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Ann Arbor Nanosystems blooms thanks to green products

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

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Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor-based, green-chem start-up Nanosystems doesn't look to stay small for much longer.

Excerpt:

In just four years, John Nanos has gone from teaching organic chemistry at the University of Michigan to building a multimillion-dollar company that's helping the environment.

In 2005, the former adjunct professor launched a start-up company in Ann Arbor called Nanosystems Inc. after coming up with a greener way to make the polyurethane foam used in everything from the cores of surfboards to ear plugs and wound dressings.

Nanos, who grew up in Dearborn as the son of a Ford Motor Co. engineer, developed chemicals for foam that are derived from soybeans, corn and other vegetables instead of oil. Today, Nanosystems produces these liquid building blocks for foam in Ann Arbor and Los Angeles, shipping them to dozens of customers around the country.

"You are essentially having a softer carbon footprint," said Nanos, who works out of a laboratory at the Michigan Research Institute in Ann Arbor.

Read the rest of the story here.

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