NNAN - NaturalNano, Inc. Mega Due diligence

NNAN - NaturalNano, Inc.



NNAN Company Description
NaturalNano, Inc. (OTCBB: NNAN) located in Rochester, New York, is engaged in the development and commercialization of material additives based on proprietary nanomaterial technology utilizing Halloysite Nanotubes (HNTs). The company provides industry with additives designed to improve the processing characteristics and mechanical properties of engineering thermoplastics, and additives designed to optimize the release of active agents such as vitamins and fragrance in cosmetic products. NaturalNano holds patents relating to the commercial use of HNTs in composite materials as well as specialized techniques used in the refinement and processing of HNTs and intermediaries that it ships to customers worldwide. HNT materials used as a surface treatment have also shown promise in medical research devoted to stem cell collection and in trapping circulating cancer cells. The company is also exploring surface treatments relating to improved adhesion of protective coatings for polymer components used in numerous commercial applications.

NNAN Products and Services
NaturalNano is a nanomaterials company that develops and markets proprietary technologies and products that provide novel properties to a variety of materials such as industrial polymers, plastics and composites. The Company has twenty liceensed, issued or pending patents and the expertise for extracting and separating clay Halloysite Nanotubes (HNTTM).

Composites are used in automotive, aerospace, transportation, building, electronics and performance sporting goods to name just a few product sectors. The polymer composite market is a forty plus billion dollar international marketplace. Nanocomposites are the fastest growing segment within the polymer composites market. The nanocomposites market is estimated to double in size by 2010; nanoclays will represent 50 percent of the market. NaturalNano believes that this market could be much bigger, but cost and quality issues are hurdles delaying a nanocomposite revolution. Today, nanomaterials are being used to replace conventional composite fillers. Fillers are used to reduce weight, increase strength, improve machine runnability, increase water and chemical resistance as well as improve film integrity.

Halloysite Nanotubes
Naturally formed in the Earth over millions of years, halloysite nanotubes are unique and versatile nanomaterials that are formed by surface weathering of aluminosilicate minerals and are composed of aluminum, silicon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Halloysite nanotubes are ultra-tiny hollow tubes with diameters typically smaller than 100 nanometers (100 billionths of a meter), with lengths typically ranging from about 500 nanometers to over 1.2 microns (millionths of a meter).

Our team of scientists and researchers are developing methods of separating out the nanotubes and processing them for use in numerous commercial applications, such as additives in polymers and plastics, electronic components, cosmetics, and home and personal care products.




PROPERTIES OF HALLOYSITE NANOTUBES
The elements are: Aluminum, silicon, hydrogen, oxygen.

The functional characteristics desired for specific applications can be controlled through selection of nanotube diameter and length.

Diameters typically range from about 40nm to 200nm and in a variety of lengths, allowing for a wide range of applications.

Halloysite nanotubes can be coated with metallic and other substances to achieve a wide variety of electrical, chemical, and physical properties.
They can be filled with such things as active ingredients including many that are used for cosmetics, household and personal care products, pesticides, pest repellents, pharmaceuticals and other agents that could benefit from extended release.

NaturalNano has identified additional applications, not yet publicly disclosed, for these unique and abundantly available materials



THE SEPARATION CHALLENGE
While halloysite nanotubes are found in large quantity in the Earth, the process of mining and separating them is technically challenging. NaturalNano scientists and engineers are developing patent-pending proprietary processes for extracting, separating, and classifying specific types of halloysite nanotubes from halloysite clay.

NaturalNano's product, PleximerTM , is a turnkey HNT polymer concentrate, in pellet form, that can be added directly into a polymer extruder. Pleximer is formulated using NaturalNano's patent-pending process that offers superior performance properties.

Challenges With Today's Nanocomposite Materials
Today, most nanocomposites used in the plastics industry are made with “platy nanoclay” materials, but these clays are very difficult and expensive to process. Platy clays, such as the Kaolin clay below, contain layered two-dimensional sheets held together by an intercalation (or intermediary) layer. The sheets must first be exfoliated, or chemically separated, so they can function as nanoparticulate fillers and be dispersed in the polymer matrix. In today’s platy nanoclay production process, these multiple steps lead to complexity, cost, and dispersion quality challenges. In addition, most manufacturers do not have the specialized equipment needed to produce composites with platy nanoclays – this required investment is the biggest market barrier for nanoclays.


