About SLIPS

The SLIPS™ Difference

All solid surfaces, even non-stick or smooth ones, are inherently rough on a microscopic level, creating many points that pin a fluid to the surface and cause it to smear.

 

SLIPS™ surfaces feature a stable, immobilized liquid lubricant over-layer. Unlike solid surfaces, this liquid surface is truly smooth and extremely slippery. Fluids and biological fouling agents have nothing to hold on to and slide right off.

 

SLIPS™ (Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces) is based on a portfolio of technologies invented by the Aizenberg Group at Harvard University. These award-winning breakthroughs opened a new field of liquid infused surfaces in materials science that has been adopted by researchers worldwide. The Aizenberg Group was the first to successfully transform the surface of a solid material into a thin, immobilized “sea” of lubricant. This liquid lubricant over-layer completely covers the solid material to create a smooth and slippery liquid surface interface.

Solid surfaces are inherently rough, causing unwanted fluids to pin and smear
SLIPS™ surfaces have a stable, immobilized liquid lubricant over-layer that is ultra-smooth and super-slippery; unwanted fluids slip right off
SLIPS™ surfaces have a stable, immobilized liquid lubricant over-layer that is ultra-smooth and super-slippery; unwanted fluids slip right off

SLIPS™ was inspired by the Carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plant

The plant traps a thin layer of water on the micro-textured surface around its rim. This forms a highly slippery film that it uses to catch insects.

SLIPS™ vs. Alternatives

SLIPS™ provides a 100% liquid interface that is super slippery, omniphobic, self-healing, and easy to clean.

Super Slippery

Omniphobic

Self-healing

Easy-clean

In contrast, Teflon® surfaces, although conventionally described as non-stick, are solid surfaces with inherent roughness and are not truly slippery. Structured solid surfaces (superhydrophobic or “lotus leaf” surfaces) are good at repelling water but not other fluids, and they can easily be damaged or lose their hydrophobicity.

SLIPS™ Product Families

We create SLIPS™ surfaces in a variety of ways and on materials including
product-families-1

SLIPS™ formulations are optimized to meet the requirements of specific applications. SLIPS™ coatings and materials can be applied via standard methods such as spraying, painting, and film adhesion and can be created as curable mixtures.

 

Our Surface SLIPS™ products are ideal for applications requiring a thin coating (~50 μm) on any existing surfaces and for the direct modification of metal surfaces.

 

Our Reservoir SLIPS™ products provide longer-term durability and can be used to make casted or extruded parts that have built-in SLIPS™ functionality.

Award-Winning, Globally Acclaimed Technology

SLIPS Technologies has been internationally recognized and highlighted following its first public disclosure by inventor Joanna Aizenberg in June 2011 at the Nanotech Innovation Forum in Boston.

SLIPS received a 2012 R&D 100 Award from R&D Magazine, making it one of the 100 most technologically significant products of the year.

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  • "It's interesting that it combines self-lubrication, self-healing and self-cleaning, which are different processes...It's a new type of smart material."

    Michael Nosonovsky, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee - Link to article

  • “In my opinion, this study does not simply represent an improvement in liquid-repellent surfaces, but rather a revolution in the field...I am sure many researchers reading this paper would think as I do: ‘I wish I would have thought about these surfaces before.’”

    Philippe Brunet, University of Paris Diderot - Link to article

  • "The combination of solids and liquids uses capillary action to bring lubricant to the surface of nano/microengineered structures...Furthermore, the ability of the surface to 'heal' sets it apart from other cutting-edge approaches."

    Robert Short, Mawson Institute at the University of South Australia - Link to article

  • “SLIPs are one of only a handful of next generation, ecofriendly materials I have come across that pose a clear and present danger to marine biofouling—barnacles beware.”

    Shane Stafslien, North Dakota State University

  • "This really is a new direction...Many of us have been working on improving the durability of 'lotus effect' materials but this now offers us an alternative way to try to reach the same objectives."

