assessment of current trends in r&d of chitin-based...

Journal of Intellectual Property Rights Vol 20, January 2015, pp 19-38

Assessment of Current Trends in R&D of Chitin-Based Technologies in

Agricultural Production-Consumption Systems using Patent Analytics

Kalpana Sastry R1†, Anshul Shrivastava2 and G Venkateshwarlu3

1,2National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030, India 3Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai- 400 061, India

Received 19 September 2014, accepted 15 January 2015

Chitin is a natural polysaccharide found in the outer skeleton of insects, crabs, shrimps, and lobsters and in the internal structures of other invertebrates. It forms a main source of production of chitosan, a more tractable material reported to have uses across a wide range of applications. This paper discusses the current trends in R&D of chitin based technologies with

applications in agricultural production − consumption systems. A conceptualised framework based on data collected through R&D indicators like literature and market products was first developed and used to assess the technology trends of these technologies in agricultural production systems using tools of patent analytics. The study indicates that the major applications of these technologies are in four sectors namely, crop management, food sector, veterinary and agri-machinery. Analysis of technology flow through forward and backward citation using a reference patent from each sector has also been done to assess trends in technology diffusion process in this fast emerging technology domain.

Keywords: Chitin, chitosan, crop management, food, veterinary, patent mapping, technology flow analysis

Chitin is a naturally occurring high molecular weight linear homopolysaccharide composed of N-acetyl-D

glucosamine residues in α (1-4) linkage. Chitin

and its derivatives (chitosan) are biodegradable and

biocompatible natural polymers that have been used in virtually every significant segment of the economy e.g.

water treatment, pulp and paper industry, biomedical

devices and therapies, cosmetics, biotechnology, agriculture, food science and veterinary therapeutics.

1,2

The importance of chitin was discovered in 1970s

when fishing companies were prevented from dumping

shells of crabs and lobsters at sea.3 A large amount of

chitin based substances are present in shells of shrimp,

crabs, lobsters and others, and account for about 10%

of global landings of aquatic products.4,5

Since the last two decades, shrimp and prawn shell waste have been

identified as reliable and continuous supply resources

of shell material for chitin production. The increase in consumption of shell fish

particularly in Asia and Middle East6 has further

aggravated the role of aquaculture waste as source of

chitin. The large quantum of chitin generated annually as wastes make it the second most abundant organic

and renewable source in nature after cellulose.7

Chitin is also present in the cell walls of most fungi8,9

and exoskeleton of arthropods. In most situations,

these substances are discarded as wastes with serious disposal problems leading to environmental

pollution. Therefore, the development of enzymatic

and/or microbiological approaches for degradation

of chitin wastes are advocated; as these eco-friendly techniques are safe, cheap, and clean with mild

reaction conditions. The resultant products from

these processes profess versatile applications in several fields including in agricultural systems

and help enhancing production and productivity

levels. The primary objective of this study is

to understand current trends in R&D of chitin based technologies as applications in the agricultural

production-consumption systems (PCS)10

towards

enhancing levels of production and productivity.

Rationale of the Study One of the major challenges for policy makers and

technology developers across the world is increasing

costs for R&D, and understanding the complexities

for informed decision making on the investments.

The multi-varied nature of applications across the wide expanse of agricultural canvas, and shortage of

trained manpower for up scaling the new technologies

into product development further compound these challenges. However, it is important to take

advantage of the unique and positive features of chitin

molecules and their derivatives. These include easy —————— †Corresponding author: Email: [email protected]

J INTELLEC PROP RIGHTS, JANUARY 2015

20

extractionfrom natural resources, biodegradable

properties, high functionality, biocompatibility in

animal and plant tissues, biodegradability with ecological safety, low toxicity and the changeable

molecular structures; all of which make these

compounds as versatile tools for applications in

various sectors and providing the needed impetus in technology upsurge and product development.

Applications of these are now proven technologies

in sectors like water purification, agricultural inputs, pharmaceuticals, biologicals, cosmetics, food

processing and packaging11

with promise of bettering

local economy through nurturing start-ups and local

enterprise development. Since these applications are variable and diverse across the PCS, a generalised

topic-driven framework was conceptualized using the

base data of information collected from available research papers (to corroborate early-phase research

activity) and from products available in markets

(for assessment of market need) collected through empirical research methods. This basic framework

was then used for technology assessments using

patent analytics.

Methodology and Assessment

Secondary Data Retrieval – From Literature Sources

Relevant literature was retrieved from various

sources included research publications, research

papers, reports, review papers, news articles, perspectives, website reviews, letters, commentary,

conference papers and chapters in books. A search on

paper titles and abstracts using a list of strategically selected keywords based on chitin research in crop,

food and veterinary and machinery sectors formed

part of the search strategy and was sourced through

available online resources. Advanced search and retrieval of full text of the identified publications was

done through PubMed-NCBI12

or Consortium for

e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA).13

The collected literature was then studied in detail to

gauge and understand the type of applications of

chitin and chitin based technologies as applied in the agricultural PCS. Based on the application, four

sectors namely i)-crop management (plant growth,

farm input, flowering/fruit growth, soil management,

fertilizer delivery, pest management, herbicide delivery, insect control etc); ii) food sector (food

processing, packaging, antimicrobial agent, food

additive, preservatives, enzyme immobilization etc); iii) veterinary sector (drug delivery, wound healing,

medicine, tissue engineering, chemotherapeutics etc)

and iv) agri-machinery (waste water treatment and

medical devices) were found as the areas/sectors of applications of these technologies. Table 1 summarizes

this information along with specific reference for

each application.

Secondary Data Retrieval – From Commercially Available

Products

In order to understand the market pull of chitin and its derivative products extracted from

aquatic bioresources, a preliminary survey was

done through search of internet based-company websites to enlist the commercial brands in Indian

and worldwide markets. A summary of this is

depicted in Tables 2 and 3 along with applications in the various components of agricultural PCS.

