In June 2023, the INDICATO project won one of the three main awards at the Łukasiewicz Accelerator Demo Day. A few months later, based on this project, a start-up of the same name was established. It is the first such venture at Łukasiewicz – PORT. Its goal is the commercialization of technology developed at Łukasiewicz – PORT by Dr. Eng. Magdalena Wilk-Kozubek and Dr. Eng. Bartłomiej Potańec.
The INDICATO technology, developed by scientists from the Advanced Materials Synthesis Research Group at the Materials Science & Engineering Center at Łukasiewicz – PORT, enables monitoring of storage and transport conditions for products that require a stable and specific temperature. The research team designed durable, easy-to-apply visual temperature-change indicators that are the only ones on the market capable of functioning at low temperatures.
“What distinguishes our technology is the fact that it can be applied in the production of frozen goods and thermolabile medical products – that is, wherever maintaining low temperature is essential for preserving product quality. INDICATO allows temperature monitoring in the range from -30 to +10°C, which is unique on the market. Until now, this was only possible for high-temperature ranges,” says Dr. Eng. Magdalena Wilk-Kozubek, leader of the project team.
If the cold supply chain is broken, the indicator printed on the packaging irreversibly changes color from blue to red. This is possible due to the polymerization of active components that activate once a certain threshold temperature is exceeded. Adding a thermochromic compound to the printing ink ensures that labeling the packaging requires no additional effort, while the indicator becomes an integral part of the packaging. Thanks to INDICATO, new opportunities open up for the food, gastronomy, and pharmaceutical industries in controlling storage and transport conditions for food products, vaccines, and medicines.
Work is currently underway to further develop the technology so that the indicator on the packaging will not only show whether the allowed temperature has been exceeded but also how long the product has been exposed to elevated temperatures.
At the same time, the search continues for implementation partners interested in commercializing the technology and integrating it into their products. If you are interested in collaboration, please write to: magdalena@indicato.pl or bartlomiej@indicato.pl.
