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GOOD IDEAS
RECEIVE SUPPORT
Maria Gröndahl and Lisa Eriksson with their new packaging material.
PRODUCING PACKAGING FROM WASTE
Waste can really turn to gold. The
Xylophane company has invented a new
packaging material. Maria Gröndahl, a
doctoral student of biopolymer technology
at Chalmers University of Technology,
succeeded a few years ago in producing
a thin film of the renewable material
xylane. This biopolymer is present in
grain, straw and wood, but until recently
it was regarded as a residue without any
economic value.
– We have produced a film from this
material that can be used in environmentally
sound packages instead of aluminium
and other non-renewable materials,
she says. She collaborated on this
project with her colleague Lisa Eriksson,
who has a degree in engineering biology.
– We discovered that the films we
developed are an excellent barrier
against oxygen. They are very useful in
the packaging industry, which uses large
quantities of oxygen barriers to protect
sensitive products such as food and
drugs, she says.
Developing alternative packaging,
whether for juice, fast food or headache
pills, is a timely idea. The EU Packaging
Directive regulates the design of the
packages of the future. It stipulates,
Many good ideas are created in
Sweden. VINNOVA supports innovative
ideas with growth potential, thus
promoting the establishment of new
technology-based companies. The
VINN NU competition provides funding
for small companies at an early stage,
thus creating opportunities for them
to realize their ideas. Here are three
examples of projects that have been
supported in this way.
among other things, that packaging must
be environmentally sounder in future.
Xylophane is also the name of the product
developed by the two engineers together
with Paul Gatenholm, a professor
at Chalmers University of Technology.
– We are already in touch with the
packaging industry with a view to scaling
up our laboratory results to a larger
pilot scale, says Maria Gröndahl.
The product has raised great expectations,
and she mentions that the
company has also established international
contacts.
A CAMERA THAT SEES THROUGH THE SKIN
Our skin is often used to study the
safety of all sorts of products from
cosmetics to drugs. A company called
WheelsBridge has developed a system,
for which a patent has been applied
for, that makes such tests simpler and
more effective.
– The camera that we have developed
can see “through” the outer
layers of skin and photograph the blood
circulation in the deeper skin layers. It
may detect signs of inflammations or
allergic reactions to an ointment, for
example, explains Gert Nilsson.
He is Professor of Medical Technology
at Linköping University and runs the
company together with others, including
a dermatologist. Their customers
are manufacturers of skincare products
and drugs who need to test the safety
of their products.
– Sometimes the aim may be to
measure the effectiveness of a product,
such as a product designed to increase
blood circulation.
At present, dermatologists assess
red spots subjectively. The camera can
provide more accurate values and also
monitor the development of a reaction
in the skin over time. The technology is
based on the changes that take place
in polarized light when it strikes red
blood cells in the skin. Development is
complete and the product will soon be
launched on the market.
– We have gone from development to
marketing in order to sell the product.
The money from VINN NU will help us
to establish a distribution network in
Europe.
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