Exoskeleton of marine fish, shrimp shells, crabs,

arthropods and crustaceans were found to be major

source of chitin production in these areas with product applications in food processing, packaging, water

filtration, horticultural and agri-inputs, biofertilizer,

biomedicines etc. Several locations along the coast of Southern India formed foci for manufacturing and

export of good quality of chitin and derivative

products. The identification of 13 commercial brands containing chitin and chitosan available in the

market worldwide (Table 3) indicates the emergence

of applications of these commercialised products

in three sectors of crop management, food and veterinary sectors only.

A recent report on analysing worldwide markets for

chitin and chitosan products indicates diverse end-use segments. These include water treatment, cosmetics,

food and beverages, healthcare/medical, agrochemicals,

biotechnology, pulp and paper, textile finishes with

possible markets in US, Canada, Asia-Pacific and Europe. As many as 31 companies including key

and niche players worldwide are reported to be in

this business57

with some of them focussing on some of the sectors across agricultural PCS.

Conceptualization of Framework

The identified Chitin-based technologies for

prospective use in four sectors (crop management,

food processing, animal health care (veterinary)

and agri-machinery) were used for developing a conceptual framework (Fig. 1). The framework

formed a base for identification and characterizing

the patent search strategies and for mapping the information through patent analytics.

SASTRY et al.: ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT TRENDS IN R&D OF CHITIN-BASED TECHNOLOGIES

21

Table 1—Applications of chitin and chitin-based technologies in agricultural systems *

Application area Specific use/Applications References

Crop management • Plant elicitor 14

• Stimulation of chitinase and glucanase production (increased response

to pathogen attack)

15

• Stimulation of chitinase activity in compost (change of bacterial and

fungal genetic diversity

• Antimicrobial (antifungal) agent and biopesticide 16, 17

• Enhancing plant vitality and plant’s ability to degrade walls of fungi upon entry

18, 19, 20, 21, 22

• Fertilizer and biocontrol agents

• Enhancing biocontrol efficiency by addition to plant growth promoting

rhizobacteria (PGPR)

23, 24, 25

• Plant disease control 26

• Insecticides 27, 28, 29

Food sector • Food and nutrition 30

• Bioconversion for the production of value-added food products

• Preservation of food 31

• Filmogen properties – Food wrap

• Filtration and clarification of fruit juices 32

• Hypolipidemic and hypocholesterolimic agent (slimming agents) 33

• Antioxidant 34

• Phenolic compounds adsorption 35

• Chitosan hydrogels for cell immobilization (Lactic acid production) and for pigment encapsulation (astaxanthin) used in aquaculture to give typical

salmon color

36

• Iron extract (to help in preventing bad odors in cooked meat) 37

Veterinary/ biomedical • Biomedicine, Burns and wounds dressings for humans and animals 38, 39, 40

• Antitumor activity 41

• Drug delivery, gene delivery 42

• Artificial skin, pharmacy 43, 44, 45

• For nerve regeneration, since nerve conduit have the ability to facilitate

nerve cell attachment

46

• Therapeutic agents for tumors (chitin and chitosan conjugates of 5-fluoro

uracil)

47, 48

• Encapsulation applications due to chitosan ability to form gels in the

presence of certain divalent cations such as calcium, barium and strontium

49

• Self-hardening paste for guided tissue regeneration in treatment of

periodontal bone defects (hydroxyapatite–chitin–chitosan composite bone-filling material)

50

• Tissue engineering 51, 52, 53

Agri-machinery • Removal and binding dyes

• Removal/recovery of metal ions from wastewaters copper (Cu2+), chromium (CrVI), cadmium, lead (pb2+), Nickel (Ni2+), mercury, iron, silver, zinc, cobalt, and arsenic

54, 55, 56

• Sludge treatment and dehydration agent

*Based on literature (n = 43) collected from various resources viz. CeRA, PubMed, Google scholar by the authors


22

Table 2—Product portfolio of chitin and its derivatives in Indian markets

Category/Area Name of company Products Product source Application

Mahtani Chitosan Pvt Ltd, Veraval, Gujarat [http://www.indiamart.com/ mahtani-chitosan/]

Chitin flakes, chitin powder, chitosan flakes, chitosan microcrystalline powder, water soluble chitosan

Shrimp shell Food additive, food processing, water filtration, fertilizer, agriculture and horticulture, biomedicine

Marine Chemicals, Ernakulam, Kerala

[http://www.indiamart.com/merongroup/chitin-and-chitosan.html]

Chitin and chitosan powder

Exoskeleton of crabs and shrimps

Healing agent, flocculating agent, food processing,

water filtration

Axiogen Biotech, Pondicherry [http://www.indiamart.com/

axiogen-pvt-ltd/]

Chitosan fertilizer, chitosan oligosaccharides, chitin and chitosan powder

Shells of arthropods and cell wall of fungus

Agriculture, organic fertilizer, biomedicine, food processing, waste

treatments

Chem Solve Marine Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

[http://www.indiamart.com/ cs-marinetech/]

High density chitosan and chitin

Cell wall of fungi, exoskeleton of insects, arthropods, shrimps

and crabs

Antimicrobial agent, food industry, water treatment

Food sector, agri-machinery, crop management,

biomedical/ veterinary

On Shores, Mumbai, Maharashtra

[http://dir.indiamart.com/impcat/ chitosan.html]

Chitin and chitosan

granules

Shrimps and Crabs Agriculture, biomedicine,

food processing, cosmetics, textiles, treatment of industrial wastes

Pelican Biotech and Chemical Labs Pvt. Ltd, Alleppey, Kerala

[http://www.indiamart.com/pelican-biotech/products.html#chitin]

Chitin Marine shellfish exoskeleton

Food additive, biomedicine

Marshall Marine Products, Erode, Tamil Nadu [http://www.indiamart.com/marshall-marine-products/]

Chitin polysaccharides, Chitosan biopolymers


Food processing and packaging, biomedicine

Shrividhya Enterprises, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra

[http://www.indiamart.com/shrividya-enterprises/]

Chitin, Chitosan oligosaccharides

Crustacean exoskeleton

Food additives, biomedicine

Food sector, Veterinary/ biomedical

Bioplus Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, Karnataka [http://www.indiamart.com/company/3449235/products.html]

