BioLargo's Subsidiary- Clyra Medical Technologies launched its new web site!  

Link Here

Iodine Fortification of Vegetables Improves Human Iodine Nutrition: In Vivo Evidence for a New Model of Iodine Prophylaxis.- and Endocrinology Update Comments: Veggies Could be the Answer- Both articles point to how BioLargo's Isan System that can help meet the Challenge!

BioLargo's Isan System* has been delivering precise does of iodine in Australia and New Zealand for years.  The two articles referenced speak to the importance of fortification of iodine in food, and the photos are from actual installations in Australia.  The nation of the Phillippines is already adding iodine to its drinking water to promote health and help stem the tide of Iodine Deficiency Disorder and see the link at the bottom of this page:  Tasmania reports low iodine levels. *BioLargo is marketing The Isan System and its patented technology are owned equally by its inventors from Australia (www.ioteq.com) and BioLargo

Endocrinology Update

Endocrinology Photo

Fortified veggies could beat iodine deficiency

14 March, 2013 Hugo WilckenFortifying vegetables with iodine is an effective way of upping intake of the micronutrient and avoiding iodine deficiency, Italian researcherssay.
Over a two-week period 50 volunteers ate a 100g daily serving of vegetables fortified with 45mg iodine, choosing between potatoes, carrots, tomatoes or salad.

Urinary iodine concentration before intake was 98mg/L, rising by 20% to 117mg after the meal.
Although iodine deficiency has been controlled by universal salt iodisation, salt consumption has now been recognised as a health risk, the authors said.
As industrialised countries try to reduce salt consumption, “biofortification of vegetables with iodine offers an excellent alternative opportunity to increase iodine intake,” they concluded.

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Mar 12. [Epub ahead of print]

Iodine Fortification of Vegetables Improves Human Iodine Nutrition: In Vivo Evidence for a New Model of Iodine Prophylaxis.

Tonacchera M, Dimida A, De Servi M, Frigeri M, Ferrarini E, De Marco G, Grasso L, Agretti P, Piaggi P, Aghini-Lombardi F, Perata P,Pinchera A, Vitti P.

Source

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (M.T., A.D., M.D.S., M.F., E.F., G.D.M., L.G., P.A., F.A.-L., A.P., P.V.), Section of Endocrinology, Research Center of Excellence AmbiSEN, and Department of Energy and Systems Engineering (P.Pi.), University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy; and PlantLab (P.Pe.), Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy.

Abstract

Background:Iodine deficiency is the result of insufficient intake of dietary iodine and as a consequence causes multiple adverse effects. About 2 billion individuals in the world are affected by iodine deficiency. It has been found that the most effective way to control iodine deficiency is through the universal salt iodization. However, salt iodization alone may not be sufficient to assure adequate iodine nutrition. In most industrialized countries, excess consumption of salt has become recognized as a health risk. Therefore, biofortification of vegetables with iodine offers an excellent opportunity to increase iodine intake.Aim and Methods:The aim of this study was to test the efficiency of a new model of iodine prophylaxis in a group of 50 healthy volunteers through the intake of vegetables (potatoes, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and green salad) fortified with iodine. Each serving of vegetables consisted of 100 g of potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, or salad containing 45 mg of iodine (30% of the Recommended Daily Allowance), and the volunteers consumed a single serving of vegetables, as preferred, each day for 2 weeks. Urinary iodine (UI) excretion was measured before and after intake of vegetables.Results:The UI concentration measured in volunteers before the intake of vegetables was 98.3 mg/L (basal value), increasing to 117.5 mg/L during the intake of vegetables. Seven days after the discontinuation of vegetable intake, UI was 85 mg/L. UI concentration increment was 19.6% compared with the basal value; therefore, the difference was statistically significant (P = .035).Conclusions:Biofortification of vegetables with iodine provides a mild but significative increase in UI concentration and, together with the habitual use of iodized salt, may contribute to improve the iodine nutritional status of the population without risks of iodine excess.

Tasmania Puts Iodine Back on Its Health Agenda

NC fracking panel suggests wastewater could be used for irrigation

Link To Article

Vikram Rao - BioLargo Advisor

Faced with millions of gallons of potential fracking waste, North Carolina’s fracking commission could encourage drilling operators to reuse the industrial wastewater for crop irrigation.

The proposal Thursday from a member of the N.C. Mining & Energy Commission immediately raised skepticism from several environmental advocates. They said purifying brackish backwash into sprinkler water is technologically possible but in practice has caused environmental damage in other states.

Commissioner Vik Rao assured that one of the smartest options for energy companies would be to reuse the water-and-chemical mixture to hydraulically fracture numerous wells for natural gas production, then desalinate and treat the fracking fluid at the end of the cycle.

The approach would limit the volume of water used in fracking and would also solve the problem of disposal, he said. Rao chairs the Mining & Energy Commission’s Water and Waste Management Committee and said he expects his committee to create fracking standards that will encourage the reclamation of fracking fluids as a state policy.

