Manufacturers’ Monthly sits down with Tim Case, interim CEO of Trioda Wilingi and Dr Jane Fitzpatrick, CEO of ANFF, to discuss how the medical device company harnesses the abundantly available native spinifex grass to develop innovative medical gels.
The Australian outback is home to some of the world’s most unique and hardy plant life. Among them is spinifex grass, a tough and spiky plant that can survive in the harshest of conditions. The humble grass, found predominantly in the arid regions of Australia, is proving to be a game-changer in the field of medical research.
For centuries, the Indjalandji-Dhidhanu people – Traditional Owners of the upper Georgina River region of Northwest Queensland – have used spinifex grass for a variety of purposes, including as a source of medicine, to build shelters and using resin from the grass as an adhesive to attach spearheads, and seal water vessels. But it wasn’t until recently that scientists discovered the potential of spinifex in the field of nanotechnology.
Unleashing the potential of spinifex grass
Spinifex has a unique chemistry that allows for the production of stronger, longer, thinner, and more flexible nanofibers. The nanotechnology research on spinifex grass and its properties has been twelve years in the making.
Dr Jane Fitzpatrick, chief executive officer of the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) said, “The Traditional Owners approached the University of Queensland with an idea about spinifex grass – they know it’s tough and hardy, grows well, and they’ve been using it for thousands of years for several applications.”
In 2008, the Dugalunji Aboriginal Corporation (DAC, a parent company of Bulugudu Ltd), and the University of Queensland were awarded a discovery grant by the Australian Research Council (ARC) to explore the Aboriginal and Western scientific knowledge of spinifex grasses.
Bulugudu Ltd, led by Colin Saltmere AM, was established to further explore the potential of the nanocellulose fibres in spinifex grass.
Tim Case, interim CEO of Trioda Wilingi said, “A key part was to characterise the cellulose nanofibres in spinifex grass and that’s where ANFF stepped in. ANFF had research equipment and capabilities, and in collaboration with the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), helped characterise the spinifex nanocellulose fibres.”
ANFF’s involvement in the project
ANFF was founded in 2007 to provide open access to micro and nanofabrication equipment and capabilities to develop
new products and provide improvement to current production methods. From a technical perspective, ANFF’s support revolved around the characterisation of the nanocellulose fibres from spinifex grass.
The late Dr Ian Griffiths, previous CEO of ANFF, was instrumental in recognising the potential of spinifex nanofibers in medical gels and began negotiations to commercialise the product, which eventually led to the establishment of Trioda Wilingi.
The investment opportunity was developed and led by ANFF-C, the new commercialisation arm of ANFF, which is part of Australia’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Education.
“We provide expertise and equipment to people who want access to fabrication equipment. In the initial stages, when you’re only testing ideas, some of this equipment is expensive ¬– so it makes sense to have the capability to rent the equipment for an hour or so, for research all the way through to industrial processes,” explained Dr Fitzpatrick.
“We identified that there were many great ideas that weren’t getting very far beyond their initial stages of research. Therefore, we developed our commercialisation support platform or ANFF-C. With this, we support early-stage entities that are trying to get out into the market, to develop a product or develop a company.”
Trioda Wilingi was one of those companies.
“With Trioda, we worked with all involved partners like the University of Queensland and Bulugudu to get everything lined up for it to be investable. There are a number of different markets Trioda can go to, but we’re focusing on medical gel end markets that require high-value, low-volume manufacturing.”
Tim Case added, “Trioda Wilingi was the first project under this pilot commercialisation funding by the Federal Government that led to the formation of ANFF-C. It helps find potential commercial applications, funding, and attract external funding – and therefore was pivotal in enabling Trioda Wilingi to become an investable opportunity.
“We’ve integrated traditional knowledge of the plant and how it grows, with the latest chemical nanotechnology advances, to create the beginnings of a new industry.”
The journey from research to commercialisation
Around three years ago, Mr Case was brought into the project to assist in identifying market opportunities, develop the commercialisation plan and ultimately create an investable opportunity.
“I had previously worked on another project with the late Dr Ian Griffiths. Dr Griffiths was a polymer chemist and he worked with Professor Darren Martin, one of the inventors of the technology, from The University of Queensland’s School of Chemical Engineering, to identify the potential of using the nanocellulose in medical gel applications,” Mr Case said.
“Medical gel applications for spinifex ticked a lot of boxes, both from a technology perspective and a commercial and scalability perspective – building a solid business case. We sadly lost Dr Griffiths in this time, and we had to pick up on all the hard work he had done – it reminds me of the quote ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’.”
In February 2023, the hard work came to fruition when Australian venture fund Uniseed and Bulugudu Ltd announced an investment of $2.6 million into Trioda Wilingi to develop injectable medical gels from cellulose nanofibres extracted from spinifex grass.