Chitin and derivatives Marine shellfish Biomedicine, nutraceuticals

Food sector Kerala State Co-Operative Federation, Kollam, Kerala [http://www.fisheries.kerala.gov.in]

Chitin and chitosan powder

Shellfish Food processing and packaging

Crop management, food sector

India Sea Foods, Kochi, Kerala [http://www.indiamart.com/indiaseafoods/]

Chitin and chitosan granules


Seed and leaf coating, bio fertilizer, food processing, biodegradable packaging, flavour extender

Source: Collected and compiled from various sources by the authors; Data found to be distributed across three sectors only

Retrieval of Relevant Patent Documents

Formation of Search String Using Relevant Keywords

A set of subject specific keywords and

standardized search strings was developed using the data collected during the literature and product

surveys. Standardized search strings were prepared

using truncation and Boolean operators and selected keywords. Keywords included chitin* or chitosan* or

chitinase* and food* or food processing* or food packaging* or food additive* or food preservatives*

or nutritional quality* and plant growth* or farm

input* or soil management* or fertilizer delivery* or

pest management* or flowering* or fruit growth* or herbicide delivery* or insecticide delivery* and

veterinary medicine* or wound healing* or tissue

regeneration* or drug delivery* or chemotherapeutic*


23

Table 3—Examples of commercial brands containing chitosan available in the global markets

Category Product name Product features Company/ Source

KiOfine®-B • Plant biopolymers, chitin, chitosans, chitin-

glucan and derivatives of these products used in the beverage industry Registered trademark

KitoZyme , Belgium [http://www.trademarkia.com/kiofine-79039730.html]

No Brett Inside® • Composed of chitosane

• Completely natural.

• Reduces the Brettanomyces population from

3 x 105 cells/mL to 0 in 10 days of treatment

• Patented process

KitoZyme, Belgium [http://www.lallemandwine.com/I

MG/pdf_3voletsNoBrett-CorrGB-2.pdf]

Chitosan –KiOnutrime-Cs®

• Unique, non-animal chitosan that is dedicated

to the nutraceutical industry

• Vegetable fat binder

• On 12 January 2012, [ 21 CFR §173.280],

KiOnutrime-Cs® was Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS),

• Used as a direct food ingredient in Foods and Beverages

• Registered trademark

KitoZyme, Belgium [http://kitozyme.com/eng/media/news/gras-status-obtained-for-kitozyme]

GNC Total Lean™ Chitosan with Glucomannan

• Containing chitosan fiber derived from

shellfish supplement.


GNC LiveWell, Australia [http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2459379]

Fat Absorb™ • Contains chitosan fiber, which promotes a feeling of fullness

• Fat Blocker is a unique, effective blend of

natural ingredients that work together in the body


Vitabase, Monroe, Georgia [http://www.vitabase.com/supplements/weight-loss/fatblocker.aspx]

LipoSan Ultra™ • The main constituent in LipoSan Ultra® is

chitosan, which has been modified and optimised to enhance its solubility and fat binding performance

• LipoSan Ultra™ is a patented (US Patent #

6,130,321) product that also contains succinic acid, which is a GRAS (Generally Regarded

As Safe) approved food additive


Primex ehf, Icelandic marine biotech company,

Iceland [http://www.liposan.com/Products/Liposan-Ultra/]

Food sector

Absorbitol® • Soluble fiber also called Chitosan

(pronounced kite-o-san) designed to reduce calories


Nutriline.org,

United Kingdom [www.nutriline.org/article/3]

Chitosan-Newsun - fungicide

• Water soluble chitosan

• Agriculture fungicide


Chengdu Newsun Crop Science Co., Ltd, China

[http://cdnewsun.en.alibaba.com/product/533505809200015999/Water_soluble_chitosan_95_TC.html]

Plantnurse (Chitosan) –biofertilizer

• Biofertilizer products from various China

Plantnurse (Chitosan)

• Chitosan oligosaccharide and seaweed extracts


China Ocean University Organism Project Development Co., Ltd. [http://oceanuniversity.jxb2b.com/Plantnurse-Chitosan-Bio-

Fertilizer-21235.html]

Crop management

Contd….


24

Table 3—Examples of commercial brands containing chitosan available in the global markets

Category Product name Product features Company/ Source

Seawinner – Chitosan Liquid

(Bio Fertilizer)

• Chitosan liquid, bio organic fertilizer,

effectively protect crops from baby plant period


China Ocean University Organism Project Development

Co., Ltd. [http://www.agriculturekey.com/agric-byp_221543_Chitosan-Bio-Fertilizer.htm]

Chitosan Wound Dressing

• Chitosan wound dressing

• Easy to stop pain and bleeding easily

• Promote wound to heal


Anhui Xiaoshan Medical Material Co., Ltd., China

http://cnxiaoshan.en.alibaba.com/product/466094547-

200586934/Chitosan_Wound_Dressing.html

CELOX Trauma Gauze

• High performance chitosan-derived hemostatic designed to stop lethal bleeding fast


SAM Medical Products, USA http://www.sammedical.com/celox_trauma_gauze.html

Veterinary sector

Chitosan Wound Dressing

• Chitosan wound dressing is a “green product” which made from the shell of shrimp, crab, etc.

• It can be solved and absorbed, less bleeding, painless, anti-bacterial and improve the wound healing.

Roosin Medical Co. Ltd. China http://www.roosin.com/products/Product-284.html

Source: Collected and compiled from various sources by the authors; Data found to be distributed across three sectors only

Fig. 1—Conceptualised framework integrating possible sectors and applications.


25

Fig. 2—Flowchart for retrieval of relevant patent records and analysis.

or analgesic effect* etc. Selected records as

relevant to chitin and chitin–based technologies

with applications across agricultural PCS were then subjected to full text search of patents (patent titles,

abstract, claims and descriptions) and analysis

through (International Patent Classification (IPC).

