The National Nanotechnology Initiative was formed informally in the early 2000s as a collaborative effort between a group of expatriate Sri Lankan scientists and officials from the NSF and the MoST, seeking to promote nanotechnology research in Sri Lanka. The Initiative cited several other related objectives: This resulted in a
cabinet memorandum the same year, proposing the formal commitment of the
Government of Sri Lanka to the initiative, which was approved by the cabinet on 23 August 2006. ,
scanning electron microscope and a
transmission electron microscope, as well as office space SLINTEC was incorporated as a private company in April 2008. In September of that year, the Board of Investment signed an agreement with NANCO for the development and management of a nanotechnology park in
Homagama. SLINTEC was launched officially on 1 December 2008, with initial work taking place in a
garage; formal research work commenced on 12 August 2009, operating out of
MAS Holdings' Silueta complex within the Biyagama Export Processing Zone, with research staff drawn from
local universities. In 2010, NANCO was merged into SLINTEC. The construction of phase 1a of the Nanotechnology Center for Excellence on 50 acres of land within the Homagama Nanotechnology and Science Park began in June 2012, with the hexagonal facility formally opening on 21 October 2013. It currently houses both SLINTEC and the SLINTEC Academy, and a second hexagon is slated for completion by 2019.
Private sector collaboration In March 2012, SLINTEC signed two commercial agreements: • One with Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. (NFCL), India. Funded by the
agrochemicals arm of its private sector partner
Hayleys, SLINTEC had undertaken research into a nanoparticle-based slow-release fertilizer that reduced fertilizer loss through
leaching, microbial degradation and other methods (accounting for between 50-70% of conventional fertilizer wastage). NFCL bought the patent for the slow-release fertilizer for
US$2.2 million, acquiring rights for commercial production and distribution outside Sri Lanka. As part of the agreement, NFCL invested a further US$0.8 million as a seed fund for SLINTEC to develop second- and third-generation nanotechnology-based fertilizer products for NFCL. The venture was based on SLINTEC research initially funded by the
Ministry of Technology and Research and the National Science Foundation, drawing a LKR 80 million investment from LAUGFS. Other private sector clients of SLINTEC include MAS Holdings,
Teejay Lanka PLC (formerly Textured Jersey),
CIC Holdings, British Cosmetics (who launched a new product range in June 2018 based on research carried out by SLINTEC) and Dynawash (introducing a new, environmentally friendly natural textile dyeing technology using biomass pigments). Ceylon Graphene Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, a joint venture of LOLC Group and SLINTEC that aims to place Sri Lanka in the global market for
graphene and associated products, was established in June 2018.
COVID-19-related technologies In April 2020, SLINTEC announced that its scientists were able to reverse engineer
nasopharyngeal swabs used for COVID-19 specimen collection and they have started manufacturing test kits consisting of Nasopharyngeal swabs and Oropharyngeal (Throat) swabs at a production capacity of 3,000 specimen collection kits per day. ==Research focus areas==