Patents Assigned to The University of Akron
  • Patent number: 12280349
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the present invention is directed to a facile one-pot reverse emulsion process to assemble core-shell nanoparticles (CS-SMNPs) into bright and noniridescent photonic supraballs. In one or more embodiments, the present invention is directed to core-shell nanoparticles having an inner high refractive index (RI) core and an outer low RI shell. In one or more embodiment, the present invention includes core-shell nanoparticles using high RI (˜1.74) melanin cores and low-RI (˜1.45) silica shells. In various embodiments, these nanoparticles may be self-assembled into bright and noniridescent supraballs using a scalable one-pot reverse emulsion process. According to various embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to generate a full spectrum of structural colors with the combination of only two ingredients, synthetic melanin and silica.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignees: The University of Akron, University of California, San Diego
    Inventors: Ali Dhinojwala, Ming Xiao, Ziying Hu, Matthew Shawkey, Nathan Gianneschi
  • Patent number: 12273458
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the present invention relates to a blockchain-powered SDN-enabled networking infrastructure in which the integration between blockchain-based security and autonomy management layer and multi-controller SDN networking layer is defined to enhance the integrity of the control and management messages. In one or more embodiments, this networking infrastructure is utilized achieve three main functionalities: (1) integrity verification of control and management commands for cloud platforms, (2) identification of the malicious hosts abusing the cloud platform, and (3) enhancing the availability of the cloud platform via autonomous bandwidth provisioning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Jin Kocsis, Mututhanthrige Pravenn Sameera Fernando
  • Patent number: 12258443
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the present invention is directed to a PPF-based copolymer for 3D printing applications and methods for its making and use. These copolymers have a viscosity in a printable viscosity range and allow light transmittance at curing wavelengths. In various embodiments, a lower viscosity copolymers are obtained by substitution of a portion of maleic anhydride with succinic anhydride and then forming a poly(propylene fumarate-co-succinate) copolymer by the copolymerization of maleic anhydride and succinic anhydride with propylene oxide via Mg(BHT)2(THF)2 catalyzed ring opening copolymerization (ROCOP). Because of their lower viscosities, these copolymers require less, if any, diethyl fumarate (DEF) to prepare the 3D printing resin, while the mechanical properties can still be adjusted as with a PPF polymer prepared without the succinic anhydride.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Matthew Becker, Yongjun Shin, Gaelle Le Fer
  • Publication number: 20250090475
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the present invention provides a drug-loaded amino acid-based poly(ester urea) film for controlled local release of non-opioid analgesic compounds and various methods for their making and use. In one or more embodiments, he present invention is directed to a drug-loaded amino acid-based poly(ester urea) film for controlled local release of non-opioid analgesic compounds comprising an amino acid-based poly(ester urea) polymer or copolymer and a therapeutically effective amount of a non-opioid analgesic compound. In various embodiments, these amino acid-based poly(ester urea) polymers or copolymers will comprise a plurality of diester monomer units connected by a carboxyl group to form a poly(ester urea) (PEU) polymer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2021
    Publication date: March 20, 2025
    Applicants: The University of Akron, MERK SHARP & DOHME CORP.
