Novel coating that repels just about anything receives R&D 100 Award

A novel coating repels almost every type of liquid and solid, from blood and crude oil to ice and bacteria.

Called SLIPS (Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces), it has been developed by a team of scientists led by Joanna Aizenberg, Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and a core faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.

''Some of the most extreme examples in biology can provide the most amazing and unexpected ideas, and what's so significant about the pitcher plant is that it gives us a blueprint for a single surface that is capable of repelling any type of accumulated unwanted material,'' said Aizenberg, who is also the Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and Co-Director of the Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology.

''In following its example, we should be able to develop a platform that works for almost any sticky problem, no matter how seemingly unrelated, whether it's ice accumulation, bacterial attachment, environmental contamination, clogging of pipes, marine biofouling, or graffiti, rather than having to come up with a host of individual solutions.''

SLIPS was inspired by the slippery surface of the carnivorous pitcher plant, which enables the plant to capture insects. The technology was first described in the September 22, 2011, issue of the journal Nature.  Aizenberg is leading the research effort with support from Wyss Postdoctoral Fellow Tak-Sing Wong.

The novel, super-slippery surfaces can quickly repel liquids and solids and their complex mixtures. The surfaces show a unique ability to self-repair if damaged and to self-clean.