Inspired by Maya Blue.
Applying R2R nanomanufacturing to solve the reef chemical crisis.
Azul Nanotec, LLC is an R&D company focused on nanomanufacturing. Founded by a precision engineer with four decades of advanced manufacturing experience, we are developing deterministic nanofiltration membranes that deliver chemical-free, low-cost water purification at the 20–40 nm scale—small enough to intercept pharmaceuticals, nanoplastics, and contaminants of emerging concern while preserving the minerals communities need. Our first priority is clean drinking water: once communities have access to safe water, we scale the same technology to protect the coral reefs and fragile aquatic ecosystems that sustain them.
Field data and assessment for R1-P deployment on the Big Island.
A converging emergency in water, food, and public health — and a 2,200-year precedent.
Distributed source containment for highland and coastal watersheds.
Reflecting the Mayan world that pioneered the first functional nanostructures—the legendary Maya Blue. By locking indigo molecules within the nanometer-sized channels (0.64 x 0.37 nm) of palygorskite clay, they achieved a molecular encapsulation resistant to time and chemical erosion.
This ancestral knowledge was deeply centered in the Titlan region and the sacred cave systems of the Yucatan and Guatemala. To the Maya—great astronomers and mathematicians who mapped the cosmos—these caves were the center of the universe and the dwelling of the gods. Bridging this “Pre-Columbian Nanotechnology” with modern nanomanufacturing, we carry this philosophical core of environmental durability into the 21st-century water and reef crisis.
In 1981, Dr. Fernando Mazariegos Anleu (1938–2018) of Panajachel, Sololá, Guatemala, invented the ceramic pot water filter—a porous device that could be made by local potters to provide safe drinking water to the poorest communities. His Ecofiltro has since reached hundreds of thousands of families across 40 countries and earned recognition from the World Bank and Guatemala’s highest civilian honor, the Order of the Quetzal. Mazariegos proved that local manufacturing, shaped with intention, can save lives. Azul Nanotec honors his legacy by extending that same philosophy to the nanoscale—developing deterministic membranes compatible with community-level production that can filter what his generation could not yet see: the pharmaceuticals, nanoplastics, and molecular contaminants now threatening the waters of Mesoamerica and beyond.
From the Nahuatl -titlan (“Among/Place of Abundance”). It represents a living, water-integrated machine—the “Axis Mundi” or Center of the Universe.
Ref: Mundy, B. E. (2015). The Death of Aztec Tenochtitlan. UT Press.
The Hawaiian term for “Fresh Water.” In Polynesian culture, Wai is the source of all life and wealth (Waiwai). Our mission bridges the technical ‘Titlan’ with the vital ‘Wai’ to restore reef health.
Dr. Fernando Mazariegos Anleu of Panajachel, Guatemala—inventor of the ceramic pot water filter (1981). He proved that local potters could manufacture life-saving water purification at community scale. His work is the foundation on which next-generation nanofiltration is built.
Ref: Wikipedia