Colloid and interface science in formulation research for crop protection products

The formulation vehicle for a pesticide can have significant impact on the stability and performance of the product. Understanding these factors and optimising product performance utilises many aspects of colloid and interfacial science. While the basic knowledge of dispersion and emulsion systems have been known and used for many years, there are still substantial areas of developing science which will be critical to developing new, optimised, efficient products in this market. Recent developments in the ability to measure properties of complex colloidal systems at high concentration, and to control domain sizes, opens opportunities to design improved products. The fledgling development of techniques to visualise and analyse how these complex colloids interact, in vivo, with even more complex biological surfaces will lead to new understanding on how to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of crop protection products.