Dot Ingredients®
A bio-derived and biodegradable surfactant
The Challenge
Surfactants are agents which reduce the surface tension between two liquids or a liquid and a gas or solid. Comprised of water-attracting and water-repelling parts, surfactants facilitate the mixing of water and oil. This property makes compounds fundamental to the US$45 billion global surfactant market which includes cleaning, cosmetics, and personal care products. However, current market surfactants tend to be sourced from unsustainable petroleum products and many are non-biodegradable pollutants.
The Solution
Through scientific curiosity and blue-sky thinking, Dot Ingredients® answers the call for a bio-derived and biodegradable surfactant. Its particles can be created using wood pulp and small amounts of sunflower oil and olive oil, which do not contribute to tropical deforestation.
Our Contribution
The development and early-stage commercialisation of Dot Ingredients®, including assessing commercial viability, intellectual property advice, filing patent applications, and assisting with prototype production, has been supported by funding from AUT Ventures, KiwiNet, and the Science for Technological Innovation Challenge (SfTI).
AUT Ventures and Dot Ingredients® are proud to have launched as a spinout and received initial investments from Motion Capital, Friends of Motion Capital, and AUT Ventures Investment Commitee.
Meet the Innovators
Jack Chen
Associate Professor Jack Chen works in Chemistry with the AUT Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences.
Andres Tiban
Dr Andres Tiban graduated with his PhD in Chemistry from AUT and now works as an Associate Researcher in Spain.