technological innovation - fapesp · of the technological innovation programs supported by fapesp....

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

This publication contains information on twenty-four successful projectsunder the Small Business Innovation Research Program (PIPE) andPartnership for Technological Innovation Program (PITE) – two

of the Technological Innovation programs supported by FAPESP. The State of São Paulo Research Foundation. Projects in these two programs have alreadygenerated 85 patent and licence requests in the areas of health, engineering,pharmacology, agronomy, genetics, ecology and other areas, both in Brazil andabroad. Optical systems, drills for dental treatment, fuel from sugarcanebagasse, robotized equipment for chemical analyses, growth hormone producedwith the recombinant DNA technique, fuel cells, an optical fiber blanket to fightjaundice, and many others. These are projects that demonstrate the nation’scapacity for the generation and application of knowledge, the fruit of significantjoint state and federal government investment over the last decades in order tocreate a robust post-graduate system in the public universities and researchinstitutes of the state of São Paulo.

FAPESP, one of the largest agencies for the support of scientific research in Brazil, is managed by research scientists. It offers grants andfellowships to support research projects through regular and special programs and programs aimed at Technological Innovation.In the latter category, the Foundation has eleven programs covering genomics,biodiversity, public policies, patents, Internet, molecular biology and research into the genetic diversity of viruses significant to public health care. The common goal is innovation.

Specifically targeted at the development of innovative technologicalproducts and processes, there are the PITE and the PIPE Programs along withthe Sectorial Consortiums for Technological Research (ConSITec). Moreover,the foundation also has a special program for the support of intellectualproperty to guarantee the rights of researchers, institutions and businesses overthe results of concluded projects.

Since its commencement in 1962, FAPESP’s main criteria in the assessmentof funding proposals are the project’s merit and the qualification of theapplicants. The assessment system adopted by the Foundation – peer review –,is one reason why the Brazilian scientific community and other researchinstitutions –, including foreign ones, respect the Foundation’s procedures.Any applications for grants or fellowships sent to FAPESP, in any of its programs, are reviewed by ad hoc assessors, specialists in the areas of each project. These scientists comprise a network of more that six thousandresearchers active in the state of São Paulo, in other regions and abroad.

The Constitution of the state of São Paulo establishes that the main income of FAPESP must be equivalent to 1 per cent of the tax revenues of the state and transferred to the Foundation monthly. Added to the incomefrom the institution’s assets, in 2003 these resources allowed for an investment of US$ 120 million in scientific and technological research projects.Traditionally, 30 per cent of this total is invested in scholarship grants of sixmodalities, from Scientific Initiation to Post-Doctorate. In compliance with the bill that created it, the Foundation’s administration costs must not exceed 5 per cent of the investment made in research.

FAPESP Technological InnovationThe generation and application of knowledge

In the ten years of its existence, the elevenprograms of FAPESP aiming at TechnologicalInnovation have produced a revolution in theway scientific research in Brazil is financed, aswell as yielding high quality results in highlycompetitive areas. Brazilian scientists whether ornot associated with national or transnationalbusinesses have produced original, sometimesentirely new research, capable of displacingcutting edge technologies produced in the greatworld centers, once they reach the market.Some examples of these results are an anti-hypertensive medicine obtained from thevenom of the Bothrops jararaca snake; syntheticdiamond drill bits for use in dentistry; a newchip design capable of increasing computermemory 250 times; nanocomposite cataliserswith the potential of being used in processes forthe production of hydrogen.

FAPESP’s first initiative in the directfunding of technological innovation occurred at the end of 1994, when the institution decidedto put into operation the idea of a researchprogram aimed not just at knowledgegeneration, but also at its dissemination andapplication, and with an underlying conceptwhich envisioned the transformation of thisknowledge into wealth. In response to the wishesof society, FAPESP took on the challenge ofadding to its mission of fostering scientificresearch, a commitment to the creation ofeconomic development opportunities in a new

way: jointly funding research projects withcompanies. The objective was to match thesupply of the academic research sector with thedemands of the private sector. The mostsignificant innovation was the requirement thatthe partner company demonstrate a real interestin transferring the technology that the projectwas intended to produce. With shared risks andcosts, this would also provide a guarantee that itwould be possible to overcome the unequalrelationship between the academic environmentand business.

Investment in innovation

In 1995, the first program aimed atTechnological Innovation currently runningbegan operations. Conceived by the ScientificBoard and approved by the Board of Trustees ofthe Foundation, the Partnership forTechnological Innovation Program, PITE in itsPortuguese acronym, started to accept proposalsin that year. And, in nine years of activity, theprogram has approved 72 projects and investedUS$ 27 million – 46 per cent contributed by the55 partner companies.

Created in 1997, the Small BusinessTechnological Research Program – PIPE in itsPortuguese acronym, is essentially the same asthe Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), run by the National ScienceFoundation (NSF). In this second dimension of

A revolution in research support

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FA P E S P TE C H N O LO G I C A L IN N OVAT I O N

Innovative products and processes are the focus of eleven special programs

FAPESP’s support line for innovation, projectsare developed in three phases in a smallcompany, and investment from the company is not required but it must create innovationswith a commercial value. In the first phase,the feasibility of the proposal must be appraised.In the second phase, a prototype of the intended innovation must be developed. For the third phase, there is no funding:the Foundation helps the company to draw up a sound business plan through agreementsFAPESP has with the Financier of Studies and Projects –Finep, and the state of São Paulo’sSupport Service for Micro and Small Businesses, Sebrae-SP in the Portugueseacronym, in addition to other venture capitalinstitutions. One of the assumptions is thatmicro and small businesses are importantvectors of technological development;in other words, they can generate technologiesthat can reach production lines or be handedover to larger companies.

PIPE also seeks to stimulate graduate andpost-graduate students to start up companies asa strategy of adding knowledge produced in theacademic environment to marketable goods, bydeveloping research aimed at innovation.

Advances and ever greater efforts

In its first year of activity, PIPE received 82proposals and 32 of them obtained funding.More than US$ 16,7 million have already beeninvested in the 286 projects approved until 2004.Of these projects, 146 are in the second phase orare securing capital to market their results inBrazil or even abroad. An important evolution of

the program are the agreements with SupportService for Micro and Small Businesses and withthe Endeavor Enterprising Institute (InstitutoEmpreendedor Endeavor), in order to improvethe companies’ managerial performance. In thethird stage, FAPESP remains present, notfinancially but institutionally, through thepartnerships that the Foundation has, so thatsmall companies may be able to compete forventure capital to finance scale production oftheir innovations.

The confirmation that Research andDevelopment investment by companies doesindeed bring important socio-economic returnshas opened perspectives for the formation ofgroups of companies within the same industry inpartnership with state of São Paulo’s teachingand research institutions. The idea is to solvecommon technological problems. Thisperception has led FAPESP to offer a third formof university-company cooperation: the SectorialConsortium for Technological InnovationProgram, ConSITec in ints Portuguese acronym.

There has been another almost unavoidableconsequence. Jointly responsible for thegeneration of a considerable amount ofinnovations – in fact, inventions of provenoriginality – FAPESP decided to organize theProgram of Support for Intellectual Property –PAPI in the Portuguese acronym – that worksunder the Nucleus of Technology Patenting and Licensing, Nuplitec. It assists the researcherin the protection of intellectual property over the project results. Since May 2000, 85funding requests have been approved,and in 2003, US$ 194 thousand were invested in these patents and licences.