    Steven Bell, Queen's University - Link to article

  • “It’s really exciting to see that this principle has inspired the authors and allowed them to develop something that could prove extremely useful.”

    Walter Federle, University of Cambridge - Link to article

  • US9121306 - “Slippery surfaces with high pressure stability, optical transparency, and self-healing characteristics”

    (priority date: Jan. 19, 2011)

    http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week35/OG/html/1418-1/US09121306-20150901.html

  • US9121307 - “Slippery surfaces with high pressure stability, optical transparency, and self-healing characteristics”

    (priority date: Jan. 19, 2011)

    http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week35/OG/html/1418-1/US09121307-20150901.html

  • Tesler et al. Nature Communications 6 (2015). “Extremely durable biofouling-resistant metallic surfaces based on electrodeposited nanoporous tungstite films on steel”

    http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151020/ncomms9649/full/ncomms9649.html

  • J. Cui et al. Nature Materials 14 (2015). “Dynamic polymer systems with self-regulated secretion for the control of surface properties and material healing”

    http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v14/n8/full/nmat4325.html

  • C. Howell et al. Chem. Mater. 27 (2015). “Stability of Surface-Immobilized Lubricant Interfaces under Flow”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cm504652g

  • N. MacCallum et al. ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng. 1 (2015). “Liquid-Infused Silicone As a Biofouling-Free Medical Material”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ab5000578

  • C. Howell et al. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces (2014). “Self-Replenishing Vascularized Fouling-Release Surfaces”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/am503150y

  • S. Sunny et al. Adv. Funct. Mater. 24 (2014). “Lubricant-Infused Nanoparticulate Coatings Assembled by Layer-by-Layer Deposition”

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.201401289/abstract

  • D.C. Leslie et al. Nature Biotechnology (2014). “A bioinspired omniphobic surface coating on medical devices prevents thrombosis and biofouling”

    http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v32/n11/full/nbt.3020.html

  • X. Yao et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed 53 (2014). “Fluorogel Elastomers with Tunable Transparency, Elasticity, ShapeMemory, and Antifouling Properties”

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201310385/abstract

  • A. Grinthal et al. Chem. Mater. 26 (2014). “Mobile Interfaces: Liquids as a Perfect Structural Material for Multifunctional, Antifouling Surfaces”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cm402364d

  • D. Daniel et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 102 (2013). “Lubricant-infused micro/nano-structured surfaces with tunable dynamic omniphobicity at high temperatures”

    http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/102/23/10.1063/1.4810907

  • N. Vogel et al. Nature Communications 4 (2013). “Transparency and damage tolerance of patternable omniphobic lubricated surfaces based on inverse colloidal monolayers”

    http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/130731/ncomms3176/full/ncomms3176.html

  • P. Kim et al. Nano Lett. 13 (2013). “Hierarchical or Not? Effect of the Length Scale and Hierarchy of the Surface Roughness on Omniphobicity of Lubricant-Infused Substrates”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl4003969

  • X. Yao et al. Nature Materials 12 (2013). “Adaptive fluid-infused porous films with tunable transparency and wettability”

    http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v12/n6/full/nmat3598.html

  • C. Shillingford et al. Nanotechnology 25 (2013). “Fabrics coated with lubricated nanostructures display robust omniphobicity”

    http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-4484/25/1/014019

  • P.W. Wilson et al. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 15 (2012). “Inhibition of ice nucleation by slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS)”

    http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/cp/c2cp43586a#!divAbstract

  • P. Kim et al. ACS Nano 6 (2012). “Liquid-Infused Nanostructured Surfaces with Extreme Anti-Ice and Anti-Frost Performance”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn302310q

  • A.K Epstein et al. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 109 (2012). “Liquid-infused structured surfaces with exceptional anti-biofouling performance”

    http://www.pnas.org/content/109/33/13182

  • T.S. Wong et al. Nature 477 (2011). “Bioinspired self-repairing slippery surfaces with pressure-stable omniphobicity”

    http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v477/n7365/full/nature10447.html

