02 / Technology
Surface energy gradient coatings.
A coating whose wettability changes along the channel wall. Liquid on it moves toward the side it wets better, at a speed the coating sets. That’s the tool we build devices around.
How it works
An unbalanced capillary force.
Every liquid meets every surface at a contact angle. A high angle means the surface resists wetting. A low angle means it pulls the liquid in.
Our coatings vary that angle continuously along the channel wall, high at one end and low at the other. The liquid’s front sits on the better-wetting surface, so the capillary pull ahead of it is stronger than the pull behind. It moves on its own, and the coating design decides how fast and where it stops.
What it lets us design
Flow control with no moving parts.
- 01Self-propelled flow
- Liquid moves through the channel on the gradient alone. No pump, pressure source or wicking strip.
- 02Several rates, one layer
- Different channels on the same layer run at different speeds without valves or electronics.
- 03Tunable velocity
- Flow speed is set by the coating composition, so each channel can be matched to its job.
- 04Stop and release
- The coating can hold liquid at a defined point and let it go, without a valve.
Where it stands
Past the lab bench.
The coatings have been made, measured and shipped to industry partners for more than a decade. That production history is what we bring to your project.
Substrates coated
- Polyester
- COC
- Polypropylene
- Polyethylene
- Polycarbonate
- Nylon
- Acrylic
- Silicone rubber
- Gold
- Copper
- Silver
- Nickel
- Carbon steel
- Stainless steel
- Silanized glass
- Untreated glass
- Silicon
- 01Automated, programmable coating process designed and installed for large-scale manufacturing
- 02Adaptable to a range of precision coating systems and scalable to larger parts
- 03Manufacturing cost and quality established for the coating process
- 04Flow rates held to target with under 10% variation across manufactured lots
- 05Used with blood, plasma, wash solutions and other reagents
- 06PFAS-free hydrophobic coatings developed
- 07Coatings built on FDA-approved chemistry developed
- 08Parts produced for and tested with diagnostic companies since 2014