showing a positive immunological cross reaction with the Amano-P antibody as hereabove described are lipases according to the present invention. Typical examples thereof are the Amano-P lipase, the lipase ex Pseudomonas fragi FERM P 1339 (available under the trade name Amano-B), lipase ex Pseudomonas nitroreducens var. lipolyticum FERM P 1338 (available under the trade name Amano-CES), lipases ex Chromobacter viscosum , e.g. Chromobacter viscosum var. lipolyticum NRRLB 3673, commercially available from Toyo Jozo Co., Tagata, Japan;and further Chrombacter viscosum lipases from US Biochemical Corp., U.S.A. and Diosynth Co., The Netherlands, and lipases ex Pseudomonas gladioli . Preferably, the lipases of the present invention should also show a positive immunological cross reaction with the antibody of one of the the following lipases: lipase ex Chromobacter viscosum var. lipolyticum NRRLB 3673, as sold by Toyo Jozo Co., Tagata, Japan, and lipase ex Pseudomonas gladioli . Typical examples of such lipases showing such further cross reaction are Amano-P, Amano-B, Amano-CES, lipases ex Cromobacter viscosum , e.g. Chromobacter viscosum var. lipolyticum NRRLB 3673, commercially available from Toyo Jozo Co., Tagata, Japanåd further Chromobacter viscosum lipases from US Biochemical Corp., U.S.A. and Diosynth Co., The Netherlands, and lipases ex Pseudomonas gladioli . The lipases of the present invention are included in thedetergent composition in such an amount that the final detergent composition has a lipolytic enzyme activity of from 100 to 0.005 LU/mg, preferably 25 to 0.05 LU/mg of the composition. A Lipase Unit (LU) is that amount of lipase which produces 1µmol of titratable fatty acid per minute in a pH stat. under the following conditions: temperature 30°C; pH = 9.0; substrate is an emulsion of 3.3 wt.% of olive oil and 3.3% gum arabic, in the presence of 13 mmol Ca 2+ and 20 mmol NaCl in 5 mmol Tris-buffer. Naturally, mixtures of the above lipases can be used. The lipases can be used in their impurified form, or in a purified form, e.g. purified with the aid of well-known adsorption methods, such as a phenylsepharosepacked column technique. The detergent composition incorporating the lipases of the present invention contains as active detergent material solely one or more anionic synthetic detergent-active materials. This type of detergent-active materials is well known in the art, and suitable examples are fully described in Schwartz, Perry and Berch, Surface-Active Agents and Detergents, Vol. I (1949) and Vol. II (1958). The amount of anionic detergent-active material in the detergent composition ranges from 1 to 40%, usually 2 to 35% and preferably 5 to 30% by weight. The detergent composition furthermore contains from 1-55%, preferably from 5-30% by weight of one or more organic and/or inorganic water-soluble builder salts. Typical examples thereof are alkali metal ortho-, -pyro-and polyphosphates, alkali metal carbonates, alkali metal citrates, alkali metal nitrilotriacetates and so on, and mixtures of various different water-soluble builder salts. Preferably pentasodium tripolyphosphate and sodium carbonate and mixtures thereof are used. Furthermore, it contains e.g. from 1-35% of a bleaching agent or a bleaching system comprising bleaching agent and an activator therefor. In this respect it has been surprisingly found that the lipases of the present invention often are significantly less affected by the bleaching agent or bleaching system in the composition than other lipases, not according to the invention. The compositions may furthermore comprise lather boosters, foam depressors, anti-corrosion agents, soil-suspending agents, sequestering agents, anti-soil redeposition agents, perfumes, dyes, stabilising agents for the enzymes and so on. They may also comprise enzymes other than lipases, such as proteases, amylases, oxidases and cellulases. In this respect it has surprisingly been found that, although the lipases of the present invention rapidly lose activity in the presence of proteases in clean model systems, under practical wash conditions in washing machines a substantial benefit is still delivered by the lipases in the presence of proteases. The compositions of the present invention can be formulated in any desired form, such as powders, bars, pastes or liquids. As said before, the compositions of the present invention show an improved overall detergency performance, particularly at lower temperatures. It is surprising that fully formulated detergent compositions incorporating the lipases of the present invention do show such an improved overall performance, when the prior art hitherto has indicated that lipases would only give some effect under particular conditions. The invention will now further be illustrated by the following Examples, which are not within the