Search of Patent Using Database

Search of relevant patents was done from three

resources. These are:

• Databases of international/national patent offices

e.g., United States Patent and Trademark Office

(USPTO-www.uspto.gov); European Patent

Office (EPO-www.epo.org); and Indian Patent Office (IPO-www.ipindiaservices.gov.in)

• Free databases − World Intellectual Property

Organization (Patent Scope- www.patentscope.

wipo.int) and Patent Lens (www.patentlens.net)

• Paid database – Questel (www.orbit.com)

A standardized protocol was followed wherein

the first search was performed in EPO, USPTO and Patent Lens by keyword search method

in combination of specific sector and ‘chitin’ or

‘chitosan’. This was followed by second level search strategy performed through Patent lens and Patent

scope using same keywords but with varying search

string applicable within the matrix of that database.

The final search was performed in Questel database

by extending the keywords to increased level of

specificity. Search for relevant patents for each sector was performed separately in combination with main

sector “chitin” or its derivatives.

Sorting of Data and Retrieval of Relevant Set

All the search results were combined and relevant

documents58

extracted from the set. Resulting records

of patents were then reduced to one patent per family. Duplicates were removed and temporary work sheets

were exported in Excel format. Scrutiny of individual

patents for identifying any applications in agricultural

PCS was then done. Using this three- step approach, a set of 226 patents records with implications for agri-

crop management (71), food sector (105), veterinary

healthcare (31) and devices/machinery (19) were retrieved. Fig. 2 summarizes the steps in a flowchart

used for retrieval of relevant patent records.

Assessment through Patent Analytics

Patent analytics is a unique management tool

for addressing the strategic management of the

technology and its product or service development process. Translating patent data into competitive

intelligence allows the technology owner to gauge

its current technical competitiveness, to forecast technological trends, and to plan for potential


26

competition based on new technologies.59

An

assessment of potential technology as applicable

in complex PCS of agriculture systems can be challenging. Any empirical analysis of a set of

226 patents60

in the particular domain would only

be indicative in nature as the technology is yet at a

conceptual level to permit realistic assessments. Analysis of patents granted in the area and related

areas is well accepted empirical tool for making

assessments about potential technologies as they can be viewed as indicator of the broader trajectory of

innovation in an emerging field.61

While not all

patents result in active commercialization, growth and

accumulation of patents in a new area of technology has been considered as indicating directions for

subsequent investments and related product/process

innovations.62

Thus, patent analytics was used to both assess current status and trends in chitin–based

technology development, and classify and map the

technology63,64,65

to relevant application areas of agricultural PCS for strategic planning.

Results and Discussion

The set of 226 patents records66

retrieved by the standardized protocol was analyzed in detail for

bibliographic, patent timeline and technology trend

analysis.

Patenting Trends in Various Sectors

It has been found that patenting trends in food

sector was maximum followed by crop management,

veterinary sector and agri-machinery (Fig. 3). The trend observed in food sector is also substantiated

from the data collected through literature and market

product surveys. It has been observed that in recent past that more emphasis on R&D initiatives for green

solutions was being advocated and that several

synthetic compounds was not acceptable by end-users.

33 It is also interesting to note that several

technologies based on chitin and its derivatives have

emerging applications in subsectors in crop inputs and

animal healthcare sectors. Environmental-friendly

technologies using naturally occurring agri-waste for

disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in crop and in veterinary medicine are currently advocated to

combat growing economic losses due to diseases and

pests in crop67

and animal PCS68

thus improving the productivity.

Bibliometric Analysis

Assignee Analysis

Patent ownership in this sector was found to be diverse (Table 4) indicating the wide range of interest by

the concerned researchers and other prospective players.

Country Analysis

Patenting activity was found widely distributed

across the countries (Fig. 4) in all the three sectors

namely crop management, food and veterinary with maximum records in Russia (34.3%, 48.5% and

12.9%, respectively) followed by China (11.5, 21.9

and 22.5%, respectively), US (4.3%, 4.7% and 6.4%, respectively), Europe (4.3%, 2% and 6.5%,

respectively) and India (1%, 2.8% and 3.2%,

respectively). In case of agri-machinery sector, maximum patents were from US (15.78%) followed

by Europe (10.52%), Japan (5.3%) and India (5.3).

About 28.57%, 7.6%, 22.5% and 63.15% of the

patents were Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) filings in crop management, food sector, veterinary sector

and agri-machineries, respectively. This indicates

growing interest of all the players engaged in R&D of chitin-based technology for entering diverse

geographical markets.

Family Analysis

A patent family is a set of either patent applications

or publications taken in multiple countries to protect a single invention by a common inventor(s) and then

patented in more than one country. A first application

is made in one country giving the priority and is then

extended to other offices.69

Using search tools in paid databases like Questel and through other resources

in like Espacenet and Patent Lens, status of patent

family for 226 records of patents was determined. The results showed the spread of these inventions

across eight jurisdictions and indicated the strategic

approach of the technology owner to protect the invention and explore diverse market opportunities

for it. Trends of patent family filing were ascertained

for all the 226 patent records across the four identified

sectors. It was found that maximum filing was in machinery and veterinary sectors (Table 5).

Fig. 3—Distribution of patents in sectors of PCS (n=226).


27

Table 4—Assignee status of chitin based technology

A. Crop management sector Percent patent records

Rusian Research Institute of Biological Plant Protection (Russia)# 30

SDS Biotech K. K Tokyo, (Japan) * 5.7

Bayer CropScience (Germany)* 5.7

E I du Pont de Nemours and Company, (US)* 4.28

IGI Biotechnology (US)* 2.85

Bios Agriculture Inc (Canada)* 1.4

Bioworks, Inc (US)* 1.4

BASF (Germany)* 1.4

B. Food sector

Rusian Research Institute of Biological Plant Protection (Russia)# 12.38

Krasnodarskij nauchno-issledovatel'skij institut khranenija i pererabotki sel'skokhozjajstvennoj produktsii (Russia)#

8.57

Federal'noe gosudarstvennoe obrazovatel'noe uchrezhdenie vysshego professional'nogo obrazovanija Dal'nevostochnyj gosudarstvennyj tekhnicheskij rybokhozjajstvennyj universitet (Russia)# 7.6

Oeste, Franz D (Germany)* 5.7

Far Eastern State Technical Fisheries University (Russia)# 2.85

E I du Pont de Nemours and Company (US)* 2.85

Guangdong Ocean University (China)# 2.85

B-K Medical ApS (Denmark)* 2.85

Novozymes AS (Denmark)* 0.95

China agricultural university (China)# 0.95

C. Veterinary sector

Medicarb AB (Europe)* 10.52

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (India)# 5.26

Ravindran K (I) (India)* 5.26

GP Medical (US)* 5.26

MD Bioalpha Co Ltd (Korea)* 5.26

D. Agri-machinery Boston Scientific Limited, West Indies* 10.5

Gel-Del Technologies, Inc, US* 10.5

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),Chennai, India# 5

Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Germany* 5

Marine Polymer Technologies, Inc, US* 5

n = 226 patent records; *denotes industrial organization and corporate bodies; # denotes public sector organizations

Fig. 4—Priority country analysis of patent records in various sectors.