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AsGa, a Brazilian manufacturer ofequipment for telecommunication systems withoptical fiber transmission, is one of the greatestbusiness success stories in Brazil’s high-techindustry. The company was founded in 1989 by agroup of former professors from the StateUniversity of Campinas (Unicamp) in the state ofSão Paulo, with the aim of establishing theproduction of optoelectronic components inBrazil. By 2002 AsGa was achieving revenues inexcess of US$ 10 million – three years earlier,revenues barely reached US$ 5,7 million. Thecompany is the main supplier of optical modemsto the Brazilian telecoms industry and itsproducts are sold throughout Brazil and exportedto other countries. It has branches in Argentinaand Mexico and several representatives abroad,including in Portugal, Chile and Malaysia. Marketsuccess is due to the company’s investment inResearch and Development. AsGa spends about 15per cent of its revenues on technological projectswithin its facilities which are located in the city ofValinhos, 118 kilometers from São Paulo.

The company’s flagship is its line ofmultiplexers and optical modems which are atthe cutting edge of telecommunications. These

devices are used in telephone networks, linkinglarge companies with telephone switchingcenters and mobile phone centers with theirswitching centers. The multiplexers transmitvarious signals (voice calls or data processing)through one channel, bringing them togetherand combining them. They also allow a singleoptical fiber to carry 1,890 times more lines orvoice channels than copper wire.

AsGa was the first Brazilian company toproduce multiplexers and today has 70 per centof the Brazilian market. In 1998, the companytook a giant technological leap forward bycreating a new line of faster and moresophisticated multiplexers, suited to working inthe 155 megabits per second (Mb/s) bandwidth,against the 34 Mb/s of the previous set, of theMMO 16E1 modem. “AsGa was the first of thelarge telecoms equipment makers that dared toget into this category of devices”, said companypresident and MIT Ph.D, José Ellis Ripper Filho.To develop this equipment and the 16E1 modem the company received funding from FAPESP through the Small Business Innovation Research Program (PIPE in the Portuguese acronym).

Frontline Optical Systems

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Multiplexers transmit combined signals through one single optical fiber

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The University of São Paulo (USP) andPetrobras signed a partnership at the end of thelast decade to develop a software program that isgenerating a considerable increase in theprofitability of the company’s oil refiningoperations. Several systems are optimizing theproduction of the company’s eleven oil refineriesand a shale-processing factory, a rock from whichoil is extracted. “The software carries out theintegrated optimization of the whole processfrom manufacture control to longer termcorporate decisions”, says engineer Lincoln Moro,senior consultant of Petrobras’s RefiningOptimization Management. According to Moro,the program helped update Petrobras’s AdvancedControl System (SICON) and also helpedconsolidate the technology for real timeoptimization, in use or in the process ofimplementation in all the company’s units. Thesetechnologies are providing US$ 0.25 savings perprocessed barrel (oil or products). As Petrobrasprocesses around 1.8 million barrels a day, thetotal savings reach US$ 450 thousand.

At USP, the project was coordinated byprofessor Cláudio Augusto Oller do Nascimento,from the Chemical Engineering Department of

the Polytechnic school. He and his team wereresponsible for the software matrixes, the so-called algorithms (calculations and functions),which, on many occasions, were developed formasters and doctoral thesis by the Petrobrasemployees themselves. The practical applicationand the development of the software is carried out in company’s refineries. Prior to this program,there was no system capable of optimizing therefineries in an integrated form.

Although there are similar systems to SICONin other oil companies around the world, controland optimization systems such as the one developedby USP and Petrobras are a novelty in the worlddue to the advanced level of technology achieved.The industrial implementation of each of theseprograms usually costs around US$ 600 thousand.When this figure is multiplied by 30, the number ofunits where SICON is installed – and each refinerymight have more than one –, a sum of US$ 18million may be arrived at. This amount is a lot lessthan was spent on the creation of the optimizationsoftware. Petrobras has invested around US$ 191thousand and FAPESP, which funded the researchthrough the Partnership for Technological InnovationProgram (PITE), contributed US$ 175 thousand.

Savings on oil products

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Optimization in real time. Integrated process raises profits in oil refining

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One of the most advanced fields oftechnological research is the area in which aBrazilian company called OptoLink operates, theproduction of equipment and components foroptical fiber communications. Located inCampinas, in the state of São Paulo, and startedby former researchers of the Research andDevelopment Center (CPqD in the Portugueseacronym) of the former state telecom monopolyTelebrás, OptoLink has developed and producedoptical fiber cable couplers used in amplifiers forthe transmission and distribution of opticalsignals in telephone switchboards, cable TVnetworks and the Internet.

The function of the amplifier is to boost thelight of the signals emitted by telephoneswitching centers or cable TV that work withoptical fibers, as the signals lose their intensity inthe journey between one point and another. Thecouplers are used in the amplifiers and their jobis to join or separate the signals (there can betens of calls at the same time) transmitted byoptical fiber.

Established in 1998 at the incubator of theCompany for the Development of TechnologicalExcellence (Ciatec) in Campinas (Companhia de

Desenvolvimento do Pólo de Alta Tecnologia deCampinas) by 2001 the company had alreadymade prototypes of the products and waspreparing to partner with the multinationalcompany Solectron, aiming for mass production.However, the telecoms components marketplunged and Solectron decided to cancel theproject at the end of 2003. Despite thesetroubles, OptoLink has grown, and left theincubator and today has a space in the Post-Incubation Center for Technology Companies,next to the State University of Campinas(Unicamp).

According to the main company manager,Ildefonso Félix de Faria Júnior, in 2003 salesexceeded US$ 330 thousand, twice as much as last year. Of this amount, he points out thatabout 10 per cent is being invested in newproduct development – and today they arereaping the rewards – among which is a processfor the metallization of optical fibers to be usedin encapsulation of optoelectronic components,such as lasers and photodetectors. Ininstrumentation, OptoLink is developing aproject of light sources to integrate monitoringsystems for optical fiber networks.

Equipment for telecommunications networks

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Brighter light on telecommunication

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Installed in the Technology Incubator at theUniversidade do Vale do Paraíba (Univap, in SãoJosé dos Campos, in the state of São Paulo),Quimlab produces certified reference materialswhich are used in the chemical industry forcalibration and equipment control. Funded byFAPESP, the company set up a chemicalmetrology laboratory in which conforms tointernational standards. It must be emphasized,that in a global scenario, the metrology industryis strategic for Brazilian exports due to the needfor technical specification of products incompliance with the norms which exist in theUSA and Japan.

According to Nilton Pereira Alves,Quimlab’s owner, the laboratory is up and ready, and now is awaiting thecertification of the National Institute ofMetrology, Standardization and IndustrialQuality – Inmetro. The green light has yet to be given since, according to Pereira Alves,the institute does not have the proper norms to certify Quimlab as a producer of referencematerial. The expectation is that, using thispioneering center as a springboard, research willbe developed benefiting Inmetro and other

agencies and thus create the basis of chemicalmetrology in Brazil.

Quimlab, founded in 1997, elaborates andproduces traceable standard solutions,substances for industrial use to measure the so-called chemical values. For example, thepercentage of lead or iron found in a metal alloyor the pH value of a certain item, thus indicatingif it is acid, neutral or basic. The devices thatcarry out such analyses are adjusted andcalibrated in comparison with the standardsolutions produced by Quimlab. The companysells to, among others, the pharmaceutical, metaland oil industries. The production in Brazil ofcertified pH standards – until now the producthas been imported – helps the user companiessave money since the national product is cheaperthan the imported ones and delivery isimmediate.

Jointly with universities, Quimlab iscarrying out investigations into other lines of research, and the company also undertakeschemical analyses and consulting jobs for the development of specific reference materialused by certain industries such as, for example,the makers of synthetic fibers.

