Polymers for laundry applications

摘要

The present invention relates to use of a compound for promoting soil release during laundering of a textile fabric, the compound being a polymer having the general formula:- characterised in that each SU represents a sugar unit in a polysaccharide backbone; a represents the number of unsubstituted sugar units as a percentage of the total number of sugar units and is in the range from 0 to 99.9%, preferably 65 to 99%, more preferably 80 to 99%; b represents the number of substituted sugar units as a percentage of the total number of sugar units and is in the range from 0.1 to 100%, preferably 1 to 35%, more preferably 1 to 20%;m represents the degree of substitution per sugar unit and is from 1 to 3;L represents an ester or ether linkage; and R 1 represents a substituted alkyl group, preferably a hydroxyalkyl, carboxyalkyl or sulfoalkyl group or a salt thereof. A method of promoting soil release during laundering of a textile fabric and the use of such polymers in the manufacture of a laundry cleaning composition for effecting soil release from a laundry item form other aspects of the invention.