28

Table 5—Mapping of patent records in various sub-sectors and jurisdictions

Sector Sub-sectors No. of records with patent family status

Jurisdiction*

Food processing (n=47) 7 US, JP, CN, RU, CA, EP, FR

Antimicrobial agent (n=10) 2 US, AU, CN, JP, DK

Edible film /Packaging (n=3) 1 US, KR, DE, AU, EP, CZ, EP, BR, AT

Food additive (n=31) 1 DE, US, JP

Nutritional quality(n=4) 0 ----

Food preservatives (n=5) 0 ----

Enzyme immobilization (n=5) 0 ----

Food sector (n=105)

Total Percentage 10.5

Plant growth (n=30) 2 US, CN, AU, EP, CA, MX, ES, DE, IL, HU, BR, JP, HK

Farm input (n=4) 2 NZ, US, EP, CN, AU, IN, ZA, IL, CO, RU, JP, EA, AP, KR, MX

Soil management/fertilizer delivery (n=11)

3 US, EP, IL, CA, JP

Pest management (n=6) 3 BR, CA, EP, AU, US, TW, RU, UY,JP, KR, RS, SI, DK, ES, PT, DE, AT, NZ, ZA, CN, CA, AR, IN, MA

Flowering/fruit growth (n=3) 1 US, CN, RU, AU, EP, CA, ZA, MX, IN

Herbicides delivery (n=6) 5 EP, JP, BR, EA, US, CN, CA, AU, MX, CR, IN, KR, NZ, RU, DE, JP, RO, ZA, IL

Insecticides delivery (n=8) 5 DE, JP, US, BR, RU, CN, CA, EP, AU,

AR, TW, IL, ZA, IN, MA, KR, ES, AT, NZ, MX, GB

Seed coating (n=3) 2 TW, JP, PT, ES, DK, AT, AU, CN, RU, PL, NZ, HU, BR, CA, EP, AR, IL, ZA, US, IN, MX, KR, EP , MY

Control of agrochemical release

(n=1)

0 ----

Crop management (n=71)

Crop management

(n=71)

Total Percent 32.4

Veterinary medicine (n=4) 2 CA, MX, PE, CU, NO, CN, JP, EP, DE, AT

Wound healing (n=13) 4 CA, CN, EP, JP, HK, RU, AT, DE, BR, US, AU, SE, IL

Tissue regeneration (n=6) 2 AT, EP, KR, CN, IN, US, JP, AU, CA, JP, IL

Drug delivery (n=2) 2 JP, US, GB, CA, DE, IN, KR, EP

Chemotherapeutics (n=3) 3 AU, CA, EP, IL, US, NO, AT

Immunomodulatory agents (n=2) 1 AU, EP, BR, US, NZ, JP

Analgesic effect (n=1) 0 ----

Veterinary sector (n=31)

Total Percent 45

Devices/machinery (Medical) (n=15)

13 US, IN, EP, DE , JP, AU, CA, CN, AT, NO, IL, ES

Devices/machinery (waste water

treatment/water filter) (n=4)

3 US, IN, CN, EP, DE, JP, KR, BR, MX, KR

Agri-machinery (n=19)

Total Percent 84

*Jurisdiction: Represents family members in various countries; viz. RU: Russian Federation, CN: China; WO: WIPO (PCT Filing); IN:

India; CA: Canada; EP: European Patent Office; KR: Republic of Korea; DE: Germany; ES: Spain; US: United States of America; TW: Taiwan-Province of China; AT: Austria; MX: Mexico; IL: Italy; CO: Columbia; NZ: New Zealand; ZA: South Africa; PL: Poland; HU: Hungary; ID: Indonesia; NO: Norway; AR: Argentina; DK: Denmark; BR: Brazil; SE: Sweden; MA: Morocco; UY: Uruguay; PT: Portugal; SI: Slovenia; RO: Romania; AP: African Regional IP Organization; PE: Peru; CZ: Czech Republic; HK: Hong Kong; RS: Serbia; EA: Eurasian Patent Organization; CR: Costa Rica; MA: Malaysia; CU: Cuba


29

Significantly, the associated assignees with these

technologies were found to more predominantly

from private sector indicating the technology

commercialization plan in wider markets.

Patent Timeline Analysis

The reference date in patent documents reflects timing of invention, process and strategy of

the applicant. In the present study, two indicators,

namely, priority year and publication year were used to gauge trends in inventive activities over

a span of years. It is known that priority date/year

is the first date of filing of patent application anywhere in the world and considered closest to the

invention date while publication year reflects the

time the information is disclosed to the public from

statutory offices. Using priority date is most often recommended as it reflects the inventive performance

of technologies, while publication year reflects the

rate at which statutory offices are working on these technologies and therefore the time from which it

forms full prior art for other patent applications

worldwide.70

The quantum of patents on application

of chitin in crop management, food sector, veterinary medicine/ healthcare and agri-machinery (Fig. 5 & 6)

shows exponential growth (priority year) from the

base period of 1990-93 till 1998-2001. Following this, a small decline was seen. The same trend was

observed in publication year, exponential growth

from base period of 1990-93 till 2002-05, though not coinciding with priority year. This difference is

attributed to difference in timelines at national patent

offices during examinations.