The name ‘Trioda Wilingi’ is derived from the scientific name for spinifex grass – Triodia pungens – and ‘Wilingi’ which means “special grass” in the Indjalandji language. The company’s exclusive global rights to develop the injectable spinifex medical gels have numerous potential applications including osteoarthritis, drug delivery, and cosmetic treatments.
A closer look at the applications and advantages of spinifex nanofibres
The cellulose found in spinifex is the longest, thinnest nanocellulose that has been found in nature ¬–the fibres are three to four nanometres thick, about 20,000 times thinner than a human hair. The aspect ratio or the length and width of the fibres is 500:1, which makes them both skinny and strong. This is important because it helps spinifex grass work as an excellent reinforcing agent.
There’s a global demand for cellulose nanofibres due to the vast number of potential applications, specifically in the commodities market. One of them, for instance, is recycled paper.
“When you’re trying to recycle paper, it can only be recycled so many times before the grade disappears,” Dr Fitzpatrick said.
“By adding reinforcing agent into that process, you end up with paper that’s better for recycling. Latex is another example – items such as gloves that require strength and reinforcement. Currently, Trioda will be concentrating on medical gels.”
Initial research has shown that the advantage of using spinifex nanofibers for medical gels compared to other materials is its ability to be injected and to last longer.
“As a plant material, spinifex nanocellulose is simple. It can be modified easily with fewer chemical modifications so you can add things to it and there are a number of different properties that allow this cellulose to work,” Dr Fitzpatrick said
Additionally, explained Dr Fitzpatrick, the nanocellulose can be released from spinifex grass without using large amounts of energy, resources, and chemicals due to its tough nature. Currently, companies use complex energy-intensive processes to make nanofibres from materials such as wood pulp, carrots, wheat straw, and sugar beet.
Tim Case added, “UQ has developed a process to extract the nanocellulose fibres that is milder, ensuring that you maintain the unique attributes of the spinifex fibres, as well as being more environmentally friendly.”
Next steps for the company
The funding that Trioda received earlier this year will be spent towards taking the research further and perfecting its formulation, according to Tim Case.
“The focus of this current capital raise is on research from some preclinical studies and some animal work as part of that, which is about getting the formula right, ensuring you understand the manufacturing process to, ultimately, produce a quality gel consistently that meets its characterisation criteria. We will then subsequently look to raise further capital and move into clinical trials, ” he said.
“And we are looking to tick boxes from a data perspective, both in terms of what we must do, including from a safety perspective, and also look to support those differentiators that could mean a gel that has great market disruption potential.”
In the next five years, Mr Case is hopeful about having numerous other applications under development for spinifex grass.
“We’ve had early discussions large international players within the industry and the feedback has been positive – we’re moving forward in the right direction.”
Support to Indigenous communities
“Spinifex grass is an ancient and sacred material to our people. In Indjalandji- Dhidhanu culture, spinifex is a sacred thing. It belongs to Country, and to us, that’s what ‘sacred’ means,” according to Colin Saltmere, director of Bulugudu and Trioda Wilingi.
Under the deal that was signed in February, a portion of any future royalty stream will be allocated to an Indigenous STEM education fund that aims to maximise training, education, and network opportunities for Indigenous Australians.
“We’re hoping this can also lead to an increase in Indigenous participation in STEM and the effect of that over time,” Mr Case said.
“My hope is that Trioda Wilingi is the icebreaker for how spinifex may be used, and not just for medical gels – that way there will be other companies like Trioda Wilingi with other applications for spinifex grass. We are also attempting to demonstrate ways for other indigenous entrepreneurs to navigate ways to commercialise their potential.”
Dr Jane Fitzpatrick said, “With the spinifex medical gels from Trioda Wilingi, the industry here in Australia is going to have a worldwide market. Simultaneously, the Traditional Owners will be involved in the farming and harvesting and initial processing of the spinifex grass since they’re the ones with the license to do so.”
Additionally, creating a burgeoning industry using local spinifex grass helps ensure that manufacturing capabilities are kept within Australia.
Dr Fitzpatrick said, “Trioda was the impetus that allowed us to develop ANFF-C. Since then, we’ve done several different projects through ANFF-C, but not on the scale of Trioda Wilingi. The formation of ANFF-C has helped us remove barriers for different projects and move them towards the ability to manufacture here in Australia. And that’s really the key in the development pipeline – to keep the innovation and the tech here.”
Tim Case also stresses the importance of regional manufacturing.
“When we start looking at other applications that are high volume in nature, in terms of manufacturing scale, it has the potential to make the employment sector really viable, especially in remote areas such as Northern Queensland where spinifex is harvested. We want to see a strong regional supply chain and viable employment opportunities ¬– with the involvement of Indigenous communities.”