    Inventors: Matthew BECKER, Seth P. FORSTER, Natasha BRIGHAM, Tiffany GUSTAFSON, Andre HERMANS, Rebecca NOFSINGER
  • Patent number: 12240979
    Abstract: A curable rubber composition including a rubber, a plurality of ground particles, and a reactive surfactant represented by the formula: X—Y—Z where X is a reactive group capable of forming covalent links with the rubber during compounding or vulcanization, Y is a hydrophobic linkage, and Z is a polar group capable of forming self-assemblies via intermolecular interactions, and wherein the reactive surfactant is incompatible with the rubber and a method of making the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Li Jia, Yu Sun
  • Patent number: 12187844
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the present invention provides well-defined biodegradable poly(lactone-b-propylene fumarate) diblock and triblock polymers formed using a novel one-pot, scalable ring-opening block-order copolymerization (ROBOCOP) technique that utilizes magnesium 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenoxide (Mg(BHT)2(THF)2) to “switch” from the ROP of cyclic esters to the ROCOP of maleic anhydride (MAn) and propylene oxide (PO) to produce PPF based block copolymers for application in additive manufacturing and patient specific regenerative medicine. These block copolymers are fully resorbable and can be photochemically crosslinked in a number of applications, including 3D printing. By adding the lactone block to the PPF polymer, the viscosity of the resulting block copolymer at working temperatures can be precisely controlled and the quantity of the reactive diluent in printable resins can be reduced or eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Matthew Becker, James Wilson, Shannon Petersen
  • Patent number: 12187870
    Abstract: In one or more embodiments, the present invention is directed to an electrically conductive polymer composition comprising a conductive metal filler material comprising a plurality of metal particles and one or more carbon-based filler material substantially homogenously dispersed throughout a polymer matrix, wherein the aspect ratio of the one or more carbon-based filler material is at least ten times greater than the aspect ratio of the conductive metal filler material comprising a plurality of metal particles. In one or more embodiment, the carbon-based filler material will comprise at least one of carbon nanotubes, multi-walled carbon nanotubes and edge-functionalized graphene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Yu Zhu, Bryan D. Vogt, Clinton J. Taubert, Kun Chen
  • Patent number: 12176850
    Abstract: A wireless self-charging power pack including a solution processed conductive thin film integrating a solar cell with a solid-state supercapacitor. Additionally, a method of forming a wireless self-charging power pack including integrating a solar cell with a solid-state supercapacitor by forming a layer of conductive thin film between the solar cell and the solid-state supercapacitor through solution processing of the material forming the conductive thin film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventor: Xiong Gong
  • Patent number: 12157795
    Abstract: In one or more embodiments, the present invention is directed to a novel method for synthesizing Mg(BHT)2(THF)2 catalyst, which has several advantages over previous methods. Dry toluene or pentane are not required for synthesizing the catalyst, and the reaction is done in a bulk solution of BHT and THF. Further, because the Mg(BHT)2(THF)2 is made in a one-step (“one-pot”) synthesis, the time required for synthesizing and drying the catalyst is reduced. Using the new method of the present invention, the Mg(BHT)2(THF)2 is pure after removing excess THF, thereby eliminating the need for washes and recrystallization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Matthew Becker, Alex P. Kleinfehn, Shannon R. Petersen
  • Patent number: 12139701
    Abstract: Provided are methods and compositions for self-cleaning that include a digestive protein capable of decomposing stain forming molecules, a substrate applied to a solid surface, and a linker moiety bound to an outer surface of said substrate and an active group of said digestive protein, said linker moiety between said protein and said substrate and covalently linking said protein to a surface of said substrate by an amide bond, the linker moiety between a free amine of said protein and said outer surface of said substrate wherein the digestive protein forms a layer on a surface of said substrate such that the digestive protein is surface exposed for reaction with a stain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignees: Toyota Motor Corporation, The University of Akron
    Inventors: Ping Wang, Minjuan Zhang, Hongfei Jia, Archana H. Trivedi, Masahiko Ishii
  • Patent number: 12122906
    Abstract: A 3D-printable blend comprising a thermoplastic elastomer and a polymer. The thermoplastic elastomer is selected from poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) (SIBS), poly(St-b-butadiene-b-St) (SBS), poly(St-b-isoprene-b-St) (SIS), and their hydrogenated derivatives. The polymer is selected from polystyrene (PSt), poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) and blends of PSt and PPO. The blends may be made into filaments suitable for use in the production of 3D printed articles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Joseph P. Kennedy, Weinan Xu
  • Patent number: 12054630
    Abstract: A coating composition comprising at least one alkyd resin and at least one reactive diluent selected from modified cardanol. Optionally, the coating composition may further include at least one dryer agent, at least one pigment, and at least one solvent. The use of a modified cardanol reactive diluent can reduce the amount of volatile organic solvent, while decreasing drying time, increasing adhesion, and improving corrosion resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Qixin Zhou, Haoran Wang