Laboratory for the chemical industry

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Reference materials calibrate equipment for export

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A plasma “fueled” sterilizer has beendeveloped by Sterlily, a company incubated inthe Company for the Development ofTechnological Excellence (Ciatec) in Campinasin the state of São Paulo. Dubbed Esteriliza1000, the equipment eliminates fungi andbacteria and its target markets are hospitals, thepharmaceutical, veterinary and food industries,among others.

Considered to be the fourth state of matter,plasma is produced by applying an intenseelectrical field to certain gases. The action ofthis field supplies energy to ions and electronswhich collide with the atoms and the molecules.This situation excites the molecules, spawningfree radicals and ultraviolet radiation. The resultis a joint action against membranes, enzymesand nucleic acids that make up the cells ofmicroorganisms, destroying their vitalfunctions. The novelty in this kind ofequipment is the chamber in which thesterilization process is carried out at lowtemperature and in dry conditions.

The first prototype of the device was used in the sterilization of over 12 thousandplastic recipients for the cultivation

of cloned plants, as well as disposable syringesand jars for clinical analysis.The sterilization cycle is considered to be quick – around one and a half hours for plastic materials.

The equipment comprises a stainless steelcylinder within which an environment withreduced pressure is created in order to generatevacuum. Drawers with cavities receive thematerial which is wrapped in polypropylenepacking, developed in Brazil for this purpose. Itallows the gases to pass through, but blocks themicroorganisms. Immediately after that,nitrogen peroxide gas is released into theinterior of the chamber, where a high frequencyelectrical field is applied, thus creatingultraviolet radiation. This type of sterilizationhas specific features, such as the lowtemperature, ranging from 35° C to 40° C,making it appropriate for application withseveral materials. According to TadashiShiosawa, one of directors of Sterlily, theEsteriliza 1000 – the price of which ranges fromUS$ 133 thousand to US$ 167 thousand – is awaiting registration by the Health Ministry before starting to be sold.

Quick and efficient sterilizer

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Ultra-violet radiation inside of the sterilization chamber

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Special Lenses that guarantee high qualityimages, without the minor distortions of conventional lenses are being produced by Optovac, a company located in Osasco,in Metropolitan São Paulo.Called non-spherical or aspherical lenses,they are able to retain focus more efficientlyand have several applications, includingmedical lenses used in many surgeries,and optical microscopes in laboratories and cameras.

The production of aspherical lenses,the market for which is highly promising,was a great technological challenge forOptovac. Started just over two years ago,the development of the project resulted ininjectable plastic lenses – polycarbonate,polystyrene or acrylic – which allowed the company to halve the cost. According to company director and coordinator of the project, Sérgio Antônio de AlmeidaNobre, it is a novel technology in Brazil and unique in the southernhemisphere.

The electronics and telecoms industrieshave increasingly been demanding aspherical

lenses. They are used, for instance,in camcorders, light sensors and opticalcouplers (optical fiber connectors).

Optovac is presently not focused on these highly competitive sectors.The idea is to win market share in the educational and technical areas and in the general market, with optical kits for physics classes, stereo microscopes (binoculars for teaching,industrial use and research in micro-assembly in electrical areas), autoheadlight lenses with high performance lighting and components for medical toolscompanies, home appliances and electric equipment which, in some cases,can reach the market at half the price of imported goods. Sergio Nobre’s intention is to also gear up the company to export, mainly products aimed at the area of education.

Optovac is certified by the Brazilian Army Aviation for the development and maintenance of optical equipment,such as night vision goggles,currently imported.

Novel technology in special lenses

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Focus on surgical applications and precision optical devices

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New drills for dental treatment

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A team of researchers from ClorovaleDiamantes, a high-tech company located in SãoJosé dos Campos, 100 kilometers from São Paulo,has developed a new line of dental drills coatedwith a synthetic diamond tip which has broughtgreat advantages for dentists and patients. Thecompany has attained an innovative andsophisticated production process and is the firstcompany in Latin America to produce puresynthetic diamonds, with no metal addition.

A survey among a group of 500 dentists hasshown that in more than 70 per cent oftreatments carried out with the equipment, thepatient required no anesthetic as the interventionis painless. This happens because the drill, whichworks in ultra-sound devices, reaches the dentalcavity through vibration, without crushing thedentine, the region of the tooth in which thereare extremely small canals responsible for thesensitivity of the tooth. The treatment with thesedrills is very precise and minimally invasive,avoiding wear and unnecessary trauma to thetooth. Moreover, unlike traditional drills, whichwork in high-rotation devices, the ultra-sounddrills do not make that high-pitched noise thatfrightens so many people.

Another Clorovaleinnovation is theconventional rotation drillcoated with CVD diamond, amaterial obtained throughChemical Vapor Deposition.It is exactly the samediamond as used to coat theultra-sound drills. Clorovalewas the pioneering companyin Latin America in thedevelopment of CVDdiamond which has thecharacteristics of naturaldiamond and can be obtainedin any size and form, and ismuch purer than the artificialdiamonds known by theacronym HPHT (HighPressure, High Temperature).This conventional technologyuses diamond powder andnickel solder on a steel rod,whereas the CVD diamondgrows on the rod itself,covering it until the desiredthickness is attained.

No pain, no anesthesia,no trauma, no noise

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The drills were launched on the market inthe beginning of 2003 and, according toClorovale, have been very well received bydentists. The physicist Vladimir Trava Airoldi,one of founders of the company, reckons thatgross sales income will reach US$ 9,4 million inthe first two years. Each ultra-sound diamondcoated drill costs about US$ 67, twenty timesmore than the conventional drills. This, however,should not be a hindrance to the commercialsuccess of the product, as Airoldi points out,they last twenty to thirty times longer.The drills are sold in twelve different models for various areas of dentistry. Both Clorovaledrills have been patented in Brazil,United States, Canada, Japan and Europe.The company intends to sell to customers in thefive continents. The goal is to reach 15 per centof the 300 thousand dental professionals in Latin America and 3 per cent of the 2.5million dentists of the rest of the world in fiveyears. To win over the American market, the researchers are filing for registrationwith the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),agency that regulates food and medicine.

Laboratory techniciansspecialized in the analysis offood and other substances,won a strong ally at the endof 90’s with a technologicalinnovation developed byFemto Indústria e Comérciode Instrumentos, whoseheadquarters are in SãoPaulo. The company created aSpectrophotometricWorkstation which is a totallyautomated and robotizedchemical analyzer. Widelyused by industries, researchinstitutes, environmentprotection agencies andcompanies from varioussectors, the apparatus iscapable of quantifying, forinstance, the presence ofchloride, nitrate, iron andsilica in water, or detectcyanide, sulfate, phosphateand ammonia in domestic orindustrial effluents. It alsomakes it possible to measurethe level of calcium andphosphorus in animal feed,and magnesium andphosphorus in plants. All ofthis in a fraction of the time taken by thetraditional methods.

The project was funded by FAPESP underthe Small Business Innovation Research Program (PIPE in the Portuguese acronym).According to physicist Lídio Takayama,one of Femto’s partners, the use of automatedand robotized workstations brings severalbenefits to the laboratories, such as the reduction of operational and management costsand also enables the laboratories to attain greaterspeed in the analysis processing. Furthermore,the use of the apparatus allows almost real time quality control, error reduction, increasedsafety, less wastage of chemical products and improved communication and services.Laboratory analysis with manualspectrophotometers is still widespread in Brazil,but automated pieces of equipment are gaining ever more ground, due to the supportthat is given to laboratories that handle greatamounts of analyses.