Technology Trend- IPC and Claim Analysis

A more detailed assessment on the fields of technology was made by analysing the distribution

pattern of the patents in various subfields of the

categories under International Patent Classification

(IPC)71

and also browsing through the claims in

individual patent record. The patents were found in

about 20 IPC classes (till sub-class level or the third hierarchical level of classification) covering a large

domain of sectors. IPC code analysis was restricted to

the fourth hierarchical level of the classification i.e. at ‘group’ level. It was found that maximum number of

patent records (70%) of chitin based technologies in

crop management were categorised in IPC code

A01N which covers fields of “preservation of plants or parts; biocides, e.g. as disinfectants, as pesticides

or as herbicides; pest repellents or attractants; plant

growth regulators” and “planting, sowing, fertilizing”. In case of food sector, maximum numbers of patent

records (33%) were in IPC code A23L followed

by A23B (11.42%) covering range of food and preservation technologies (Table 6). Patent records

in veterinary sector were categorised into A61K

(51.6%) pertaining to “preparations for medical,

dental, or toilet purposes” and “methods or apparatus for sterilising materials or objects in general;

disinfection, sterilisation, or; chemical aspects of

bandages, dressings, absorbent pads, or surgical articles; materials for bandages, dressings, absorbent

pads, or surgical articles”. About 15 % records under

agri-machinery indicated primary IPC class as A61K and A61 F which identifies devices related to medical

applications, and for filtration devices in waste water

reclamation technologies (Table 6).

Indian Scenario

A preliminary attempt was also made to retrieve

the patents (applications/grant) filed in India through

iPAIRS.72

Published patent applications could be

browsed through title and abstracts only as the full text of the applications were not available.

Fig. 5—Patent timeline analysis- Priority Year (n=226).

Fig. 6—Patent timeline analysis- Publication Year (n=226).


30

Granted patents were browsed with the help of

complete specification, available in html format.

A total of 7 relevant documents (applications and granted) were finally retrieved for further analysis.

Indications of early work on technologies with

applications in all four sectors were identified

(Table 7) with assignees ranging from academic institute like Council of Scientific & Industrial

Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)

to transnational organizations like, Novozyme. However, a major thrust of R&D was found related to

applications of biocides and food preservation

technologies.

Technology Flow Analysis − Case Study Using Single Reference Patent from Each Sector

Patent citation analysis was done to know the

technological diffusion in Chitin based technologies.

Tools like estimation of patent value through backward citation (technology inflow) and forward

citation (technology outflow) was done. A reference

patent was selected from three sectors (namely food, crop management and veterinary sectors) on the basis

of maximum number of citations and citation velocity

(ratio of forward and backward citations). It is known

that greater citation velocity (i.e less backward citations and more forward citations) indicates that the

Table 6—Technology classification of chitin-based technologies in sectors of agricultural PCS

A. Crop management (n=71)

IPC Technology description Patent %

A01N Preservation of plants or parts thereof; biocides, e.g. as disinfectants, as pesticides or as herbicides; pest repellents or attractants; plant growth regulators 70

A01C Planting; sowing; fertilising 8.5

A01P Biocidal, pest repellent, pest attractant or plant growth regulatory activity of chemical compounds or preparations 4.2

C12N Micro-organisms or enzymes; compositions thereof (biocides, pest repellents or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing micro-organisms, viruses, microbial fungi, enzymes, fermentates, or substances produced by, or extracted from, micro-organisms or animal material ); propagating, preserving, or maintaining micro-organisms; mutation or genetic engineering; culture media 4.2

C05F Organic fertilisers e.g. fertilisers from waste or refuse 4.2

B. Food sector (n=105)

A23L Foods, foodstuffs, or non-alcoholic beverages; preservation of food/foodstuffs 33.3

A01F Storing agricultural or horticultural produce 10.47

A23B Preserving, e.g. by canning, meat, fish, eggs, fruit, vegetables, edible seeds; chemical ripening of fruit or vegetables; the preserved, ripened, or canned products 11.42

A01N Preservation of plants or parts thereof ; biocides, e.g. as disinfectants, as pesticides or as herbicides; pest repellents or attractants; plant growth regulators 4.7

C08B Polysaccharides; derivatives thereof 4.7

C. Veterinary sector (n=31)

A61K Preparations for medical, dental, or toilet purposes 51.6

A61L Methods or apparatus for sterilising materials or objects in general; disinfection, sterilisation, or deodorisation of air; chemical aspects of bandages, dressings, absorbent pads, or surgical articles; materials for bandages,

dressings, absorbent pads, or surgical articles 16.12

A01N Preservation of bodies of humans or animals or plants or parts thereof 12.9

C08B Polysaccharides; derivatives thereof 6.4

A61P Specific therapeutic activity of chemical compounds or medicinal preparations 6.4

D. Agri-machinery (n=19)

A61K Preparations for medical, dental, or toilet purposes 21

A61F Filters implantable into blood vessels; prostheses; devices providing patency to, or preventing collapsing

of, tubular structures of the body, e.g. stents; orthopaedic, nursing or contraceptive devices; fomentation; treatment or protection of eyes or ears; bandages, dressings or absorbent pads; first-aid kits 15.7

A61N Electrotherapy; magnetotherapy; radiation therapy; ultrasound therapy 10.5

B01D Separation (separating solids from solids by wet methods) 5.2

B01J Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis, colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus 5.2

* Total set of 226 records, IPC codes as per WIPO IPC version 2013.01


31

Table 7—List of patented technologies* in India

Category/ Area Patent number Priority year Publication year Assignee IPC Technology

IN0136/CHE/2000 A 20100326

2000/02/21 2010/03/26 Ravindran K A61L-027/00 Material for prostheses or for coating (sterilizing)

IN1602/CHE/2006 A 20080314

2006/09/05 2008/03/14 Pelican Biotech & Chemical labs,. Kerala

A23L-001/00 Food or foodstuffs; their preparation or preservation

Food Sector WO2010070655 A1

IN2830/DEL/2008 A 2008/12/15 2009/03/31

2010/06/25 2010/06/24

Council of Scientific &

Industrial Research

A23L-001/00 C08L-005/00

Food or foodstuffs; their preparation or preservation

Composition of polysaccharides & their derivatives

IN1245/MAS/1995 A 20050225

1994/09/01 2005/02/25 Novo Nordisk AS A01N-63/00 Biocides, pest repellants or plant growth regulators containing microorganisms