scope of the claims. Example 1 The following detergent compositions, with and without a lipase according to the present invention were tested in a washing test under the conditions mentioned below. The lipase used was Amano-P as heretofore described, used in a concentration of 15 LU/ml. The washing test was carried out under the following conditions: Cotton test cloths soiled with a mixture containing inorganic pigments, protein, palm oil were soaked in a wash liquor containing 3.5 g/l of the detergent composition at 20°C, were subsequently hand washed for 1.5 minute and thereafter rinsed 3 times, each time for 2 minutes. After washing, the test cloths were soiled and washedagain. The full soiling/washing procedure was repeated four times. The water hardness was 8° GH. The liquor/cloth ratio during soaking, washing and rinsing was 9.3 and 20 respectively. After the fourth wash the reflectance of the test cloths and the residual percentage of fatty material on the test cloths were determined. The reflectance was measured in a Reflectometer at 460 nm with a UV filter in the light pathway and the fatty matter by extracting the dried test cloths with petroleum ether, distilling off the solvent and weighing the resulting fatty matter. The following results were obtained: Example 2 The following compositions were compared in a multicycle soiled wash system in a Tergotometer under the following conditions: agitation: 50 rpm washing period: 10 minutes at room temperature rinsing: 3 × 2 minutes water hardness: 17° GH protease concentration: 20 GU/ml lipase concentration: 1 LU/ml test cloth: cotton soil: palm oil + milk powder The detergent compositions were as follows: A. 30% sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate 30% sodium sulphate 30% sodium tripolyphosphate 10% sodium silicate B. As A, but the sodium tripolyphosphate was replaced by zeolite. The compositions were used in a concentration of 2 g/l. The following results were obtained: Example 3 The following composition was tested in a Tergotometer (4 multicycle soiled washes) at 20°C for 14 minutes in water of 8° GH. The concentration was 1.3 g/l. The lipase was the Toyo Jozo lipase, used in a concentration of 3 LU/ml, and the test cloths were cotton, polyester/cotton and polyester. The composition was as follows: 15% linear C₁₂ alkylbenzenesulphonate 20% sodium silicate 35% sodium carbonate 25% sodium sulphate 5% minor ingredients and moisture The following results were obtained after the 4th wash (- L = without lipase; + L = with lipase): Example 4 With the composition of Example 1, washing experiments were carried out with different lipases in a Tergotometer, at a concentration of 2 g/l in water of 17° GH, with a lipase concentration of 1 LU/ml, using cotton as test cloth and a mixture of palm oil and milk powder as soil. The reflectance and % fatty matter were determined after the fourth wash. The following results were obtained:

Claims: A detergent composition comprising as detergent-active material solely an anionic synthetic detergent in an amount of 1 to 40% by weight, a water-soluble organic and/or inorganic builder salt in amount of 1 to 55% by weight, a lipase in such an amount that the final composition has a lipolytic enzyme activity from 0.005 to 100 LU (lipase units) per mg, which lipase shows a positive immunological cross-reaction with the antibody of the lipase producible by the micro-organism Pseudomonas fluorescens IAM 1057, and further containing a bleaching agent, or a bleaching system comprising a bleaching agent and an activator therefor. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the builder is pentasodium tripolyphosphate. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the builder is sodium carbonate. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the builder is a mixture of pentasodium tripolyphosphate and sodium carbonate. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the lipase also shows a positive immunological crossreaction with the antibody of the lipase, producible by the micro-organism Chromobacter viscosum var. lipolyticum NRRLB 3673 or Pseudomonas gladioli . A composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the positive immunological cross-reaction showing lipase is a lipase, producible by strains of the Pseudomonas or the Chromobacter genus. A composition according to claim 3, wherein the lipase is producible by strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens , of Pseudomonas fragi , of Pseudomonas nitroreducens var. lipolyticum , of Pseudomonas gladioli , or of Chromobacter viscosum . A composition according to claim 1, further containing a proteolytic enzyme.

Inventors: MAAT, JAN, SWARTHOFF, TON, THOM, DAVID
Applicants: UNILEVER N.V., UNILEVER PLC
Application year: 1986
Main classification: C11D3
IPC codes: C12N9, C12R1, C11D3, C11D10