The Catalyst Group Resources, Inc. (TCGR) is initiating a multi-client study entitled Combinatorial Approaches to Polymer Catalyst Discovery and Optimization: Technologies, Providers and Resin Producer Strategies. The study will take a detailed analytical approach to assessing the advancement of combinatorial and high-throughput screening (HTS) techniques for the discovery and optimization of polymerization catalysts, including (but not limited to) the increasingly important field of metallocene and single-site organometallic catalysts (SSCs). The range of developing and commercial technologies and the implications not just on materials, but on competitors and strategies, will be described and evaluated.

The report will be divided into five major sections with each section covering the technologies and developmental efforts by those involved in (either participating or servicing) the polymerization catalysis industries, including metallocene and SSC offerings:

1. Market Structure and Polymer Market Impacts - will provide a comprehensive overview of the participants in the market surrounding combinatorial methods devoted to polymerization catalyst development.
   
   
2. Technological Advances in Combinatorial Methods for Polymerization Catalysis - will identify and benchmark the trends in technology use in both polymer catalyst synthesis and screening.
   
   
3. Patents and Intellectual Property Issues - will examine the body of patents relating to combinatorial and high throughput methods for polymer catalyst discovery, as well as those relating to the new catalysts and processes discovered.
   
   
4. Technology Owner/Producer Profiles - will include profiles of the major "core" companies in the industry, such as Symyx, Avantium, hte GmbH, Novodynamics (formerly Cayalytica NovoTec), and many others, along with important instrument and equipment manufacturers including Argonaut, Chemspeed, Irori, Mettler-Toledo Bohdan, ASI and others.
   
   
5. Polymer Producer Profiles - will take an in-depth look at the activities of the major polymer producers as they relate to high throughput development of catalysts; efforts at companies supplying catalysts, co-catalysts, supports and other materials will be assessed as well.

In summary, "Combinatorial Approaches to Polymer Catalyst Discovery and Optimization" will set out to first establish the landscape of the combinatorial polymerization catalysis industry, by identifying the groups of participants and the interrelationships between members of these groups. Next, it will provide an analysis of the current high-throughput-based technologies for polymer catalyst discovery and new materials development, along with an analysis of the collection of patents and the intellectual property environment in the industry. Lastly, the study will provide portraits of the organizations that are (and will be) the most influential in determining the evolution of this technology.