Created in 1989, Femto is proud of itssuccess story. It started its activities with thedevelopment and manufacture of visible light andultraviolet spectrophotometers and is presentlythe only Latin American company to producenear infrared spectrophotometers using its owntechnology. Today, an even more advanced pieceof equipment is in its completion phase, afluorescence spectrophotometer with a continuousscanning double monochromator, an obligatorytool in Brazil to analyze surface water and waterused in hemodialysis. Another FAPESP supportedproject is the development of an atomicabsorption spectrophotometer with electrothermalatomizers, used to analyze soil, plants andfoodstuffs. The device should be ready in 2006.With its diversified range of products Femto,which grosses US$ 670 thousand a year, intendsto grab 30 per cent of the Brazilian market and 1per cent of the world market over the next years.“We are preparing our export line which shouldbe ready in 2005”, says Lídio Takayama.

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Station provides more quality and is faster and cheaper

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Automated and robotized chemical analysis

São Paulo is getting ready to join a select club – that of cities in the world that use the fuel cell, an extremely sophisticatedtechnological innovation. “The heart”of this equipment which produces electricenergy from hydrogen, the cell was produced by Electrocell, a São Paulo company that hasinvested about five years in its development.Based at the Incubator Center ofTechnology Companies (Cietec) which is locatedin the building of The Institute of NuclearEnergy and Research (Ipen), on the University of São Paulo campus, the company has had wide technological and scientificsupport from the institute in the development of the cell’s electrodes and catalysts.

The equipment is about to be delivered to AES Eletropaulo, the electricity utility that serves 24 municipalities in the MetropolitanRegion of São Paulo (including the city of São Paulo). The fuel cell is a set of electrodemodules and exchange membranes capable of producing 30 kilowatts (kW) of energy,enough to power two to three floors of a building or 40 small houses. The cell workswith hydrogen stored in cylinders, but it is also capable of extracting this fuel fromnatural gas and ethanol (the alcohol used in Brazilian cars).

With the technological advances of the last 15 years, these cells – one of the spin-offs from the American space program –

have become cheaper and have been adapted to more routine situations.American, Canadian and German companieshave been producing them, made to order, for about five years.

The fuel cells work as a battery,transforming chemical energy into electrical energy, breaking down the hydrogenmolecules that react with the oxygen in the air. In their stationary form they aresimilar to, and do the job of a generator,but they are smaller and work more silently than ordinary generators. Furthermore,they emit no pollutants.

As soon as it receives the equipment,Eletropaulo intends to install it in a building,where it will simulate the substitution of a fail-safe, the first step prior to testing it in other functions. The utility has invested US$ 570 thousand in the manufacture of the cell, money that came from the Energy Sectorial Fund, controlled by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The first prototypes were developed withfunds from FAPESP, in a project “that made the company take off”, according to the electronics engineer Gilberto Janólio, one of the partners of the company. In these projects,90 per cent of the material used was developedin Brazil. The only imported product is the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)characteristic of this type of cell.

Clean and safe energy

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Fuel cell will supply energy to the largest city in Latin America

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Brazil imports around 1 million doses of theHuman Growth Hormone or more simply – hgH– every year. The estimated expenditure reachesUS$ 15 million. Thanks to the effort of a smallbiotechnology company from the state of SãoPaulo – Hormogen – the country will no longerbe an importer and will start to export thismedicine. After years of research, the companyhas been able to develop in its laboratory themedicine which is chiefly prescribed for thetreatment for children with growth deficit ordwarfism. Presently, only six countries – Sweden,Denmark, Switzerland, Israel, the United Statesand South Korea – have mastered manufacturingtechnology for this drug which can also be givento adults with hormonal deficiency, patients whohave been through a renal transplant, girls withTurner syndrome – which causes short statureand sterility – or HIV positive patients who havelost muscle mass or are gravely debilitated.

Hormogen is not the only Braziliancompany to have been able to synthesize thehgH. The production process of the hormonehas already been mastered by GenosysBiotecnológica, another company supported byFAPESP, which promises to bring the product tomarket sometime in 2004. In both cases, thetechnique employed was the recombinant DNA.Hormogen’s success led a large BrazilianPharmaceutical company – Biolab-Sanus – totake an interest in the company and eventuallytake it over. In February 2002, the laboratory

bought 75 per cent of Hormogen shares and it isresponsible for marketing the product. For thecontrolling stake of the company, Biolab-Sanuspaid the symbolic amount of US$100 thousanddollars. The remaining 25 per cent of the sharesremain with the three researchers who foundedHormogen, and they are still responsibletechnically and scientifically for the product.

In order to carry out the necessarytechnological development and arrive at the pilotproduction, attracting potential investors,Hormogen received funds of US$ 115 thousandfrom FAPESP between 1998 and 2001. Themoney was invested mainly in reagents andequipment, such as the bioreactor where thebacteria that secrete the hgH multiply. Accordingto chemist Paolo Bartolini, one of the foundersof Hormogen and head of the Center ofMolecular Biology of The Institute of NuclearEnergy and Research (IPEN), the medicine hasgone through biological laboratory tests (usingdwarf mice) and also through two modalities ofphysical-chemical and toxicological tests (usingdogs and mice) and also immunologic tests, toprove the identity, potency and degree of purity,not to mention the safety of the drug.Production of the hormone should start inFebruary of the next year (2005) in a Biolab-Sanus factory in Minas Gerais. Initially thelaboratory intends to capture 10 per cent of theBrazilian market with the medicine which will be20 per cent cheaper than imported ones.

Hormogen synthesizes the hgH

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National production widens access to multiple-use medicine

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Billions of dollars are spent every year byacademic institutions and private laboratoriesaround the world in search of improvements tofuel cells, a system that produces electric energysilently and without harming the environment.In Brazil, the first equipment of this kind wasdeveloped in 2001 by chemist Antonio CésarFerreira, the owner of Unitech. The discoverywas the crowning achievement of a dedicatedand tireless scientist, who lived for nine years inthe United States, where he took his post-doctorate and worked as a researcher in theTexas Agricultural and Mechanical Universityand at MER, a company located in Arizona.When he returned to Brazil, in the mid-90’s, heset up his own laboratory to develop the catalysts,which are considered the heart of the fuel cell.The equipment Ferreira developed is the size of a small refrigerator, is fueled by hydrogen and can produce 1.5 kilowatt of electricity.

The cell can be explained as a sandwich of electrodes, catalysts and an electrolyte. It canreceive pure hydrogen or obtain it from naturalgas, gasoline, methanol (wood or cereal alcohol)or from ethanol (alcohol from sugarcane, used inBrazilian cars). Currently, extracting hydrogenfrom water is still an expensive option, as theelectrolysis process that separates the hydrogenand the oxygen atoms needs electrical energy.

The working principle of fuel cells is based on the electrochemical reaction of the oxidationof the fuel. To assemble the first prototypes,Ferreira had to develop the bipolar catalystplates, which are essential parts in the assemblyof fuel cells. It is in the catalyst that the hydrogen(H2) molecules break down. The protonsspawned from this reaction pass through the membrane to the anode (negative) side ofthe cell to make water. Meanwhile the electronswhich originate from the breakdown of H2circulate through the plate generating electricity.

The fuel cell produced by Unitech is part ofa three-year program, with funds of US$ 1,7million, that Companhia Energética de MinasGerais (Energy Company of the State of MinasGerais – Cemig) has spent on several projects for the development of this technology.Although it is a system that still needsimprovement, the working concept of the fuelcell goes back to the 19th century. They weredeveloped by the Welshman William RobertGrove, considered to be the father of thetechnology, in 1835. At the end of the 90’s,the first fuel cells started to be sold in the UnitedStates, Canada and Japan. Presently, there are several prototypes capable of supplyingelectricity between 10 watts and 11 megawatts to serve the portable equipment of small towns.

