Sumitomo Riko Co. Ltd. (TYO:5191) recently announced that it has jointly developed a new microfluidic device in conjunction with Lilac Pharma Inc., a pharmaceutical venture from Hokkaido University. Plans are to begin pre-orders this winter for the new device, which is used to manufacture lipid nanoparticles. The microfluidic device consists of two primary components: a microfluidic chip for creating the...
Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. (TYO:7282), a rubber and resin manufacturer under the Toyota Group, has developed a deep-UV LED light module using technology cultivated over the course of various production and development efforts with blue LEDs. The module can be used to sterilize the likes of water or air. Deep-UV LEDs emit short-wavelength UV rays that destroy the genetic information...
A positive electron-beam resist for use in next-generation electronic components has seen Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205) receive an award of excellence in the semiconductor electronic materials category of the 2020 Semiconductor of the Year awards. These awards are run by Japanese publication Electronic Device Industry News. The award here went to Zeon’s ZEP530A electron-beam resist, which not only offers superior resolution...
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) has teamed up with Professor Katsutoshi Hori of the Graduate School of Engineering at Nagoya University and Friend Microbe Inc., a venture stemming from Nagoya University, to start development for a reusable 3D-printed mask. The greatest feature of this new mask promises to be virus-blocking capabilities while also offering reusability. This is achieved with a reusable...
Toyo Tire Corp. (TYO:5105) has developed new technologies that are able to predict the characteristics and optimize the structures of rubber materials. The company is positioning these as part of Nano Balance Technology, a proprietary platform for rubber material development. To power these new technologies, Toyo Tires is employing materials informatics (MI), a field that utilizes the likes of AI...
Achilles Corp. (TYO:5142) has developed what it is calling AM-01, an eco-friendly, soft polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheet made using biomass as part of its raw materials. The sheet has been certified with the Biomass Mark from the Japan Organics Recycling Association (JORA), and Achilles has used the material to launch sales of the world’s first biomass-based desk mat. This new...