IN225571 B 20081226

1995/09/26 2008/12/26 Novozymes AS A01N 63/00

Biocides, pest repellants or plant growth regulators

containing microorganism

Crop Management

IN1971/CHE/ 2007 A

2007/09/04 2009/09/11 Novozymes AS A01N-037/20 Biocides, pest repellants or plant growth regulators containing organic compound

Agri- machinery WO2012028964 A2 20120308 IN2563/CHE/

2010 A

2010/09/03 2012/03/08 2012/06/29

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Chennai

B01J-020/00 C01B-031/00

Solid sorbent compositions or filter aid compositions Carbon; compounds thereof

* Data from 2009 onwards only. Source: iPAIRS (Indian Patent Office-www.ipindiaservices.gov.in)

Table 8—List of forward and backward citation of selected reference patent from each sector

Sector Sub-sector Reference Patent Major IPC Code

No. of cited documents (backward

citation)

No. of citing documents

(forward citation)

Citation velocity (forward citation/

backward

citation)

Food Sector Food processing JP 3635545 (B2) A23L 4 6 1.5

Crop Management Soil management/ fertilizer delivery

US 4536207 (A) A01N 6 23 3.8

Veterinary Sector Wound healing EP 0830381 (A1) A61K 9 9 1

technology is very novel and not an improvement

over the existing technology, and has better prospects

of gaining market value.73

Table 8 tabulates the

records showing highest citation velocity among the set of records in these sectors. On this basis, these

patent records were then designated as the reference

patents for that sector and citation maps for each case was generated using forward and backward citations.

Among the three sectors, citation velocity was highest

in crop management indicating the trends of new

applications of these technologies in crop input sector. This corroborates with recent evidences of emerging

SME clusters in these sectors particularly in

biocides.74

Citation Map Analysis of Chitin-Based Technologies in Food Sector

The reference patent JP3635545-B2 granted in

2005 is based on technology for production of chitosan solution by using shell waste material,

useful in food processing. There were 4 backward

citations and 6 forward citations (Table 9). The technologies from backward citations focussed

primarily on techniques for food preservation with

no indication of chitin or its derivatives as part

of technology. However, the technology outflow as deduced from forward citations of the reference

patent indicate the applications across varied sectors

(as evident by primary IPC class of forward citations) (A23L; C02F; A61K; C09K; C08F).


32

Table 9—Technology analysis using backward and forward citations

Citation Publication no. Kind code IPC Technology

JPH06277002 A A23L Food preservation using vinegar and glacial acetic acid solution

JPH07298855 A A23L Preservation of shellfish using citric acid

JPH078239 A A23L,A01N Antimicrobial agent for food

Backward Citation

JPS52110878 A A23L Preservation of food

Reference patent JP3635545 B2 A23L Production of chitosan solution by using shell waste material, useful in food processing

JP2001152152 A C09K Use of chitosan solution for crop improvement

JP2003304846 A A23L Preservation of food and drinks

JP2005220004 A C08F Production of mineral supplements using shell, crust and algae

JP2006320318 A A23L Use of polysaccharides, enzymes as food additives

JP2007000821 A C02F Fermentation of organic waste to produce useful organic compound, waste water treatment

Forward Citation

JP2010195756 A A61K Method of producing nanocalcium using shell waste

Fig. 7—Technology diffusion process for Patent No. JP3635545 in the food sector. *Each box indicates-(i) patent application number/publication number with its status (ii) IPC code; The year of publication/ grant based on patent document is also indicated in the figure.

Fig. 7 shows the citation map for selected reference patent (JP3635545- B2) in food sector. It can be

observed that major number of patents have been

classified under IPC ‘A23L’ (food, foodstuffs, non alcoholic beverages, their preparation or treatment or

preservation) followed by A61K (preparation for

medical, dental processes); A01N (preservation of food or foodstuffs); C01F (method of making

compounds); C02F (treatment of waste water) and

C08F (macromolecular compounds obtained by

enzymatic or fermentation process).

Technology inflow to the base patent was through backward citations. The focus of these patents

was found in techniques of food preservation using

citric acid, acetic acid and other antimicrobial agents. These formed the prior art for novel

technology for production of chitosan solution by

using shell waste material with applications in food processing as indicated in reference patent

JP3635545. The six forward citations from this

reference patent indicated a diversification of

application of chitosan solution. Technologies were


33

found developed with applications in fermentation

processes for waste water treatment; nanocalcium

formulations for fertilizer use; mineral supplements; enzyme additives in food products and also for

enhancing preservation of processed food products.

Citation Analysis of Chitin in Crop Management

The reference patent (US 4536207-A) indicated

about 23 forward and 6 backward citations. The

patent documents which formed backward citations mainly focused on processes for extraction of chitin,

chitosan and protein from shell fish wastes IPC-B01D

(method of extraction) and categorized products from

these processes as categorised under IPC-C08B (polysaccharides and derivatives) or in IPC-A23J

(obtaining protein composition). The technology in

the patent US 4536207-A focussed on the preparation

of chitin from biological waste materials like

crustacean shells with applications as soil

conditioners, fertilizer, and insecticides in crop improvement. However, the forward citation

documents disclosed the methods of enhancing plant

growth by treating seed with an effective amount

of at least one chito-oligosaccharide. The claim analysis of some documents indicated the

compositions of chitosan, glucosamine and amino

acids for better plant growth; and products singly or in combination with flavonoid compounds or herbicide

for enhancing plant growth and crop yield in legumes

and non-legumes. Specific technologies of chitin

extracted from the shells of exoskeletal animals such as crabs, shrimps, crayfish and lobster by physical

method was identified for controlling bacterial

and fungal diseases in plants (Fig. 8). From basic

Fig. 8—Technology diffusion process for Patent No. US4536207(A) in the crop management sector *Each box indicates-(i) patent application number/publication number with its status (ii) year of publication/ grant based on patent document and (iii) IPC code


34

technologies highlighting extraction methods of chitin

and derivatives (backward/ technology inflow), the

technology diffusion was moving for specific methods of utilizing chitin and derivatives in various

agricultural crops and horticulture for improvement of

plant growth by reducing fungal and bacterial

infection etc (forward/ technology outflow).