Company creates fuel cell

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The first Brazilian fuel cell. Concept was developed in the 19th century

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The diagnosis of skin cancer – the occurrence of which has been increasing in Brazil – can be doneearlier and with greater precision thanks to a technology developed by AtonusEngenharia de Sistemas, a company from São José dos Campos, in the state of São Paulo. Founded in 1995 to operate mainly in the area of computational vision, creating systems with image capturingand analysis components, the company created a computational system comprising a special camera – the video episcope – which uses optical fiber lighting, software, and a remote database on the Internet.

According to electrical engineer Antonio Francisco Junior, partner-director of Atonus, in at least 40 per cent of the cases, the clinical examination precisely evaluates whether a lesion is malignant or not. The digital video episcope (DVE) helps the specialist to reach a diagnosis,also reducing the number of biopsies, mainly in cases where regular medical check-ups are necessary.

The system’s video episcope films the lesion and sends the color image to a computer, where a capturing board

digitalizes the image. The software then analyzes the skin lesion morphologically(based on dermatoscopy 101), to appraise its asymmetry, the irregularity of the border and diameter. The data is stored after going through a seven point diagnosticchecklist, including itching and irregular borders. Details observed by the physician, such as color detection and different structures are inserted manually in the program.

The evaluation of all these parametersproduces a sort of pre-established dermatologic score, based on which the program determines whether the lesion is benign, malignant or in the gray zone. If a second opinion is wanted, the doctor can send the digitalized images through the Internet.

The DVE system is sold by the company in a set or separately.The complete system costs around US$ 9thousand dollars, almost halfthe price of international competitors.

Atonus has also created a medical debate forum on the Internet which will enable the creation of a database about skin cancer in Brazil (www.visualnet.com.br).

Greater precision in the detection of skin cancer

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Equipment diagnoses lesions with no need for biopsies

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An innovative line of products aimedprincipally at the external telecoms market. Thatis the mission of FiberWork, a company fromCampinas in the state of São Paulo, specializedin the area of communication through opticalfibers. In little over four years of activity, it hasdeveloped solutions that involve the latestgeneration equipment, such the Optical S-Parameter Analyzer (Ospa), still rarely used inBrazil, but which is aimed at the American,European and Asian markets.

FiberWork was born in the incubatorSupporting Center for the Development of High Tech Companies (Nade), in Ciatec,the Company for the Development of theTechnological Excellence based in Campinas.In 2002, it moved to premises in a 1,100-square-meter business condominium,the Campinas High-Tech Companies Center.

Ospa is a characterization tool for passivephotonic devices – those applied in the optics ,fiber optics, laser, display and opticalcommunication industries. It carries out rapidand precise multiple tests for these components,measuring parameters such as dispersion, timedelay, reflection, transmissity, losses andpolarization responses. The tool uses originaltechnology developed by the researchers ofFiberWork, capable of measuring all these

parameters simultaneously, in transmission and reflection, thus avoiding the use of several different instruments.

Ospa’s target market is the manufacturers of devices such as optical filters, dispersioncompensators, multiplexers which combinevarious transmissions in a single fiber,as well as routers and couplers used in optical fiber networks. The equipment was launched commercially at the beginning of 2004, at the main optical communicationsfair, in Los Angeles.

FiberWork is negotiating a partnership withan American company (the US accounts for 60per cent of the photonics industry’s world trade)which will be in charge of marketing of theproduct abroad. Besides Ospa, the companymakes other pieces of equipment for the opticalcommunications industry, and offers servicessuch as planning, specification, installation,training and diagnosis of installed opticaltransmission networks.

According to the company ChiefTechnology Officer Sérgio Barcelos, the producthas been well received since, besides havingsuperior technology, its cost is lower than its competitors: around US$ 80 thousand,as opposed to US$ 160 to US$ 200 thousand for the products of other companies.

Devices for optical networks

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Quickness and safety in multiple tests for optical components

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Good news for those who have to undergo acataract or cornea transplant. Since April lastyear (2003), the two surgeries have become saferthanks to the corneal topographer developed byEyetec, a small company specialized in theresearch and manufacture of ophthalmologicapparatuses, located in São Carlos, in the interiorof São Paulo. The equipment ensures greaterprecision and eliminates most of the existingrisks in surgical interventions. In the sevenmonths since the launch of the product, 20 unitsof the apparatus have been sold at a cost ofUS$ 5 thousand per unit. Another innovation of Eyetec is a conventional topographer for image capturing, used before and after lasersurgeries for the correction of myopia andastigmatism. This device, which costs US$ 12,4thousand, has become the market leader inBrazil with 350 units sold.

The corneal topographer measures thecurvature of the cornea during surgeries anddetects very slight variations in the membranesurface, eliminating most of the risks in theseprocedures. The equipment prevents theappearance of astigmatism (distortions in thecapturing of the image by the eye), a problemthat ensues from extremely small alterations inthe cornea surface at the moment of stitching upthe surgical cut. The equipment took three years

to develop. In the first phase of the project,mechanical and optical parts were produced andthe image capturing and processing software waswritten. The next step was to create a prototypethat would demonstrate the characteristics of acommercial product. The device also received akind of mechanical arm which is used by doctorsduring surgeries. Ophthalmologists can choosebetween the two versions of the equipment: onethat works linked to a desktop computer or oneconnected to a notebook,

To develop the equipment, Eyetec receivedfinancial support from FAPESP and entered intoa partnership with several research institutions,such the Laboratory of Ophthalmic Optics of thePhysics Institute of the University of São Paulo(USP) and the departments of Ophthalmologyof School of Medicine of USP, of the city ofRibeirão Preto in the state of São Paulo, and theFederal University of São Paulo (Unifesp). Eyetecexecutives estimate that the product has goodmarket potential, since out of the nine thousandophthalmologists practicing in Brazil, about 3.6thousand are surgeons, the target customers forthe equipment. Furthermore, the topographer,which has already been patented, has a goodchance of commercial success abroad. Thecompany already has customers in Mexico andChina and negotiations are underway in Europe.

More accurate eye surgeries

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Topographer coupled to the equipment prevents the appearance of astigmatism

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A new piece of equipment to treathyperbilirubinemia, a disease that afflictsnewborn babies and is better known asphysiological jaundice, has been developed by acompany called Komlux, from Campinas, andshould be launched on the market in July 2004.Dubbed Blanket Lux, the phototherapeuticblanket made from optical fibers presents a seriesof advantages when compared to the conventionaltreatment, which consists in exposing the babiesto a light source generated by fluorescent orhalogen lamps. Jaundice afflicts children all overthe world and is characterized by the incapacityof the body to eliminate the bilirubin of theblood. Normally, this bile pigment is expelled bythe liver or filtered by theplacenta. When this does notoccur, the most visible andcommon effect of the presence ofthe pigment in the baby is theyellowish color of the skin. Inmore severe cases, the disordercan damage the central nervoussystem and cause deafness.

Blanket Lux is a luminousmantle sown with modifiedoptical fibers which emit bluelight laterally and in a controlledway. The light is produced by alight source that works with ahigh efficiency halogen gas lampin the region of the lightspectrum indicated for thetreatment. The blanket can beused directly on the baby’s skin and itis not as uncomfortable as the traditionalmethod in which the lamps cannot be put tooclose to the baby, otherwise they will burn thetiny patient. Moreover, unlike traditionalphototherapies, Blanket Lux allows the therapyto be carried out either in the nursery or thematernity room. Since it is portable and weighsjust 5 kilograms, the equipment can also be usedat home. Another positive aspect is that with theblanket, there is no need to interrupt treatmentto breastfeed. For healthcare organizations, thebig advantage is the reduction of hospital stays.

