Introduction
Formulation science is the art of combining various compounds that do not react with one another but have desirable characteristics as a mixture. Successful formulation requires compatibility of the components, each having its own inherent chemistry that influences the physical, chemical, and bioactive properties of the finished product.
The cosmetics industry, for example, is always looking for new combinations of active ingredients to produce more effective products. Some of the properties affected by product formulation include texture, shelf life, biodegradability, and allergenic response.
Before beginning development of a new formulation, it is usually important to establish whether or not a proposed combination of ingredients has already been patented.
How STN Viewer can help
STN Viewer offers tools to simplify the management and review of often lengthy and complex patent documents and ultimately help answer your research questions. With these tools, you can:
Although formulation science is the focus for this article, STN Viewer tools are equally helpful in many other research areas.
Finding relevant patent records
You can readily find patent records related to anti-wrinkle agents by searching with STN Express or STN on the WebSM.
Numerous substances have been reported to reduce wrinkles, including ceramides, alpha-hydroxy acids, peptide complexes, antioxidants, and various plant extracts. Which of these have been tested in combination?
=> FIL CAPLUS WPINDEX
=> S ANTI (S) (AGING OR WRINKLE?) AND P/DT AND 2008/ED
L1 525 ANTI (S) (AGING OR WRINKLE?) AND P/DT AND 2008/ED
=> DUP REMOVE
ENTER L# LIST OR (END):L1
PROCESSING COMPLETED FOR L1
L2 516 DUP REMOVE L1 (9 DUPLICATES REMOVED)
Launching STN Viewer
After creating an answer set in STN Express, click the L-number and select Evaluate with STN Viewer. If you are using STN on the Web, use the STN Viewer Assistant, found in the left navigation pane.
=>
Launching STN Viewer
245 records sent to STN Viewer
L6 342 Answers not represented in STN Viewer
The patent numbers from your answer set are automatically searched in eight full-text patent databases, and STN Viewer is launched automatically. (If you are not currently logged on to STN Viewer, you will be prompted for your login ID and password.)
The resulting records are placed into the Patent Queue in STN Viewer, ready for you to review.
Creating projects
Although you can access the full text for a patent directly from the Patent Queue, it is often helpful to organize your patent records into projects. Also, to share records with other STN users, you must move the records into a project.
To create a project, click Add Project in the left navigation bar. Enter a project name and (an optional) description. Click Save Changes.
In the Patent Queue, select the records that you would like to move to the project. Select Actions > Move to Project, and then select the project name. This moves the records to the project and removes them from the Patent Queue.
Highlighting
The highlighting tool is available when you are viewing the full text of the patent document. To access the full text, click the patent title (from either the Patent Queue or a project). Within the full-text view, notice that there are several tabs that allow you to quickly jump from the bibliographic information to the description and claims.
Within the highlighting tab at the far right, you can use the drop-down menus and entry boxes to associate specific colors with one or more terms of interest.
For example, if you are investigating the patentability of a formulation containing two anti-aging compounds that target collagen production, you can assign one color to the term collagen and other colors to the two compounds. Finding all three highlight colors close to one another in a record may indicate a section discussing collagen in relation to the compounds of interest.
The highlight map displayed at the right of the text shows the location(s) of the highlighted text. The gray area indicates the portion of the record you are currently viewing. You can click and drag the gray area to scroll to sections of the record that may be heavily highlighted.
Labels and Notes
When you manually flip through the pages of a patent document, you may often use Post-It notes or write notes in the margins to flag important passages and record ideas. STN Viewer offers tools for creating labels and notes electronically, making it easy to locate and remember important items again in the future.
Labels can be created and applied to one or more records. For example, you might wish to label all of the records that discuss retinoic acid. Once created, labels can be utilized in any project or the Patent Queue. They can be applied to as many records as you like, and multiple labels can be applied to the same record.
You can create and apply a label from the full-text view by using the Apply Label or the Actions menu. These menus are available in the Patent Queue, individual projects, and full-text view.
Once labels are applied, they are listed to the right of the patent title in the Patent Queue or project.
Within a project or the Patent Queue, you can locate the records associated with a specific label by using the Filter by menu.
Notes allow you to record lengthier information about a patent document. To access the Notes feature, display the full text and click the Notes tab at the far right. Enter and format your text and click Save.
When you return to your project or Patent Queue, a Notes icon (
) appears to the right of the patent title. You can click this icon at any time to access or edit your notes.
Sharing documents with a colleague
The sharing feature lets you make a project, which includes your highlighting, labels, and notes, available to other STN users. Simply open the project you would like to share, and click Copy to Shared Projects.
If you have not previously viewed all of the records in the project, a cost notification message appears. Thereafter, you and your colleagues using STN have unlimited access to redisplay and share the documents in this project.
Next, click Shared Projects within the left-hand navigation to view the list of shared projects. Click Share Project to create an e-mail message for the intended recipient(s).
Conclusion
Patent searching is often an essential early step in formulation science research, as well as many other areas of research. STN Viewer can help make this sometimes formidable task easier by providing tools to facilitate patent management and evaluation.
Additional resources
For additional information about these and other features, see the Support & Training web page for STN Viewer, which includes an e-Seminar, tutorials, and step-by-step examples.
Updated: 7/25/2008 9:15:16 AM