Citation Analysis of Chitin in Veterinary Sector

In the veterinary sector, the selected relevant reference patent document (EP0830381-A1) disclosed

the “use of chitin hydrogel for skin wound healing”

and was categorized under IPC-A61K (medical or

veterinary science; preparation of medical, dental purposes). The documents which have been cited by

reference patent for technology inflow (backward

citations) mainly focussed on method for making the

gel includes mixing the chitosan and poly (N-vinyl

lactam) in aqueous solution and further using of

this product in wound dressing, burn dressing, drug delivery, tissue regeneration and in therapeutic

medicines with classification under IPC-A61K.

The forward citation documents citing this reference

patent document indicate technology outflows into veterinary therapeutics like filling of spongy chitin

in the vessels as a carrier of the pancreatic cells; use

of nanosphere delivery system for cartilage repair; filter implant into blood vessels, bandages, dressing

with applications in diagnosis and curative surgery.

The flow of technology from chitin and chitosan gels

to new and emerging nanotechnology based products (nanosphere) in veterinary therapeutics indicates

the marked improvements of processes and products

in healthcare sectors (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9—Technology diffusion process for Patent No. EP0830381 in the veterinary sector *Each box indicates-(i) patent application number/publication number with its status (ii) year of publication/ grant based on patent document and (iii) IPC code


35

The results through technology diffusion analysis

at a specific case level in the three sectors of the

PCS indicate the promise of R&D initiatives to scale the usability of chitin and its derivatives into

various applications in these sectors, namely for

healthcare (tumor treatment, medication for acute

burns, anti-inflammatory medications, analgesics, hemostats), biotechnology (cell recovery, enzyme

& cell immobilization, fermentation), food &

beverages (food flavoring agents, food preservatives, packaging material, flocculation agent), agrochemicals

(preservation of seeds, fertilizer, pesticidal uses). From

the initial focus of researchers on extraction processes

from the natural substrates with possibilities for single end-use applications, these trajectories in R&D

ranged from developing standardized protocols for

functionalizing the biopolymer and its derivatives to identifying the end-uses for multiple applications

in varied sectors. All these trends necessitate up scaling

of the technologies in to product development for harnessing economic benefits to all stakeholders, both

in the traditional and non-traditional markets.

Conclusion

This study outlines an approach to explore for the

current trends of technology developments in chitin and its derivatives when applied to agricultural PCS.

The uniqueness of biopolymer chitin and chitosan

which reside in their biological (biodegradability,

biocompatibility and non-toxicity) properties profess potential applications in many fields including

agriculture. These positive attributes with versatile

biological activities such as antimicrobial activity and low immunogenicity have attracted the interest of

researchers. Perhaps, this is the reason for enormous

data emerging from not less than 20 books, over

300 reviews, over 12,000 publications and several patents.

75,76 Considering the complex nature of multi-

layered agri PCS with several players, it is also

important that the large quantum of R&D in chitin based technology be well understood before

investments are made for the market delivery of

possible products. Through a strategic approach using information from literature and commercial products

available, the science based inputs from literature and

market pull tendencies from the commercially

available products of these technologies, a framework was conceptualized to understand current technology

developments through outputs like patents. It is

well established that among several technology forecasting indicators, patents are a mature and

objective indicator to gauge developments of

emerging technology and its spread.77

The main

findings from this study are summarized in the

following points:

• An upsurge in technology development

efforts in exploration of chitin based technologies was found during period of

15 years (1990-2005) with a slight

decline/static phase till 2009. Several end-use applications of these technologies in the

agricultural PCS were indicated with specific

focus on four sectors, namely food sector, crop management, veterinary healthcare

and agri-machinery as thrust areas. More

specifically, technologies with applications

in crop protection, yield enhancement, bio- fertilizers, food additives and preservation,

nutraceuticals, veterinary biomedicine, drug

delivery and devices were identified.

• Patent mapping techniques indicated spread of

these technologies across several jurisdictions, with participation by all players including

private entities. Interest of private organizations

including MNCs on R&D investments

corroborates the technical capability of these technologies and recognition of strong market

pull forces in place.

• Preliminary work on technology diffusion

through patent citation brought empirical

evidence for technology pathways in three sectors of food, crop management and

veterinary in the agricultural PCS. It is known

that incidence of self-citation in backward citations indicates the tendency of owners

to build fence around their technologies.

The results in the present study gave no

evidence of such trend. Conversely, the greater number of forward citations indicates the

current emphasis of technology developers on

enhancing technical value of their research and indicates the efforts towards improving end-use

applications of these versatile compounds.

Therefore, it is advocated best practices for technology transfer mechanisms be developed

so that patent pools78

and suitable license

protocols79

may be incorporated. The lessons

learnt from earlier cases of patent pools in case of HIV/AIDS medicine

80 and golden rice

81 can

be extended into the use of chitin based

technology in agricultural PCS.


36

This study clearly brings to light new perspectives

and views on chitin based research and its

diversification into technology and products into various sectors of agricultural production–

consumption system. With threats due to climate

change and deterioration of natural resources, the

promise of these naturally-occurring compounds as technologies for enhancing agricultural production

and productivities across the systems is interesting

and challenging to researchers across public and private organizations. These necessitate investments

for R&D including trained human resources, and

developing viable regulatory frameworks for product

development and up scaling. Such investments will help research and business managers to formulate

viable R&D strategies, undertake take technology

foresight decisions objectively and bring better returns to stakeholders of this sector. Finally, any

investments on re-use of agricultural waste leading

to commercial entity in localised environments can lead to strong agricultural value chains creating more

livelihoods, increase incomes, and promote economic

growth and improve food security.

Acknowledgment

The funding for this study under ICAR sponsored IP Management and Transfer/Commercialization

of Agricultural Technology Scheme is gratefully

acknowledged.

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58 Relevant documents or relevancy reflects the documents

having significant and demonstrable bearing on the given


38

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