The development of the phototherapeuticblanket took two and a half years of research andinvolved scientists from the State University ofCampinas (Unicamp). The studies were fundedby FAPESP. The equipment is now finished andin the final stages of certification with the

Brazilian authorities. Each blanket in Brazil willcost about US$ 1,500, a lot less than the maincompetitor’s product, made in Japan, which costsUS$ 8,000. The export product will be evencheaper due to tax exemptions (US$ 1,000).According to Komlux, world demand for theproduct is about 3,500 units a year. Thecompany’s production capacity is about 5,000blankets a year. To win the European market,Komlux is implementing the ISO 13.485standardization certification which attests the quality of medical products. The companyalso expects to sell Blanket Lux in the United States where a similar products goesunder the name of biliblanket.

New treatment against jaundice

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Therapy is comfortable and avoids the interruption of breastfeeding

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Komlux was formed in 1986 to producedental tips for photopolymerization,equipment which dries the mass used in dentalreconstruction. This project was later sold to the multinational 3M, and the partnershipwas dissolved. In the same year, Komlux signed a service contract with Elebra,also from Campinas, which was already involved in the production of optical fibers fortelecommunications. Komlux developedendoscopes for medical use, and between 1994 and 1995 commenced the development of the fiber optical blanket with the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT), through the Technological and Scientific DevelopmentSupport Program.

hexoses and pentoses, with glucose dominating amongst the formed hexoses.The hydrolytic liquor containing the reducingsugars is purified to extract the undesired substances, mainly the sulphuric acid, and nutrients are added, creating a fermentable must, which is blended with the juice and the molasses normally used in alcohol production. In the final stages of the process, the mixture is fermentedand distilled into ethylic alcohol.Dedini expects to complete the development of the first industrial plants, with a capacity to produce 60 thousand liters of alcohol per day, around mid-2004. Once this happens,the technology will be available to any interested companies.

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To produce carbureting ethylic alcohol –ethanol – from sugarcane bagasse.What seemed to be a dream some decades ago has come true thanks to the efforts of the scientists of the Grupo Dedini, a companywith headquarters in Piracicaba, in the interiorof the state of São Paulo. One of the largestBrazilian manufacturers of machines andequipment for the sugar and alcohol industry,at the end of 2003 Dedini opened,a semi-industrial plant, called a ProcessDemonstration Unit (PDU), capable of using the total biomass of the sugarcane and turningthe bagasse into fuel alcohol. With thisinnovation, the company is confident that it will be possible to increase production ofethanol in the country by 30 per cent withoutthe need to plant any additional sugarcane.This is equivalent to an additional supply of 5.4 billion liters of alcohol a year.

The new technology is the result of two decades of research in which Dediniteamed up with the Center of Technology of the Cooperative of Sugarcane, Alcohol, andSugar Producers of the State of São Paulo(Copersucar) and the company received fundingfrom FAPESP. To achieve their aim, theresearchers of Dedini and the Copersucar Center of Technology had to develop a processbased on hydrolysis (chemical reaction with the use of water) which converts the cellulosepresent in bagasse into ethanol. Dubbed Dedini Rapid Hydrolysis (Dedini HidróliseRápida – DHR in the Portuguese acronym),the technology is patented in Brazil,the United States, the European Union, Russiaand several other Latin American countries.The great advantage of the process is its speed.While the traditional process required the use of concentrated or diluted acids and took five hours to effect the transformation, the DHR technique takes less than ten minutes.

The process is relatively simple.The sugarcane bagasse is placed into a continuous flow reactor which is supplied with an organic hydrosolvent –preferably ethanol – and sulphuric acid.The unit operates under 25 to 27 kg/cm2

pressure and at a temperature close to 190 degrees Celsius. In just a few minutes,the cellulose and the hemicellulose present in the bagasse are transformed into

Sugarcane bagasse becomes alcohol fuel

New technology extracts 30% more alcohol form sugarcane

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Brazil is one of the great world producers ofpaper and cellulose, and thanks to the efforts ofa chemical company from Barueri, in themetropolitan region of São Paulo, the process ofcellulose manufacturing has become moreefficient and less harmful to the environment. In1999, Logos Química developed the Logospersefamily of multi-functional chelating agentswhich eliminate undesirable metallic compoundsin the bleaching of eucalyptus cellulose pulp. Thegreat advantage of the product is the fact it isharmless to the environment. Discovered aftertwo years of research, Logosperse provided analternative to the use of diethylene triaminepentaacetate acid (DTPA), the only substanceused for this purpose in those days. The newchelating agent was swiftly accepted by theindustry and today is the leader in its sector.

The Logosperse line combines threemolecules based on phosphonates synthesized inLogos’s own laboratories. According to the Logosresearchers, the new family of chelating agentsreduces the use of hydrogen peroxide, thepopular oxygenated water, in the bleaching ofcellulose, and other inputs, thus slashing costs by50 per cent. The role of the substance is to “trap”metallic ions such iron, copper and manganese

which are present in the brown cellulose pulp,which otherwise, would react with oxygenperoxide, degrading it and damaging thewhiteness of the product. Another advantage ofLogosperse in comparison to DTPA is that it canbe employed both in alkaline and basic solutions,while DTPA is only efficient in the basic. Thisversatility reduces production costs and lowersthe corrosion in the equipment and stainlesssteel components used in the paper and pulpindustry.

Created in 1990, Logos Química’s portfolioincludes large customers such as the Brazilianpaper and pulp companies, Aracruz, Votorantimand Suzano Bahia Sul, and competes with giantsof the international chemical industry (Dow,Basf and Monsanto). The secret of the company’scommercial success – it employs 150 staff and hasyearly revenues of US$ 10 million – lies in theimportance the company gives to research anddevelopment. Logos invests 3 to 5 per cent of itsincome in R&D and a large part of the company’srevenues is the fruit of products launched overthe last few years. During the development of theline of chelating agents Logosperse, the companywas funded by FAPESP though its Small BusinessInnovation Research Program (PIPE).

Product improves cellulose bleaching

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Bleaching process produces cellulose with less harm to the environment

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Among the companies that comprise the“medical industry” in Brazil, Braile Biomédicafrom São José do Rio Preto in the state of SãoPaulo stands out. Its path is marked bypartnerships with research institutions for thedevelopment of cardiology products. One of thelatest innovations introduced by the company isalso a result of this alliance. It is a new materialto produce biological cardiac valves, jointlydeveloped with the Chemistry Institute of theUniversity of São Paulo (São Carlos campus)under the supervision of the researcher GilbertoGoissis.

Bovine pericardium, before being used forthe production of biological valves, goes througha chemical stabilization process – fixation withglutaraldehyde – to improve its mechanicalproperties and lessen the occurrence of rejectionthrough calcification. In the conventionalprocess, the protection achieved is onlysuperficial and after seven years’ use of the valve,the organism triggers a process to eliminate thematerial. In the new technique, the very sameglutaraldehyde is used for stabilization but achemical change is inserted into this chemicalreagent. The change results in the production ofbiologically more stable material which,

according to studies, increases the durability ofthe valves and the life of patients.

“The stability of the pericardium withperfected treatment was greater than theconventional one, that is why better results arealso expected in clinical practice,” observes thedirector of the company, surgeon Domingo Braile,pointing out that all other products made withpericardium are using the new technology. Thekind of valve to be used in heart surgeries dependson the patient and on the doctor, and the worldtrend shows a very promising market for thelatest generation of biological valves, mainlythose made of bovine pericardium. It is estimatedthat this market will grow 7 per cent a year.

