Patent ID: 7244784

Claim:
A method of preparing an aqueous polymeric nanoparticle (PNP) dispersion, comprising the steps of: preparing a PNP dispersion, said PNP dispersion comprising: (i) PNPs having a diameter in the range of from 1 to 8.2 nanometers, said PNPs comprising as polymerized units at least one multi-ethylenically-unsaturated monomer and at least one neutralizable ethylenically-unsaturated monomer and an ethylenically-unsaturated phobe-containing monomer containing a water soluble spacer group between said phobe and the ethylenic unsaturation such that there is an average of at least two phobes extending from the surface of said PNPs, each phobe having an alkyl group with at least four carbon atoms; and (ii) at least one solvent, wherein the solubility of the solvent in water at process conditions is at least 10 weight percent; neutralizing at least a portion of the polymerized units formed from the at least one neutralizable ethylenically-unsaturated monomer with at least one neutralizing agent to form an at least partially neutralized PNP dispersion; and combining the at least partially neutralized PNP dispersion with an aqueous medium.