If you were to consume a conventional Vitamin C pill, it would disintegrate as soon as it is swallowed, releasing all the Vitamin C at once. In contrast, a controlled-release pill would gradually release the same content, providing sustained absorption throughout the day. Now picture this pill, a hundred times larger in size, treating the environment. This is what Hydroemission, a Singapore-based materials science company, is developing and manufacturing.
Hydroemission’s controlled-release systems are applied across a range of environmental, industrial and consumer applications including air purification, mosquito control, odour management, and water treatment. With their proprietary encapsulation technique, active ingredients like insecticides, preservatives and scents, can be dispersed into the surroundings at a predetermined rate and duration to achieve the intended treatment results.
Looking to further optimise its controlled-release delivery technology for better treatment efficacy over the required period of time, Hydroemission approached IPI to source for potential partners to meet its short and long-term needs.
IPI recognised that the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES), a research institute under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), was fully equipped with the facilities and capabilities to support Hydroemission, and subsequently recommended and introduced the research institute to them.
Shortly after the introduction in August 2017, both parties entered a collaboration agreement in January 2018 to develop a testing protocol with tailored analytical methods for Hydroemission’s controlled-release delivery system and a three-year collaboration for characterisation studies and shelf-life analysis of its larvicide active ingredients.
“A*STAR ICES is a supportive technology partner with strong technical research capabilities. We are very pleased to collaborate with them and are confident that this partnership facilitated by IPI will enable us to develop new and better products in the future,” said Grace Chew, Technical Director and Co-founder of Hydroemission.