Braile Biomédica, specializing in medicalproducts for heart surgery, was founded in 1977,when it began producing the biological heartvalves and bovine pericardium grafts used inheart surgery.

Brazilian demand for valve protheses isabout 1,100 units/month, of which 70 per centare biological valves (porcine and bovine) and 30per cent are mechanical. According to Braile, thecompany produces around eight thousandbiological valves a year and has approximately a60 per cent share of the national market.

Longer life for cardiac patients

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Stable material and rejection proof increases the durability of cardiac valves

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A new sealant for use in civil engineering isready to be launched on the market. Derivedfrom the combination of two types of industrialresidue, patents for the product are being soughtin Brazil and in the United States. The newproduct, called resin-composite, has been testedfor the last three years at 40 construction sites inthe city of São Carlos in the state of São Paulo byAthena Engenharia.

The idea for the product came out of theexperience of company owner and civil engineer,Celso Martinez Junior, who is especiallyinterested in the application of new materialsthat offer greater durability and avoid the needfor constant repairs in water repellent structures.

The formulation of the resin-compositecombines two industrial byproducts. The firstcomes from the manufacture of styrene, achemical product used in the plastics industryand which already figures among constructionresins. The other is scrap aluminum sheet, amaterial used in the internal coating oftelephone cables along with a plastic cladding.

The research that led to the creation of the sealant was carried out in partnershipwith Professor Fazal Hussain Chaudhry,

of the Department of Hydraulics of the Engineering School (São Carlos) of the University of São Paulo (USP).

The research was based on theoreticalstudies and on several tests that simulatedenvironmental conditions such as light,heat and rain. In order to prove the effectivenessof the product’s durability and resistance,the samples were also successfully put through impact testing.

The system is intended for constructionswhere the cement slab is only occasionallystepped on (maintenance and cleaningpurposes), and is not recommended for places inwhich people and vehicles transit.

According to Martinez Junior, the tests werecarried out on residential places, for example onthe slabs over garages, and on the marquees ofcommercial buildings. The technology iscurrently being applied in the waterproofing of alarge stadium cover (about 10 thousand squaremeters), in the São Carlos region.

With a business plan already in hand, theentrepreneur is seeking funds for the purchase ofthe equipment and the construction of a modelfactory for the production of the new product.

Sealant for civil engineering

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Product blends two industrial residues and is approved in tough tests

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A device the size of a cigarette pack isoptimizing the operation of fleets of publictransport companies and ensuring the safety ofcargo transportation in Brazil. It is the OnboardVehicle Control and Tracking Computer,developed by Compsis Computadores eSistemas, from the city of São José dos Campos,São Paulo. The equipment, the technology ofwhich is based on the traditional vehicle trackingsystems, adds to conventional tracking a series ofoptions provided by information technology,such as the mapping of the driven route anddetailed time-keeping reports. It uses the GPS(Global Positioning System), system thatemploys information from a constellation ofsatellites to keep track of the vehicle’s location.The data is sent to the company through UHFradio stations or mobile phone systems.

Launched on the market in the middle of 2002, the device costs between US$ 840 andUS$ 1,600, depending on the specification.Given its capacity to monitor everything thatoccurs within the vehicle, the onboard computeris like an aircraft black box. It can beprogrammed to register suchactivities as fuel consumption,speed at every point of the way,the opening of the doors, theduration of stops and thetemperature of a cold cargo, if thevehicle is carrying one.Furthermore, it also can beconfigured to perform theelectronic check-in at a companyentrance gates, automatic paymentat tolls and gas stations. One of thegreat benefits of the equipment,that needs to be kept concealed inthe vehicle to avoid beingtampered with, is that it allows theon-line monitoring of the vehicle,thus providing an efficient toolagainst cargo theft. If the vehiclestrays from the planned route, thedevice can turn off certainsystems, taking over the control ofthe engine ignition, the opening ofthe cargo compartment, theheadlights, the door locks and theradio, and sending a warningsignal to the central station or to the security company or law-enforcement agency.

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Keeping an eye on vehicles

System brings safety to cargo transporters

Besides freight companies, other majorclients of Compsis, which has fifteen years oftrading behind it, are public transport providers.In the management of a bus fleet, the onboardcomputer can register the time spent at each stop,the mileage, average speed and routes driven. Acontract has already been signed with São PauloTransporte, a company that manages publictransport in the city of São Paulo. It can beemployed to track the path of garbage trucks,registering the tonnage that the vehicle is carryingand the place it unloads it. Independent of its use,the equipment can be configured for severalmemory capabalities and also offers the possibilityof encrypting the collected data. And to make thereading of the information easier, the onboardcomputer produces graphs, and exchangesinformation with Microsoft Office files.

Compsis was created in 1989, when it beganits activities as supplier for the aerospace industryof São José dos Campos. In the last few years,the company has installed electronic tolls and developed software and electronic equipmentfor the the auto industry assembly lines.

A novelty in the Brazilian constructionindustry: tiles and water tanks made from amixture of vegetable and plastic fibers, withoutthe presence of amianthus (long silky asbestos), amaterial considered to be carcinogenic. This newkind of fiber-cement, with high durability andresistance, was developed at the School ofZootechny and Food Engineering (FZEA,Pirassununga in the state of São Paulo) and thePolytechnic School, both belonging to theUniversity of São Paulo (USP).

As project coordinator professor HolmerSavastano Júnior explains, the new technologyincorporates the use of vegetablefibers from timber such as pineand eucalyptus, and non-timbersuch as sisal, banana trees andcoconuts. The plastic fibers enterin the composition asreinforcement to the cement“significantly improving themechanical performance and thedurability of these materials,” hestates.

Two companies signed apartnership with the FZEA andthe Polytechnic for theproduction of this material:Imbralit, based in the city ofCriciúma in Santa Catarinastate) and Infibra/Permatex fromLeme in the state of São Paulo.According to Infibra/Permatex’sindustrial director, engineer LuizFernando Marchi Júnior, out of atotal of 6,000 water tanksproduced every month, around3,000 contain no amianthus. “It’sa growing market that satisfiesconsumers from Brazil andabroad who demanddifferentiated products,” observesMarchi Júnior.

Corrugated roofing withoutasbestos, also produced by thecompany, will be on the marketin the second semester of 2004.Although the new products areon average 20 per cent moreexpensive than existing ones, theexpectation is that theoptimization of the material forexisting uses, as well its improved

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Vegetable fibers in constructions

New type of material replaces asbestos in tile production

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adaptation to the market and climate will resultin better cost/benefit ratio to the end consumer.

The study of alternatives solutions forconstruction materials will not end here.The intention, according to Savastano Junior,is to use asbestos-free formulations in other types of components such as internalwalls, panels, ceilings and floors.Furthermore, other raw materials are beingresearched – such as high furnace slag andsugarcane bagasse ashes – as partial substitutes to the conventional Portland cement in the production of fiber-cement.

A small company located in Piracicaba, inthe interior of the state of São Paulo, has been aninternational success story thanks to theproduction of insects used in the fight againstagricultural pests. Created just two years ago,Bug Agentes Biológicos already sells its productsto eight customers from five countries:Switzerland, United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium andMexico. In addition, another 34 customers inBrazil – agricultural cooperatives, associations ofrural producers, sugarcane mills and farmers –use the insects grown at Bug. The main exportproduct is the egg of the Anagasta kuehniellamoth, used by the Trichogramma wasp for itsreproduction – this wasp is a natural predator ofvarious agricultural pests. “Practically half of ourmonthly production of 34 kilograms of motheggs is sold abroad. This amount is enough tospawn approximately 2 billion predators ofinsects harmful to agriculture”, says theagronomist Diogo Rodrigues Carvalho, one ofthe directors of the company.

