Ideas often start in small ways. With the right support, they can change the world.
Across Australia and internationally, innovators are using micro‑ and nanofabrication to turn promising ideas into real‑world applications with support from ANFF. These clients show what that translation looks like in practice.
Crafted from Castoffs: At Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore in Austin, Texas (US), discarded plastics are finding a second life thanks to the ReCreateIt Gigalab. This mobile net-zero workshop transforms shredded local plastic waste into useful household goods with the help of a large-format Fused Granular Fabrication 3D printer. Drawing on ANFF-Materials’ expertise in digital design and polymer development, the international project shows how advanced fabrication can meet community needs. By bringing manufacturing power directly into communities, ReCreateIt is proving how plastic waste can be reshaped into lasting social and environmental value.
Venom Powered Clotting: Q-Sera’s RAPClot serum tubes produce high-quality serum in under 5 minutes, even from blood containing anticoagulants like heparin. This breakthrough improves diagnostic speed and reliability, especially for patients on blood thinners. RAPClot uses pro-coagulant surface coatings inspired by snake venom to overcome clotting challenges. Q-Sera worked with ANFF-VIC’s Biomedical Materials Translational Facility at CSIRO to refine the coating processes for the inner tube surface. With manufacturing now underway in Japan through an exclusive partnership with Terumo Corporation, RAPClot is poised to reshape global blood testing standards.
Seeing Hidden Danger: ANFF-NSW and PhaseSlides have developed an innovative nanotech test slide to help standardise airborne asbestos analysis. Traditional HSE/NPL slides offer limited visual guidance and durability, making consistent use difficult. The new stainless-steel/quartz Pickford Phase Contrast Test Slide is rugged and user-friendly. Each slide contains a fused quartz chip with 4 sets of etched nanoscale grooves – down to 5 nm, the limit of fabrication technology – plus circular and radial guidelines that help microscopists locate visual targets with ease. The slide promises greater reliability and usability in asbestos analysis worldwide.
Patterns that Save Lives: An ANFF-VIC La Trobe collaboration with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCRI), funded by the Office of National Intelligence (ONI), is combining cutting-edge mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) imaging and machine learning to tackle breast cancer. Mass spectrometry imaging provides molecular maps of tumours at incredible detail, generating massive and complex data sets. Machine learning helps make sense of this information, spotting hidden patterns that would be impossible to see by eye. This approach will identify cancer biomarkers and distinguish similar tumour types, supporting smarter and more personalised treatment decisions.
Washing for the Planet: Every clothes wash sends microplastic fibres into rivers and oceans, threatening marine life and water quality. The Goodside Project, an Australian social enterprise, is tackling this with The Good Catch – a simple, easy-to-install filter for washing machines that captures up to 90% of microplastics before they enter the environment. ANFF-SA’s Jason Gascooke and Flinders University’s Anastasiia Snigirova worked closely with the team, testing and validating the filters to ensure they effectively reduce microplastic pollution. Made from recycled and recyclable materials, The Good Catch turns everyday laundry into a positive environmental action.
Microfluidic Particle Maker: SA Nano creates compact, user-friendly microfluidic devices to produce lipid nanoparticles, which are essential in modern drug delivery. Developed at ANFF-SA using advanced 3D printing, its handheld system precisely mixes liquids in tiny channels to produce nanoparticles with consistent size and structure, ensuring stability and delivery efficiency. Compared to complex commercial systems, this microfluidic approach is simpler and more affordable, supporting early-stage research and rapid testing of drug combinations. Prototype results match commercial systems in particle quality and performance at a fraction of the cost, making high-quality nanoparticle production more accessible.
There comes a point where an idea becomes something real. With access to the right capabilities, clients move beyond the concept stage and begin shaping ideas into prototypes, processes and solutions that can be tested, improved and used. By providing that access, ANFF enables the shift from idea to application, helping small beginnings grow into outcomes that matter for health, industry, communities and the environment.
This article is republished with adaptation from the 2025 ANFF Casebook.
Posted 3 March 2026