Kaolin Clay

PLEXIMERTM Advantage 
NaturalNano’s patent-pending product bypasses these multiple processing steps and complex chemistry by offering the manufacturer a turnkey drop-in solution that runs on standard conventional equipment. Pleximer is a turnkey concentrate in the form of pellets that can be added directly into the extruder by the end manufacturer. Pleximer contains Halloysite clay nanotubes, shown below, that are blended with a specific polymer base utilizing NaturalNano’s patent pending technology. The resulting product is a drop-in additive.

Halloysite Clay Nanotubes
Pleximer doesn’t require the expensive exfoliation process needed by platy clay systems, and it successfully provides the required dispersion in a polymer matrix. Platy nanoclays, by comparison, have trouble achieving uniform dispersion, even with exfoliation, and work with a limited number of polymer families.
The nanocomposite market is also limited by the small number of manufacturers that have invested in the know-how and the specialized equipment necessary to run platy nanoclays. NaturalNano believes that the Pleximer technology will have rapid industry acceptance because it enables manufacturers to produce nanocomposites with existing equipment. NaturalNano is currently focused on leveraging this new drop-in, turnkey advantage to a select number of industrial compounders who supply major industries such as automotive, performance sporting goods and aerospace. It is expected that a substantial number of manufacturers who cannot currently produce a nanoclay composite will enter the nanocomposite market by adopting Pleximer as their nanomaterial of choice.

The Company has demonstrated Pleximer’s advantage, and has twenty-one patents issued and/or pending. NaturalNano’s leading edge laboratory has proprietary processes for evaluation and testing, and is currently running manufacturing scale trials with major compounders and plastics industry experts. The company’s experienced management team provides the leadership to commercialize Pleximer, and will build the relationships and partnerships that are necessary to bring novel, high margin products to market.

Further Expanding The Market
NaturalNano is entering into joint development agreements (JDAs) with select compounders in order to make Pleximer widely available. Pleximer is scheduled to ship in the fourth quarter of 2007. JDAs will also allow NaturalNano to deliver novel, higher value features. NaturalNano uses a patented process to fill the tubes with specialty chemicals and active ingredients for additional extended or controlled release properties.



Future market opportunities lie in many industries including cosmetics, agriculture, detergents, and pharmaceuticals.
Halloysite Nanocomposites Open Up Exciting New Applications
According to market analysts, clay-based nanocomposites will represent 47 percent of the market for plastics nanocomposites by the year 2010. NaturalNano has identified five specific sectors of this fast-growing market that it plans to focus on in the coming year: automotive (lighter parts to allow for increased transportation loads), military (make vehicles lighter, so they will be cheaper to transport), packaging (stronger or thinner, e.g., storage bags, food packaging), aerospace, and electronics. Future opportunities lie in the ability to fill halloysite nanotubes with active ingredients, such as fragrances, colorants, antioxidants, biocides, antifungal agents, pesticides, dyes, UV protectants, additives for cosmetics, and medical and pharmaceutical device additives and coatings. The nanotube structure also makes possible extended release over long periods of time and under harsh conditions.

NNAN Key Company Management
James Wemett - Interim Chief Executive Officer/President
James Wemett is an experienced entrepreneur and consultant, involved in the formation and growth of numerous private and public companies. From July 2007 until November 2008, Mr. Wemett was a member of the Board of Directors of the Registrant. In 1975 Mr. Wemett started ROC Communications, Inc., a retail distributor of electronics products, which was sold in 2001. Mr. Wemett has been a Director of Technology Innovations, LLC, since its inception in 1999, and has served on the board of OncoVista, LLC, (OVIT) a publicly traded oncology company, since June 2007. Mr. Wemett has been an active fundraiser for Camp Good Days, a non-profit summer camp for children with cancer.

NNAN Contact Info
NaturalNano, Inc.
832 Emerson St.
Rochester, NY 14613
Telephone: (585) 267-4848

For general information: info@naturalnano.com

Website: http://www.naturalnano.com/

NNAN SEC Filings
http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/NNAN/filings

NNAN Headlines
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=NNAN+Headlines

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