Biological pest control is a concept thatappeared in the 60’s in the United States andEurope replacing the then common trend ofusing chemical insecticides. The first insects soldin the United States for biological control ingardens and greenhouses were the ladybugs. InBrazil, the first experiences, which were aimed atthe sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis), go

back to 1950. Biological control has severalenvironmental, economical and socialadvantages compared to the use of insecticides.In the case of the sugarcane borer, for instance, apest that attacks the sugarcane crops, biologicalcontrol, which includes the parasites, freight andapplication costs around US$ 5 per hectare asopposed to US$ 15, on average, for chemicalcontrol.

Bug has 40 employees who take care of theinsects’ diet and select the most vigorous ones tofight the pests. The company is producing fourparasitoids (Cotesia flavipes, Trichogrammapretiosum, T. galloi and T. atopovirilia) and eggsof two types of insects (Anagasta kuehniella eSitrotoga cerealella). The parasitoids use the pestas a host and end up killing it, while the eggs caneither be food for the natural predators of thepests or promote the reproduction of theparasitoid. Biological control can be done onseveral crops, such as sugarcane, corn, tomatoes,fruit trees, avocados, some citrus, green vegetablesand flowers among others. By the end of theyear, Bug predicts that 100 thousand hectareswill be using its insects, 80 per cent of them corncrops. Due to the vast cropland in Brazil, thecompany’s growth potential is enormous. “Weare evolving, in terms of production and theamount of cropland attended, around 200 percent a year,” celebrates Diogo Carvalho.

Insects fighting insects

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Reproduction of predator insects of several agricultural pests

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Services in the area of processing materialswith the use of lasers is the specialty ofLaserTools, a technology-based company in thestate of São Paulo. The company was created atthe end of 1998 by seven partners whoseacademic and professional backgrounds comefrom the Applied Optics Division of the Institutefor Nuclear Energy and Research (Ipen in thePortuguese acronym). During its first years ofactivity, LaserTools operated out of the IncubatorCenter for Technology Companies (Cietec) inSão Paulo, but moved into its own premises in2002. The company presently employs 35 peopleand serves around 600 customers throughoutBrazil, and some customers in the United States.Its success can be measured by the evolution ofthe company’s revenues which grew 15 per centlast year and 100 per cent the year before.LaserTools’ gross revenues are about US$ 400thousand yearly.

The company does not exactly offer aproduct, but rather a service that uses lasertechnology to add value to various materials andpieces of equipment. One of the focuses of thecompany is the surface marking of parts andproducts with the use of laser. LaserTools alsomakes high-precision cuts with measurementssuch as 30 micrometers (a micrometer is a meter

divided into one million parts), holes sized from20 to 100 micrometers, welding without heatpropagation, heat treatments and surface anddeep engravings. To carry out all these tasks, thecompany uses a type of laser called neodymium(Nd): YAG solid state. Neodymium is a chemicalelement known as rare earth and YAG is asynthetic crystal, made of yttrium aluminumand garnet, hence the name YAG.

LaserTools today operates in three industrialsectors: in the precision engineering sector(especially in engravings and molds for theplastics industry), in the medical-dental industry(surgical tools and implants) and in theadvertising industry. According to physicist SperoPenha Morato, one of the partners of thecompany, the use of laser for processing materialshas innumerable advantages when compared toconventional processes. It carries out with greaterprecision and better quality almost all the tasksthat traditional tools execute and it is moreeconomical, as it offers good reproducibility withhigh efficiency. Furthermore, the uses of laser arewide ranging and very flexible – it has been usedfor cutting, drilling, marking, welding and surfacetreatment – and can be applied to severalmaterials, such as metals, alloys, ceramics,fiberglass, plastics, wood and kevlar.

A thousand and one uses of laser

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Laser to engrave parts used in plastic injectors

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Brazil has an efficient tool to control andmonitor its reservoirs which have a capacity ofabout 1,000 cubic kilometers of water. Thissystem, created by the International Institute ofEcology (IIE in the Portuguese acronym),located in São Carlos, a university city 240kilometers from the city of São Paulo, allows theintegrated management of reservoirs and dams,reconciling the multiple uses of these waterbodies, such as energy generation, irrigation,navigation, fishing, fish farming, tourism andrecreation. The system is already being used insome Brazilian reservoirs and has been arousingthe attention of some international bodies.Evidence of this is the signature – in December2002 – of a cooperation contract between the IIEand the American Army Corps of Engineers, thebiggest reservoir management institution in theworld. “This agreement predicts jointmanagement projects which will be implementedall over the world, based on our module”, saysresearcher José Galizia Tundisi, director of theIIE and former president of the National Councilfor the Scientific and TechnologicalDevelopment (CNPq in the Portugueseacronym).

Studies for the creation of the system beganin July 2002 and involvedresearchers from fourcountries. Besides Brazil,specialists from Denmark,Spain and the Czech Republictook part in the project. Themain component of thesystem is the software withmodels of hydrodynamicmeasurements (in which allthe circulation elements of areservoir are taken intoconsideration), sediments,transport and water quality.One of the by-products is theWater Monitoring System inReal Time (Smart in thePortuguese acronym), astation installed on a platformthat is anchored in thereservoirs, continuouslytransmitting data, via radio, tothe computer at the dam, thusallowing the operators toassess the quality of thereservoir water. The data is

Watching thereservoirs

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Automated probe submerses 28 meters

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sent to the institute by the Internet. Thisintegrated and predictive management systemcan be applied to hydroelectric reservoirs and tothe public water supply. Its use will increase thecapacity of optimization of the multiple wateruses, carrying an overall evaluation of theimpacts and processes on the river basin andtheir repercussion on water quality and on thefunctioning of the reservoir itself. It can be usedin reservoirs of any size and volume and haseconomic repercussions in the management ofreservoirs and river basins.

In addition to this hydric management, thedevelopment of which was supported by FAPESPthrough its Small Business Innovation ResearchProgram (PIPE), IIE develops research andproduces publications, carries out training andorganizes events in freshwater limnology (thestudy of fresh water and its organisms), hydricresources, management and environmentalmodeling. According to Tundisi, the institute wasconceived to undertake consulting assignmentsand projects with classical research, but was bornwith a vocation to transform existing knowledgeinto innovation and products. Which is exactlywhat it excels at, despite the little time it hasbeen in existence,.

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[email protected]://www.fapesp.br

FAPESP TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION PROGRAMS

Genome Program

Xylella fastidiosaFunctionalSugarcaneHuman Cancer

■ Clinical Genome■ Cancer Transcriptome Initiative

XanthomonasAEG: Xylella fastidiosa PD, Leifsonia xyli,Coffee, Eucalyptus, Xylella of the Oleander andXylella of the Almond TreeSchistosomaBovine Functional

BIOTA - The Virtual Institute of Biodiversity

Public Policies Research Program

CEPID - Research Innovation and Diffusion Centers

PITE - Industry / Research Institution Partnerships for Research and Development

PIPE - Small Business Innovation Research

ConSITec - Sectorial Consortiums in Technological Innovation

PAPI/NUPLITEC - Support Program on Intellectual Property

TIDIA - The Information Technology on the Development of an Advanced Internet

SMOLBNet - Structural Molecular Biology Network

VGDN - Virus Genetic Diversity Network

SIHESP - Integrated System of Hydro-Meteorology in the State of São Paulo

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