  • Patent number: 12043744
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the present invention is directed to a supraparticle for use in producing structural colors comprising a plurality of core/shell nanoparticles having a melanin or synthetic melanin core and a silica shell having a plurality of silanol groups on its outer surface and a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) crosslinker. In various embodiments, the structure of these crosslinked supra particles is reinforced by hydrogen bonds formed between the silanol groups on the core-shell nanoparticles and mechanical, solution phase, and dry state stability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2024
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Ali Dhinojwala, Nathan Gianneschi, Ming Xiao, Ziying Hu
  • Patent number: 12034770
    Abstract: In one or more embodiments, the present invention is directed to a blockchain secured, software-defined network and monitoring system comprising: a multi-controller software-defined network (SDN) network layer; a blockchain based security and autonomy layer; a deep learning-driven decision making layer comprising the one or more computational centers and a horizontal data plane layer. In some embodiments, the present invention is directed to methods for ensuring the integrity of a control commands and optimizing performance and security using the blockchain secured, software-defined network and monitoring system. In various embodiments, the present invention relates to methods for extracting useful features from said labelled and non-labelled data contained in the horizontal data plane layer in the blockchain secured, software-defined network and monitoring system using a knowledge domain-enabled hybrid semi-supervision learning method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Jin Kocsis, Mututhanthrige Praveen Sameera Fernando, Yifu Wu
  • Patent number: 11987668
    Abstract: In one or more embodiments, the present invention provides am method of making a poly(propylene fumarate-co-succinate) (PPFS) copolymer containing a random incorporation of succinate groups and targetable reduction profiles without the need for three or more monomer units. To achieve this, a time-dependent sonication-promoted zinc/acetic acid reduction of the PPM unsaturated double bonds has been used to create a random PPMS copolymer which may be isomerized into the PPFS equivalent. By changing the sonication time as well as the ratios of acetic acid, zinc, and PPM unsaturated alkenes, partial reduction of the PPM alkenes has been shown to give PPMS products containing varying compositions of succinic and maleate units, which may then be isomerized to the PPFS product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Matthew Becker, Garrett Fredric Bass
  • Patent number: 11981777
    Abstract: A new synthetic pathway for hyperbranched polyacrylates and polymethacrylates including the steps of preparing an inimer and polymerizing the inimer to form hyperbranched polymers or copolymers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Coleen Pugh, Chenwei Liu, Cesar Lopez Gonzalez, Chenying Zhao
  • Patent number: 11931478
    Abstract: In various aspects, the present invention is directed to novel bioactive peptide loaded poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF) tissue scaffolds and related methods for their making and use. In various embodiments, these bioactive peptide loaded poly(propylene fumarate) tissue scaffolds are formed by forming a PPF structure or matrix using photochemical 3-D printing techniques and then loading that printed PPF structure or matrix with a bioactive peptides or other bioactive compounds that have, or have been functionalized to have, a thiol functional group at or near its terminus. The thiol groups on the bioactive peptides or other compound will react with exposed alkene functional groups on the PPF polymer matrix via a thiol-ene “click” reaction, thereby binding these bioactive peptides or other compounds to the tissue scaffolds. The bioactive peptide loaded PPF tissue scaffolds of the present invention are particularly useful in repairing bone defects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Matthew Becker, Yanyi Xu
  • Patent number: 11932774
    Abstract: A method for preparing waterborne non-isocyanate polyurethane polymers is provided, and the compositions prepared thereby. A method for preparing waterborne non-isocyanate polyurethane epoxy hybrid coatings is also provided. In addition to coatings, the compositions of the present invention are useful as films, adhesives, and sealants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Qixin Zhou, Cheng Zhang
  • Patent number: 11827769
    Abstract: Curable rubber compositions that include reactive ionic surfactants as reinforcing fillers are described, as well as methods for preparing composite rubber compounds by direct addition of ionic surfactant solutions into rubber latex.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: The University of Akron
    Inventors: Li Jia, Mengsha Qian
  • Publication number: 20230327139
    Abstract: A fuel cell catalyst for oxygen reduction reactions including Pt—Ni—Cu nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (MPC) having enhanced activity and durability, and method of making said catalyst. The catalyst is synthesized by employing a solid state chemistry method, which involves thermally pretreating a N-doped MPC to remove moisture from the surface; impregnation of metal precursors on the N-doped MPC under vacuum condition; and reducing the metal precurors in a stream of CO and H2 gas mixture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2023
    Publication date: October 12, 2023
    Applicants: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., The University of Akron
    Inventors: Li Qin ZHOU, Kan HUANG, Hongfei JIA, Xiaochen SHEN, Zhenmeng PENG, Hisao KATO