Patent ID: 7981469

Claim:
A method of making encapsulated chromonic particles comprising an encapsulated chromonic particle comprising: a chromonic particle encapsulated in a shell, said chromonic particle comprising multiple chromonic molecules, and said shell comprising a complex comprising chromonic material, multivalent cations, and acid anions selected from the group consisting of HCO 3 − , PO 4 3− , CH 3 CHOHCOO − , C 3 H 5 O(COO) 3 3− , BO 3 3− , SO 4 2− , and mixtures thereof, said method comprising: (a) preparing an aqueous mixture comprising a chromonic material; (b) exposing the aqueous mixture comprising a chromonic material to a multivalent cation salt, to form crosslinked chromonic particles; and (c) exposing the resulting crosslinked chromonic particles to an acid selected from the group consisting of carbonic acid, phosphoric acid, lactic acid, citric acid, boric acid, sulfuric acid, and mixtures thereof in the presence of water to encapsulate the crosslinked particles in a shell comprising a complex comprising the chromonic material, the multivalent cations, and the acid anions; wherein the acid is present in an amount that does not substantially dissolve the crosslinked chromonic particles.