This MIT Coating Fixed Ketchup Bottles. Now It’s Changing Patient Care

You tip the ketchup bottle. Nothing. You shake it, smack it, turn it upside down. Still stuck. Then suddenly, splat, way too much, all at once.

We’ve all been there. But a team of MIT engineers looked at that everyday hassle and thought, “We can fix this.” What they built didn’t just solve ketchup, it led to a breakthrough coating that’s now making a difference in toothpaste tubes, factories, and even hospital rooms.

It Started with Oil Pipes

In 2009, MIT professor Kripa Varanasi and his student Dave Smith were working on a tough problem: how to stop oil from sticking inside pipelines. Sticky oil slows things down and wastes energy.

Their solution? A new kind of surface called a liquid-impregnated surface. It’s made by filling tiny holes in a solid material with a slippery liquid. The result: oil slides right through, like water on glass.

Then Came the Honey Moment

One day, Varanasi saw his wife struggling to get honey out of a bottle. That’s when it clicked: what if this slippery surface could help with everyday sticky stuff, like ketchup, toothpaste, or lotion?

Two days later, Smith built a prototype bottle. They tested it with honey, and it slid out perfectly. No shaking. No banging. No mess.

How It Works (Without the Jargon)

Imagine the inside of a bottle is like a bumpy road. Sticky stuff gets caught in the bumps. But with LiquiGlide, those bumps are filled with a safe, slippery liquid. So ketchup, mayo, or toothpaste just glides out, like a sled on snow.

The liquid stays in place and doesn’t mix with the food. That’s why it’s safe for everything from condiments to medicine.

The Video That Broke the Internet

In 2012, the team at LiquiGlide shared a simple video: ketchup gliding effortlessly out of a coated bottle. The clip exploded online, people had never seen anything like it. Their inboxes filled up, news outlets came calling, and their website temporarily crashed from all the attention.

At the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, LiquiGlide didn’t win the grand prize, but they did win the Audience Choice Award. It was a clear sign: this wasn’t just a clever demo, it was a solution people wanted. Fast.

From Toothpaste Tubes to Patient Care: LiquiGlide’s Next Chapter

After helping Colgate create no-stick toothpaste tubes, the team behind LiquiGlide is now solving a much more personal challenge: improving life for people who rely on ostomy pouches.

The company, now called Arnasi Group, recently launched its first medical product: Revel, a deodorizing lubricant designed to make ostomy pouches easier, cleaner, and more comfortable to use. These pouches are used by over 1 million people in the U.S. after surgeries that affect the digestive system. They must be emptied several times a day, and when waste sticks or clogs, it can lead to leaks, mess, and embarrassment.

Revel uses the same slippery surface science that made ketchup bottles glide. But this time, it’s helping people regain control and dignity. Just one pocket-sized dose lasts all day, making pouch emptying faster, cleaner, and less stressful.

The product is FDA-registered and already getting strong feedback from nurses and patients. One nurse, Margaret, who also uses an ostomy pouch herself, said Revel made a huge difference: “This particular product makes everything slide out without any problems at all, and it’s a wonderful improvement. It also lasts long enough to empty the pouch three to four times, which is great because you don’t have to carry a bunch of this stuff around.”

Arnasi’s CEO, Dan Salain, says the response has been overwhelming: “When we showed it to nurses, they were blown away. They told us to get it to market as fast as possible.”

And this is just the beginning. Arnasi plans to launch three more medical products in the next three years, including coatings to prevent infections in catheters, implants, and even devices for people with cystic fibrosis.

This isn’t just about making things slippery, it’s about solving real problems with smart surfaces. And it’s proof that engineering doesn’t stop at the lab or the factory floor. Sometimes, it shows up in the most human places.

Why Engineers Should Care

The same technology that helped ketchup slide out of a bottle is now easing pain, restoring dignity, and even preventing infections. That’s not just clever, it’s the essence of engineering.

• What started in pipelines became a kitchen fix.

• What solved breakfast frustration became a medical breakthrough.

• What looked simple now spans food, medicine, energy, and sustainability.

LiquiGlide, now Arnasi, is proof that the best engineering doesn’t always come from chasing the future. Sometimes, it starts with solving what’s stuck right in front of us.

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