E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. has made its largest philanthropic gift ever by donating patents the company says is worth $64 million to three universities.

The University of Iowa, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Pennsylvania State University are benefiting from the gifts. The universities were chosen for their expertise in the technologies related to the patents, their ability to take the research further and their demonstrated interest in the patents, DuPont says.

The University of Iowa received patent rights to biotransformation processes valued at $35 million. Virginia Tech received patents related to the manufacture of thermoplastic composite sheets worth $23 million. Penn State received patents valued at $6 million for compounds shown to be effective for controlling mites in crops.

"We're confident that the universities have both the interest and the ability to carry the technology forward," says Randolph Guschl, DuPont's director of corporate technology transfer. "All three donations require additional research and development by the universities before they become commercially viable."