The present invention provides the following process for producing a fine organic pigment which is capable of producing the fine organic pigment that has a very small primary particle size and is excellent in filtering property even in a cleaning step, and a fine organic pigment produced by the process; a process for producing a dispersion using the fine organic pigment, and a dispersion produced by the process; and a process for producing an ink using the dispersion. The present invention relates to [1] a process for producing a fine organic pigment, including steps 1 and 2: step 1: kneading a mixture prepared by compounding a raw material organic pigment, a water-soluble inorganic salt, a water-soluble organic solvent and a compound represented by the following formula (1) with each other, the compound being compounded in an amount of not less than 0.8 part by mass and not more than 18.0 parts by mass on the basis of 100 parts by mass of the raw material organic pigment: R.sup.1O(PO).sub.m(EO).sub.nA (1); and step 2: subjecting the mixture obtained in the step 1 to cleaning treatment with an aqueous solvent and then to filtration, [2] a fine organic pigment produced by the process according to the above aspect [1], [3] a dispersion produced using the fine organic pigment according to the above aspect [2], [4] a process for producing a paste of a fine organic pigment, including the above step 1 and 2, [5] a process for producing a dispersion, including step 3 of subjecting the paste of the fine organic pigment produced by the process according to the above aspect [4], an organic solvent and water to dispersing treatment, and [6] a process for producing an ink, including step 4 of mixing the dispersion produced by the process according to the above aspect [5] with at least one material selected from the group consisting of water and an organic solvent.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a polarizer, including: a) immersing and swelling a polyvinyl alcohol-based film in an aqueous solution containing an azo-based dye having an absorption wavelength of 300 nm to 550 nm; b) dyeing the swollen polyvinyl alcohol-based film with an iodine-based dye; and c) stretching the dyed polyvinyl alcohol-based film, and a polarizer manufactured using the method.

A process for preparing a dispersion comprising the stages: i) providing a dispersion comprising a particulate solid, a liquid medium and a dispersant having cross-linkable groups and a weight averaged molecular weight of from 1,000 to 70,000; and ii) cross-linking the dispersant in the presence of the particulate solid and the liquid medium thereby preparing a dispersion of an encapsulated particulate solid, wherein the cross-linking is performed such that 0.01 to 0.5 mmoles of cross-linkable groups in the dispersant are cross-linked per g of dispersant; said process also comprising at any stage: iii) adding a metal chelating agent to the dispersion; and after stage iii) the stage of: iv) removing at least some of the metal chelating agent from the dispersion.

A color polarizing film including a polymer and a dichroic dye having an absorption wavelength region of about 380 nm to about 780 nm, wherein the color polarizing film exhibits a maximum absorption wavelength (λ.sub.max) in a wavelength range of about 380 nm to about 780 nm is provided.

Provided are fluorescent nanoparticles and their conjugates and methods of using the same for in vivo and in vitro diagnostics and other applications. In some embodiments, provided are fluorescent nanoparticles with high solid-state absolute quantum yield. In some embodiments, provided are methods of manufacturing such nanoparticles. Nanoparticles may comprise monomers, such as styrene, and fluorophores, such as AlEgen™ Bright Green.

A polarizing film includes a hydrophobic polymer and a dichroic dye, wherein the hydrophobic polymer includes a polypropylene polymer including about 0.5 mol % or less of an ethylene content (mol %), and has a distribution of a molecular weight of about 1 to about 5.

The invention relates to microcapsules having a particle size distribution that has at least two maxima, wherein the main maximum of the particle size lies in the range of 5 to 100 μm and wherein the volume assumed by the microcapsules that have a particle size less than ¼ of the particle size of the main maximum is greater than approximately 20% of the total volume of the microcapsules.

The invention pertains to an encapsulation system; in particular a 3-phase system comprising an inner, second and outer phase wherein the second phase is gaseous, and wherein the 3-phase system has a lifetime of at least 3 min and the second phase has a diameter of less than 1 mm. An example of such a system is a stable, small antibubble. Also, the invention pertains to methods of making such 3-phase systems, and to use and methods of use thereof. In particular, 3-phase systems according to the invention are stabilized by surface active particles or molecules, such as for instance colloidal particles. The 3-phase systems of the invention can include a variety of other compounds, and can among others be used in pharmaceutical- or food-based applications. In particular, a 3-phase system according to the invention, such as for example an antibubble, may deliver pharmaceutical compounds.

A material in the form of solid particles with a diameter varying from 10 μm to 1 cm is provided, composed of a continuous solid shell having at least one silicon oxide, said shell imprisoning an aqueous phase The aqueous phase includes at least one hydrophilic substance of interest S.sub.H and at least one droplet of a fatty phase predominantly having a crystallizable oil in the solid state at the storage temperature of said material The crystallizable oil has a melting point (T.sub.M) of less than 100° C. and including at least one lipophilic substance of interest S.sub.L.

A principle is established to show that nanoscale energy deposition in water by X-rays can be greatly enhanced via the geometry of nanostructures. The calculated results show that enhancement over background water can reach over 60 times for a single nanoshell made of gold. Other geometries and nanostructures are investigated, and it is found that a shell of gold nanoparticles can generate similar enhancement. The concepts of composition, matrix, and satellite effects are established and studied, all of which can further increase the enhancement of the effect of X-rays.