EcoSynthetix and Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology Partner to Investigate New Applications for Bio-based Materials

BURLINGTON, ON, March 13, 2013 /CNW/ - EcoSynthetix Inc. (TSX: ECO) and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Waterloo have joined forces through an industrial partnership to collaborate on new applications for EcoSynthetix' EcoSphere^® technology. The five-year agreement will be jointly funded through an EcoSynthetix and NSERC (National Sciences and Engineering Research Council) Collaborative Research and Development Grant. The project matches the scientific expertise from the University of Waterloo in macromolecular science with the sustainability benefits of EcoSphere^® bio-based nanoparticles which are based on green chemistry. The goal of the project is to broaden the scientific knowledge base of the EcoSphere^® technology to support its introduction into new application areas.

"As a global centre of excellence for nanotechnology research, this project represents a great opportunity for our institute, faculty and students at the University, to collaborate with a local innovator to further our understanding of the technology and its potential applications," said Dr. Arthur J. Carty, Executive Director of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology ("WIN") and an independent director of the board of EcoSynthetix. "Nanotechnology is a leading-edge, enabling technology that holds the promise of a lasting economic benefit for jobs and investment in the materials, energy and healthcare sectors. EcoSynthetix's innovative nanotechnology has the potential to impact a wide-array of markets that would benefit from a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based products."

"This ECO-WIN collaboration involves four professors and eight graduate students at the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology and is a great example of how industry and universities can work together to advance an exciting new area of science to benefit the community," said Dr. Steven Bloembergen, Executive Vice President, Technology of EcoSynthetix. "Our EcoSphere^® technology is already commercial and providing sustainable benefits in three separate markets today. Our team's primary focus at this stage is near-term product development and product enhancements of carbohydrate-based biopolymers. By working with the Institute of Nanotechnology to deepen our understanding of the basic science, we can identify new future applications that could benefit from our sustainable biobased materials."

The EcoSphere^® technology is being commercially utilized as biobased latex products providing alternatives to petroleum-based binders in the coated paper and paperboard market. The goal of this project is to generate a greater understanding of the properties of EcoSphere^® biolatex^® binders by establishing a knowledge base that could enable tailor-made novel particles with the desired properties for a given application. The project team will be chemically modifying the nanoparticles and then characterizing how the properties of the novel particles are affected by these changes.

About EcoSynthetix Inc. (www.ecosynthetix.com)
EcoSynthetix Inc. is a renewable chemicals company specializing in biobased products that can be used as inputs in industrial manufacturing for a wide range of consumer products. The Company's products offer a reduced carbon footprint and are marketed primarily on the basis of lower cost, stable pricing and equal or superior performance. EcoSynthetix' lead products, EcoSphere^® biolatex^® binders, are used commercially by a number of the global top 20 manufacturers in the coated paper and paperboard industry.

About the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology
The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada focused on science and engineering at the atomic scale, which entails the design, fabrication, and exploitation of materials and structures where dimensions are measured in billionths of a meter (10^-9m).

The extraordinary range of possibilities offered by nanotechnology is based on the fact that the properties of materials change - sometimes radically - when their size approaches that of a few tens or hundreds of atoms. By taking advantage of the unique phenomena which predominate at the atomic-scale, the institute's scientists and engineers are discovering and developing nano-materials, nano-electronics, nano-instrumentation and nano-biosystems that will fundamentally change the world.

For more information visit the website at: www.uwaterloo.ca/institute-nanotechnology.

Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this Press Release constitute "forward looking" statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, objectives or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, objectives or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These statements reflect our current views regarding future events and operating performance and are based on information currently available to us, and speak only as of the date of this Press Release. These forward looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions and should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such performance or results will be achieved. Those assumptions and risks include, but are not limited to, the fact that our results of operations and business outlook are subject to significant risk, volatility and uncertainty. Many factors could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward looking statements, including the factors identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 30, 2012. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this Press Release as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Unless required by applicable securities law, we do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward looking statements.

SOURCE: EcoSynthetix Inc.

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