USA. Henkel has been issued the patent number 20170275569 for a liquid cleaning agent for hard surfaces, in particular for washing dishes by hand.

Patents; "Hand Dishwashing Detergent Having an Improved Effect against Starch" in Patent Application Approval Process (USPTO 20170275569) 17 October 2017 Life Science Weekly 2017 OCT 17 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Life Science Weekly -- A patent application by the inventors Pegelow, Ulrich (Duesseldorf, DE); Buisker, Detlef (Essen, DE); O'Connell, Timothy (Landsberg am Lech, DE); Raschke, Ines (Langenfeld, DE), filed on June 5, 2017, was made available online on October 5, 2017, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx correspondents. This patent application is assigned to Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: "Conventional liquid cleaning agents contain surfactants for removing dirt and stains. As a rule, in this connection combinations of several surfactants are used, in particular from the group of anionic, non-ionic, cationic and amphoteric surfactants. These surfactants alone are frequently incapable of removing dirt and stains adequately, with the result that further auxiliaries are used in modern washing or cleaning agents. These further auxiliaries include enzymes of different types such as proteases, amylases, cellulases, mannanases or pectate lyases. Further classes of enzyme are known to a person skilled in the art. Amylases take on a particular importance here, due to their effectiveness against dried starch, because easier cleaning at lower mechanical outlay is achieved through their use. "However, the performance of amylases used thus far in hand dishwashing detergents depends greatly on temperature, with the result that the advantages of these active ingredients, which manifest at washing temperatures of approximately 40.degree. C., are considerably diminished at lower temperatures, and hardly any effect can be recognized at 20.degree. C. On the other hand, however, for reasons of sustainability and energy efficiency, it is desirable that there is an effective soaking effect against starch also at low temperatures. "Therefore, the object of the invention is to provide a liquid cleaning agent, in particular for hard surfaces, which has a good cleaning capacity vis-a-vis starch-containing and dried stains, even at low temperatures. "Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with this background of the invention." In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent application: "Therefore, the subject matter of the present invention is a liquid cleaning agent containing an a-Amylase, which is at least 89%, and with increasing preference at least 90%, 90.5%, 91%, 91.5%, 92%, 92.5%, 93%, 93.5%, 94%, 94.5%, 95%, 95.5%, 96%, 96.5%, 97%, 97.5%, 98%, 98.5%, 99%, 99.5% and up to 100% identical to the sequence indicated in SEQ ID NO. 1 along the entire length thereof, and which has deletions in one or more of positions 180, 181, 182, 183 and 184 as numbered according to SEQ ID NO. 1." URL and more information on this patent application, see: Pegelow, Ulrich; Buisker, Detlef; O'Connell, Timothy; Raschke, Ines. Hand Dishwashing Detergent Having an Improved Effect against Starch. Filed June 5, 2017 and posted October 5, 2017. Patent URL: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220170275569%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20170275569&RS=DN/20170275569 Keywords for this news article include: Patents, Detergents, Surface-Active Agents. Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2017, NewsRx LLC