LIQUID THICKENER FOR SURFACTANT SYSTEM

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a process for making a glucose derivative capable of being a liquid thickener by being dissolved in an aqueous solution suitable for thickening a surfactant-containing composition, e.g. a shampoo at a cold working temperature. SOLUTION: The process for making an alkoxylated glucose derivative comprising a lipophilic substituent with from 8 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein at least 25 wt.% of the glucose derivatives have three moles of the lipophilic substituents per mole of glucose, comprises the following steps: (i) contacting a glucose derivative with an alkylene oxide under reaction conditions effective to form an alkoxylated glucose intermediate substituted with the alkylene oxide; and (ii) contacting the alkoxylated glucose intermediate with a lipophilic reagent at reaction conditions effective to form a lipophilic substituent-containing alkoxylated glucose derivative, wherein at least 25 wt.% of the glucose derivative has three moles of the lipophilic substituent per mole of the glucose. COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT