Benign by design
A bio-based, sugar/lignin-derived multifunctional aromatic linker is inserted between the surfactant’s head and tail group, creating novel structures that outperform conventional surfactants.
Platform
PureSynth converts lignocellulosic biomass and waste oils into three bio-based product families: NEXOVANT surfactants, RHEOSYL gelators and SYLVAXIS antimicrobials. Scalable, feedstock-flexible, built on standard unit operations.
EIC-FUNDED TECHNOLOGY
Our platform is developed in an EIC Transition project (Horizon Europe, grant agreement 101058142).
Introduction
The technology in 60 seconds
A compact look at PureSynth, from renewable feedstocks to high-performance actives.
How it works
Three steps from feedstock to active.
01Renewable EU feedstocks
Lignocellulosic biomass and waste oils.
02PureSynth synthesis
Green chemistry under mild conditions, standard equipment.
03High-purity bio-based products
Surfactants, gelators and antimicrobials.
Inside the lab
Measured, not assumed.
HPLC, GC, UV, IR and NMR analysis, tensiometry and rheology tell us exactly what we have created and how it behaves. Purity, surface activity, temperature and flow behaviour are measured for every candidate before it moves forward.
- CMC
- Interfacial tension
- Foam profile
- Ecotox
Key points
What makes PureSynth different.
Standard unit operations:
Stirred-tank synthesis, phase separation, washing, drying: easy technology transfer.
Rapid scale-up
Scaled from ~10 mg to 50 kg per batch in under two years at >90% yield.
One platform, three product families
More than 175 novel compounds (as of 2026): 120+ surfactants, 48 antimicrobials, 8 gelators.
What are surfactants?
The invisible molecules behind clean, smooth and stable.
Surfactants (surface-active agents) are amphiphilic molecules: a water-loving head paired with an oil-loving tail. At interfaces, they lower surface tension, form micelles and emulsions, lift soils and stabilise formulations. They are present in roughly half of all household and industrial products. Over 18 million tonnes are produced globally every year.
~18 Mt
global annual demand
~50 %
of consumer products
~2 Mt
EU surfactant market
4
main application fields
Applications
Where surfactants go to work.
From the washing machine to the field, from skincare to industrial coatings: surfactants enable cleaning, emulsification and wetting across four core sectors. This is a selected snapshot, surfactants serve many more applications beyond these four.
Home care
Laundry, dishes, surfaces, bathroom and floors
The largest application sector. Surfactants dissolve fats, encapsulate soil particles and prevent redeposition. Found in laundry detergents, dishwashing liquids, all-purpose cleaners and bathroom sprays.
PureSurf solution: NEXOVANT
High-performance amine oxides for cleaning formulations, readily biodegradable (OECD 301F).
Personal care & cosmetics
Shampoo, body wash, hand soap, creams and lotions
Mild to skin, foaming and emulsifying. Surfactants cleanse, deliver actives and stabilise oil-in-water emulsions in personal care and decorative cosmetics.
PureSurf solution: RHEOSYL
Bio-based gelators and mild surfactants for skin-contact applications.
Industry & coatings
Paints, coatings, adhesives, emulsions, metalworking
As dispersants, wetting agents and emulsifiers, surfactants stabilise pigments, improve flow and enable water-based formulations with lower VOC content.
PureSurf solution: PureSynth platform
Tailored surfactant architectures for industrial formulators.
Healthcare & I&I disinfection
Hospital hygiene, professional disinfection, I&I cleaners
Antimicrobials disrupt pathogen cell envelopes at low active concentrations, with broad-spectrum activity against clinically relevant pathogens and no observed resistance development.
PureSurf solution: SYLVAXIS
Bio-based antimicrobials for healthcare and I&I disinfection.
PRODUCTION
Ready for industrial-scale supply
NEXOVANT is built to deliver at commercial volume. We scale through a flexible, dual-track production strategy that combines our own manufacturing capabilities with qualified industrial manufacturing partners, so we can supply reliably and grow capacity with demand. Our processes are based on established unit operations and standard equipment, and the technology transfer to industrial production is complete and validated for NEXOVANT: NEXOVANT is production-ready today. RHEOSYL and SYLVAXIS are currently in development (TRL 4).
- Validated, scalable processes on established equipment, with no new infrastructure required.
- Dual-track capacity: in-house production plus qualified manufacturing partners.
- Drop-in chemistry enables fast, low-risk scale-up to commercial volumes.
- Secure, European supply chain with reliable, consistent quality.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
4 patent families · FTO confirmed
- 4 patent families across 8+ jurisdictions; Freedom-to-Operate confirmed.
- Public filings: WO2023046768A1 (amine oxides), WO2023046766A1 (sulfonates).
- This gives PureSurf freedom to operate today and a defensible technology moat as the platform scales into new product families.
Scientific basis
Fig. 01
Fig. 02
Fig. 03
Fig. 04
Fig. 05
Fig. 06
Fig. 07
Fig. 08
Built on today’s leading research.
Peer-reviewed work from our founders and scientific mentors.
Fig. 01Lignin depolymerisation
Catalytic routes that break lignin into well-defined, multifunctional aromatic building blocks, the structural basis of the PureSynth linkers.
- Sun, Fridrich, de Santi, Elangovan, Barta. Bright Side of Lignin Depolymerization: Toward New Platform Chemicals. Chem. Rev. 2018, 118(2), 614–678. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00588
- Sun, Bottari, Afanasenko, Stuart, Deuss, Fridrich, Barta. Complete lignocellulose conversion with integrated catalyst recycling. Nature Catalysis 2018, 1, 82–92. DOI: 10.1038/s41929-017-0007-z
Fig. 02Aromatic building blocks, by design
Mechanism-led control of acid-catalysed lignin conversion to select for specific renewable aromatics rather than complex mixtures.
- Lahive, Deuss, Lancefield, de Vries, Kamer, Westwood, Barta. Advanced Model Compounds for Understanding Acid-Catalyzed Lignin Depolymerization: Identification of Renewable Aromatics and a Lignin-Derived Solvent. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138(28), 8900–8911. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b04144
- Deuss, Lancefield, Narani, de Vries, Westwood, Barta. Phenolic acetals from lignins of varying compositions via iron(III) triflate catalysed depolymerisation. Green Chem. 2017, 19, 2774–2782. DOI: 10.1039/C7GC00195A
Fig. 03Renewable platform chemicals
The bulk and fine chemicals of the future, produced catalytically from biomass instead of fossil feedstocks.
- de Vries. Renewable Platform Chemicals: The Bulk Chemicals of the Future. Adv. Synth. Catal. 2024. DOI: 10.1002/adsc.202401439
- de Vries. Catalytic Conversion of Renewable Resources into Bulk and Fine Chemicals. Chem. Rec. 2016, 16(6), 2787–2800. DOI: 10.1002/tcr.201600102
Fig. 04Catalytic amination & green synthesis
Earth-abundant-metal catalysis converts bio-based alcohols into amines and functional molecules with minimal waste, the core PureSynth chemistry.
- Yan, Feringa, Barta. Iron catalysed direct alkylation of amines with alcohols. Nature Communications 2014, 5, 5602. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6602
- Afanasenko, Deak, October, Sole, Barta. ‘Green’ synthesis of amines from renewable resources. Green Chem. 2025, 27, 5947–5981. DOI: 10.1039/D5GC00924C
Fig. 05Bio-based, circular materials
Lignocellulose-derived monomers can replace fossil building blocks in recyclable, circular-by-design materials.
- Wu, Galkin, Stern, Sun, Barta. Fully lignocellulose-based PET analogues for the circular economy. Nature Communications 2022, 13, 3376. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30735-4
- Wu, Hartmann, Berne, Caillol, Barta. Closed-loop recyclability of a biomass-derived epoxy-amine thermoset by methanolysis. Science 2024, 384, eadj9989. DOI: 10.1126/science.adj9989
Fig. 06Stabilisation strategies in biomass conversion
Chemical functionalisation protects reactive intermediates during depolymerisation, raising yields of usable building blocks.
- Questell-Santiago, Galkin, Barta, Luterbacher. Stabilization strategies in biomass depolymerization. Nature Reviews Chemistry 2020, 4, 311–330. DOI: 10.1038/s41570-020-0187-y
- Abu-Omar, Barta, Beckham, Luterbacher, Ralph, Rinaldi, Román-Leshkov, Samec, Sels, Wang. Guidelines for performing lignin-first biorefining. Energy Environ. Sci. 2021, 14, 262–292. DOI: 10.1039/D0EE02870C
Fig. 07Antimicrobial mode of action (SYLVAXIS)
Biophysical studies of how membrane-active agents disrupt the cell envelopes of pathogens, the scientific basis for SYLVAXIS disinfection.
- Malanovic, Lohner. Gram-positive bacterial cell envelopes and antimicrobial peptide activity. BBA Biomembranes 2016, 1858(5), 936–946. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2015.11.004
- Ön et al. (Malanovic senior co-author). Bactericidal Activity to Escherichia coli: Different Modes of Action of Two 24-Mer Peptides SAAP-148 and OP-145, Both Derived from Human Cathelicidin LL-37. Antibiotics 2023, 12(7), 1163. DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics12071163
Fig. 08From lignin to drug candidates
From a single lignin-derived platform chemical, atom-economic catalytic steps in green solvents unlock new bioactive scaffolds, including an in vivo efficacious lead against the priority pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae.
- Afanasenko, Wu, De Santi, Elgaher, Kany, Shafiei, Schulze, Schulz, Haupenthal, Hirsch, Barta. Clean Synthetic Strategies to Biologically Active Molecules from Lignin: A Green Path to Drug Discovery. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e202308131. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202308131
Explainer
Green surfactants-explained by the University of Graz.
Note: Original video in German, with German subtitles (UT). Hosted on Unitube, University of Graz.
