US 8026378

US patent 8026378, titled "Glyceryl ether compounds and their use," was filed on November 22, 2006, and issued on September 27, 2011. The inventor is Sergey Selifonov. The original assignee was Segetis Inc. Current assignees are listed as GF Biochemicals Ltd and Aromagen Corp, though the listed assignees may be inaccurate according to Google Patents.

The abstract describes the patent's subject matter: "Glyceryl ether compounds prepared by the reaction of glycerol and olefin epoxides are disclosed. The compounds are renewable biomass-based surfactants useful as detergents and emulsifiers in formulations for cleaning, laundry, personal care, cosmetics, and industrial uses."

Legal Status and CAFC Dockets:
As of April 26, 2026, the patent's legal status is "Expired - Fee Related," with an adjusted expiration date of May 25, 2028, according to the Google Patents entry. However, the legal events history indicates a "Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees" on November 4, 2019, with the patent expiring due to nonpayment of maintenance fees under 37 CFR 1.362, effective September 27, 2019. This suggests the patent has already expired due to non-payment of fees, despite the listed adjusted expiration date. No cases explicitly mentioning US patent 8026378 were found in the publicly available CAFC scheduled dockets for May, June, or July 2026.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1: This claim defines a specific chemical compound. The compound's structure features a central portion with a substituent (R6), which can be hydrogen or a linear or branched alkyl group with 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Attached to this central portion are two "V" groups. Each "V" group represents either a 2,3-dihydroxypropyloxy (glyceryl ether) structure or a protected version of it, specifically a 1,3-dioxolane or 1,3-dioxane ring with two alkyl groups (R4 and R5) attached, or a derivative with a hydroxyl group. Essentially, Claim 1 covers various glyceryl ether compounds, including both unprotected and protected forms.

• Claim 2: This claim describes a method for producing the compound specified in Claim 1. The method involves three main steps:

  • a) Providing either glycerol (an unprotected form) or a specific protected form of glycerol (a compound where R4 and R5 are independently chosen from hydrogen, linear/branched/cyclic alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, or arylalkyl groups).
  • b) Providing an epoxide-containing compound, which can be either an epoxidized triglyceride or an epoxidized unsaturated fatty acid ester. In the fatty acid ester, the fatty acid portion has 8 to 24 carbon atoms, and the alcohol portion is derived from a linear or branched monohydric alcohol with 1 to 12 carbon atoms.
  • c) Carrying out a chemical reaction between the compounds from step (a) and step (b) in the presence of an acid or base catalyst.