Liquid entrenched smooth surfaces for viscous consumer goods evacuation

Overview

The Liquid Entrenched Smooth Surface (LESS) technology represents a breakthrough in repelling viscous consumer goods, enhancing the evacuation of products such as toothpaste, liquid cosmetics, and food. Developed by spotLESS Materials, LESS integrates a smooth solid base with a nanohair polymer layer and a thin lubricant film to achieve high molecular mobility. This innovation offers exceptional repellency, low friction, and antibiofouling properties, resulting in over 95% reduction in residual waste. Ideal for packaging applications, LESS can be applied under ambient conditions using spray, dip, or slot-die coating techniques, making it a versatile and scalable solution.

Technical specifications

• Components: Smooth solid base, covalent nanohair layer, microscopically thin lubricant film.
• Application Methods: Spray, dip, slot-die coating.
• Material Compatibility: Glass, ceramic, metals, plastics.
• Performance Metrics: Contact angle, contact angle hysteresis, sliding angle.
• Use Cases: Improves evacuation of viscous goods in packaging, suited for flexible pouches and tubes.
• Validation: Demonstrated >95% waste reduction, cost-effective, compatible with roll-to-roll processes.

Technology readiness level

Currently at Technology Readiness Level 5, LESS has undergone proof-of-concept studies and is now in scale-up evaluation phases. Future validation includes coating formulation selection, performance evaluation on various substrates, and tests on tube emptying and coating durability.