+
Patents

  • US9121306 - “Slippery surfaces with high pressure stability, optical transparency, and self-healing characteristics”

    (priority date: Jan. 19, 2011)

    http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week35/OG/html/1418-1/US09121306-20150901.html

  • US9121307 - “Slippery surfaces with high pressure stability, optical transparency, and self-healing characteristics”

    (priority date: Jan. 19, 2011)

    http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week35/OG/html/1418-1/US09121307-20150901.html

+
Publications

  • Tesler et al. Nature Communications 6 (2015). “Extremely durable biofouling-resistant metallic surfaces based on electrodeposited nanoporous tungstite films on steel”

    http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151020/ncomms9649/full/ncomms9649.html

  • J. Cui et al. Nature Materials 14 (2015). “Dynamic polymer systems with self-regulated secretion for the control of surface properties and material healing”

    http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v14/n8/full/nmat4325.html

  • C. Howell et al. Chem. Mater. 27 (2015). “Stability of Surface-Immobilized Lubricant Interfaces under Flow”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cm504652g

  • N. MacCallum et al. ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng. 1 (2015). “Liquid-Infused Silicone As a Biofouling-Free Medical Material”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ab5000578

  • C. Howell et al. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces (2014). “Self-Replenishing Vascularized Fouling-Release Surfaces”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/am503150y

  • S. Sunny et al. Adv. Funct. Mater. 24 (2014). “Lubricant-Infused Nanoparticulate Coatings Assembled by Layer-by-Layer Deposition”

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.201401289/abstract

  • D.C. Leslie et al. Nature Biotechnology (2014). “A bioinspired omniphobic surface coating on medical devices prevents thrombosis and biofouling”

    http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v32/n11/full/nbt.3020.html

  • X. Yao et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed 53 (2014). “Fluorogel Elastomers with Tunable Transparency, Elasticity, ShapeMemory, and Antifouling Properties”

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201310385/abstract

  • A. Grinthal et al. Chem. Mater. 26 (2014). “Mobile Interfaces: Liquids as a Perfect Structural Material for Multifunctional, Antifouling Surfaces”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cm402364d

  • D. Daniel et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 102 (2013). “Lubricant-infused micro/nano-structured surfaces with tunable dynamic omniphobicity at high temperatures”

    http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/102/23/10.1063/1.4810907

  • N. Vogel et al. Nature Communications 4 (2013). “Transparency and damage tolerance of patternable omniphobic lubricated surfaces based on inverse colloidal monolayers”

    http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/130731/ncomms3176/full/ncomms3176.html

  • P. Kim et al. Nano Lett. 13 (2013). “Hierarchical or Not? Effect of the Length Scale and Hierarchy of the Surface Roughness on Omniphobicity of Lubricant-Infused Substrates”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl4003969

  • X. Yao et al. Nature Materials 12 (2013). “Adaptive fluid-infused porous films with tunable transparency and wettability”

    http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v12/n6/full/nmat3598.html

  • C. Shillingford et al. Nanotechnology 25 (2013). “Fabrics coated with lubricated nanostructures display robust omniphobicity”

    http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-4484/25/1/014019

  • P.W. Wilson et al. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 15 (2012). “Inhibition of ice nucleation by slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS)”

    http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/cp/c2cp43586a#!divAbstract

  • P. Kim et al. ACS Nano 6 (2012). “Liquid-Infused Nanostructured Surfaces with Extreme Anti-Ice and Anti-Frost Performance”

    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn302310q

  • A.K Epstein et al. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 109 (2012). “Liquid-infused structured surfaces with exceptional anti-biofouling performance”

    http://www.pnas.org/content/109/33/13182

  • T.S. Wong et al. Nature 477 (2011). “Bioinspired self-repairing slippery surfaces with pressure-stable omniphobicity”

    http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v477/n7365/full/nature10447.html

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