Patent ID: 7163998

Claim:
A particle composition comprising monodisperse polymer beads stabilized by vinylsulfonyl-functionalized polymers, wherein said vinylsulfonyl-functionalized polymers are grafted to the external surfaces of said beads and, wherein said vinylsulfonyl-functionalized polymer is soluble in water, water-miscible solvents, or a mixture thereof, wherein said vinylsulfonyl-functionalized polymer comprises vinylsulfonyl or vinylsulfonyl precursor moieties grafted to the surface of said polymer bead, wherein said vinylsulfonyl-functionalized polymers are represented by Formula I: wherein “G” represents a polymerized α,β-ethylenically unsaturated addition polymerizeable monomer; “H” represents a vinylsulfone or vinylsulfone precursor unit monomer; and x and y both represent molar percentages ranging from 10 to 90 and 90 to 10.