Wyss Institute launches 'SLIPS' company

New startup will develop non-stick surfaces for broad range of industrial applications

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Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University

Oct 29, 2014, 08:00 ET

BOSTON, Oct. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University today announced that its 'SLIPS' technology, a novel coating that repels almost every type of liquid and solid, will be commercialized by a newly formed private company, SLIPS Technologies, Inc. The company will provide solutions to multiple industries by creating customized, highly-repellent slippery surfaces for a broad range of applications. The announcement follows a worldwide license agreement between Harvard's Office of Technology Development (OTD) and SLIPS Technologies relating to the use of the Institute's Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces (SLIPS) platform for non-medical applications.

SLIPS, an ultra-slippery coating that repels virtually any liquid or solid and can do so even under harsh conditions such as high pressure and freezing temperatures, could be useful across a variety of industrial applications. Credit: Harvard's Wyss Institute

"This is yet another big win this year towards achieving the Institute's mission of translating breakthrough technologies from the benchtop to the marketplace," said Wyss Institute Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D.

SLIPS was pioneered by Joanna Aizenberg, Ph.D., a Wyss Institute Core Faculty Member and the Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science at Harvard University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). The technology creates exceptionally repellent and robust self-cleaning surfaces on metals, plastics, optics, textiles and ceramics. These slippery surfaces repel almost any fouling challenge a surface may face – whether from bacteria, ice, water, oil, dust, barnacles, or other contaminants.

"We introduced and developed a novel systems-based approach," said Aizenberg, who co-invented the technology with Tak-Sing Wong, Ph.D., former postdoctoral fellow at the Wyss Institute and SEAS, and currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University and Philseok Kim, Ph.D., a Senior Research Scientist at the Wyss Institute, and former postdoctoral fellow at the Wyss Institute and SEAS. "By immobilizing a liquid layer on top of any surface and by customizing the design for the specific physical, chemical and environmental conditions of each application, we can effectively create exceptional hybrid materials that deliver almost perfect slipperiness and anti-fouling performance," added Aizenberg. Aizenberg co-founded the new company and will chair the company's Scientific Advisory Board.

Since their first demonstration of the SLIPS technology at Nanotech's Innovation Forum in Boston in June 2011 and their publication that same year in Nature, and with grant support from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Aizenberg and her SLIPS team have leveraged the Institute's technology translation capabilities and industrial partnerships to technically advance SLIPS and commercially de-risk it by developing applications in various fields. "We have developed a whole gamut of diverse, innovative approaches to various types and classes of slippery surfaces, and created a broad intellectual property portfolio that will allow customizing our anti-fouling surfaces to various consumer needs," said Aizenberg.

The new company will accelerate and further expand the technology and commercial development efforts initiated at the Institute. Philseok Kim, also a co-founder of the new company, will join SLIPS Technologies, Inc. as Vice President of Technology. Daniel Behr, an experienced entrepreneur and former Director of Business Development at the Harvard OTD, has joined the company as CEO.

"SLIPS is another example of the power of the Wyss Institute model. It combines an unparalleled environment for inventive activity with a commitment to move new discoveries into the marketplace for the benefit of society," said Alan M. Garber, Provost of Harvard University and Chair of the Institute's Board of Directors.

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Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
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About the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University (http://wyss.harvard.edu) uses Nature's design principles to develop bioinspired materials and devices that will transform medicine and create a more sustainable world. Working as an alliance among all of Harvard's Schools, and in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston University, Tufts University, and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and the University of Zurich, the Institute crosses disciplinary and institutional barriers to engage in high-risk research that leads to transformative technological breakthroughs. By emulating Nature's principles for self-organizing and self-regulating, Wyss researchers are developing innovative new engineering solutions for healthcare, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing. These technologies are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances, and new start-ups.

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