Technology Area: Surface Coatings

Technologies 5

• Liquid-Infused Tympanostomy Tubes
  Acute middle ear infections affect more than 700 million people each year, with children often experiencing the most recurrent and severe symptoms due to their underdeveloped physiology. By the age of three, 25-40 % of children have had at least three episodes of acute middle ear infection, which is commonly accompanied by excess fluids accumulating...
• abbieSense Anaphylaxis Diagnostic
  The molecule histamine plays a primary role in the anaphylaxis reaction, which is a major cause of illness and death in people with severe allergies. Histamine is a very small molecule composed of only seventeen atoms, making it a challenging target to detect. To date, no diagnostic test exists that can measure histamine levels accurately...
• Nanoarchitectures for air purification
  Illnesses caused by air pollution are the third-leading cause of death in developing nations, and over 5 million people worldwide die every year from air pollution exposure. Catalytic converters, the most widely used air purification devices, convert the toxic gases and pollutants produced by fuel combustion into benign chemicals before the exhaust is released into...
• Tethered Liquid Perfluorocarbon (TLP), a non-stick coating for medical devices
  Every device implanted in the body or in contact with flowing blood faces two critical challenges that can threaten the life of the patient it is meant to help: blood clotting and bacterial infection. To confront this challenge, Wyss Institute researchers created a super-repellent, Thin Layer Perfluorocarbon (TLP) coating specifically designed to prevent clot formation...
• SLIPS (Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces)
  The need for an inexpensive, super-repellent surface cuts across a vast swath of societal sectors—from refrigeration and architecture, to medical devices and consumer products. Most state-of-the-art liquid repellent surfaces designed in the last decade are modeled after lotus leaves, which are extremely hydrophobic due to their rough, waxy surface and the physics of their natural...

News 41

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• Awards Wyss Institute’s Ida Pavlichenko Named MIT Technology Review 2019 Innovator Under 35
  June 25, 2019
• Video/​Animation Saving the Planet with Robots, Microbes, and Nanotechnology
  June 5, 2019
• Awards Joanna Aizenberg elected to National Academy of Sciences
  May 3, 2019

Multimedia 11

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  Video/Animation
  Light-driven fine chemical production in yeast biohybrids
  Wyss Institute Core Faculty member Neel Joshi explains the concept of yeast biohybrids and how they can be used to harvest energy from light to drive the production of fine chemicals. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

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  Video/Animation
  abbieSense
  abbieSense is a Wyss technology that can detect histamine levels in human body fluids and determine the severity of an allergic reaction, which could help save the lives of patients with severe allergies. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

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  Video/Animation
  FLIPS: Ferrofluid-Containing Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces
  As a magnetic field is applied and moved, the ferrofluid component of FLIPS responds dynamically, allowing the surface to be endlessly reconfigured. Credit: Harvard SEAS

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  Video/Animation
  Catalytic Nanoarchitectures for Clean Air
  The Wyss Institute is developing a new type of coating for catalytic converters that, inspired by the nanoscale structure of a butterfly’s wing, can dramatically reduce the cost and improve the performance of air purification technologies, making them more accessible to all.  Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University  

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  Video/Animation
  Fouling Marine Fouling
  Marine fouling occurs when organisms attach themselves to underwater objects like boats, rope, pipes and building structures. Mussels are one of the biggest culprits. Once attached, they are difficult to remove, leading to operational downtime, increased energy use and damage. Paints and coatings are currently used to prevent marine fouling, but are frequently toxin-based and not...

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  Video/Animation
  Efficient Recovery of Stem Cell Sheets
  See in this video how an intact sheet of mesenchymal stem cells, stained with a violet dye, can be lifted off the infused polymer substrate in the culture dish using a filter paper and transferred to a new surface. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University