Recently patented and commercialized formulation and adjuvant technology

Applied research has rapidly advanced adjuvant and formulation technology over the past 5 years despite having few new chemicals approved for use. Progress has been due principally to increased efforts by agrochemical companies to renew older products that no longer have patent protection. Glyphosate is the best example of this trend where patents are filed monthly and manufacturers introduce new salts and formulations yearly. Many agrochemical markets are overwhelmed with new and improved formulations. Customers want manufacturers to put all the good things into one product to ensure performance and ease of use. Ingenuity by the adjuvant and formulation researchers has kept the patent literature active and the commercial pipeline full. This review covers recently filed patents and commercialized formulation and adjuvant technologies that claim to make products easier to use or improve their biological performance, application characteristics, safety, physicochemical properties, or other product characteristics. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.