“Treating for reuse is the cheapest thing you can do and the most environmentally safe thing you can do,” Rao said. “At the very end I would treat it (the waste) for a purpose that is easiest or most useful for a community.”

Rao is the former chief technology officer of Halliburton, the global energy conglomerate that takes credit for developing fracking technology. He recently wrote a primer on natural gas exploration. [& technical advisor to BioLargo, Inc.]  Fracking refers to hydraulically fracturing underground rock formations with a mixture of water and chemicals to release the natural gas trapped inside. Shale gas operations now account for a third of the nation’s natural gas production.

The industrial byproduct of fracking is a mixture of water and chemicals used for extracting natural gas, as well as the brine, metals and dissolved solids that are flushed out of the ground during the fracking process. The preferred disposal method in some states is deep injection into wells for permanent storage, but North Carolina lacks suitable geology to accept potentially hundreds of millions of gallons of the toxic bilge.

The state’s natural gas is believed to be concentrated in Lee, Chatham and Moore counties. But the shale rock formations in the state’s mid-section are too impenetrable to absorb waste injections under pressure for permanent storage. Such injections would likely flow into fissures and seams, eventually mixing with fresh water, some geologists have warned.

The state’s coastal counties are the only area of the state that could potentially accept fracking waste. The coast has deep saline aquifers but it is unclear whether those aquifers are hermetically sealed off from other aquifers above, or whether injected waste would migrate over time beyond its intended resting place.

The mining commission and its committees are developing public protections and environmental safeguards to govern fracking, which is currently prohibited while the regulations are still being designed. The commission meets again Friday in Raleigh to continue its discussions.

Rao suggested that treated water could be used to water crops, or as a drinking source for sheep, which can tolerate mild salinity. His suggestions were not debated by his committee on Thursday but demonstrated the complex and controversial nature of the issue state policymakers face.

“This strikes me as a really terrible idea at first blush,” said Craig Seagall, a lawyer with the Sierra Club. “If there were purpose-built plants, such that the final discharge was clean, then I suppose there wouldn’t be a problem land-farming it, but that’s a lot of speculation.”

Reuse of treated industrial waste is done in North Carolina by food processors and other industrial operations, said Jon Risgaard, supervisor of the land application unit within the aquifer protection section of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Getting a state permit requires a hydrogeologic site evaluation and groundwater modeling, and such an application could generate public opposition.

In other states natural gas drilling fluids have been treated for de-icing and dust control of roadways, as well as for land application. Though feasible, it doesn’t always work out.

Several years ago Arkansas regulators investigated 11 disposal sites and found all in violation of discharge limits of reclaimed water. Some discharged too much tainted water, others discharged water to improper sites, spreading contamination with fuel residues.

“Some fields may have been irreversibly damaged,” Arkansas authorities concluded.

Murawski: 919-829-8932

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/07/2733618/frack-waste-could-irrigate-corn.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/07/2733618/frack-waste-could-irrigate-corn.html#storylink=cpy

BioLargo Advances Its Nature's Best Solution(R) Pet Product Line -- Hires Leading Pet Speciality Retail Agency

LA MIRADA, CA--(Marketwire - Mar 4, 2013) - BioLargo, Inc. ( OTCQB : BLGO ), innovator of environmentally friendly antimicrobial and disinfecting technologies, announced it had retained "The Pet Firm," the industry's leading pet specialty sales, marketing and merchandising firm with long-standing relationships with all major pet retailers and thousands of independent pet retailers in both the US and Canada.

"With the recent introduction of our Nature's Best Solution® line of feline products and Free Iodine Skin and Wound Care products for pets, hiring the best agency was a top priority," said Dennis Calvert, BioLargo's president. "With more than 2,000 employees nationwide, and a reputation as the industry's top agency, we believe The Pet Firm gives us another key advantage as we work to place our products with leading pet retailers."

BioLargo's wholly owned subsidiary, Odor-No-More, Inc., introduced its Nature's Best Solution® feline products and its Free Iodine Skin and Wound Care Products at the recent Global Pet Expo trade show in Orlando, Florida. "We are excited to get started working with BioLargo's portfolio of products. The use of science and technology to produce truly next generation products is exciting!" stated Greg Melin, VP of Sales & New Business Development of The Pet Firm.

Odor-No-More's president, Joseph Provenzano, added "our products were well received at the show by pet retailers and industry members because they are searching for a product that actually works." Caroline Golan, a lifestyle writer and blogger from Catster.com, picked the Nature's Best Solution® Litterbox Deodorizing Concentrate as one of the "Ten Most Intriguing Cat Products" at the Global Pet Expo. In her article she states "this stuff works really well!"

For more information about the Nature's Best Solution® Pet Care Line visitwww.NaturesBestSolution.com.

About BioLargo, Inc.
We make life better by delivering technology-based products that help solve some of the world's most important problems that threaten our water, food, agriculture, healthcare and energy. Our website is http://www.BioLargo.com. Our Odor-No-More Inc. subsidiary features award-winning products serving the companion animal and equine markets, including the Nature's Best Solution® and Deodorall® brands. (http://www.OdorNoMore.com). BioLargo also owns a 50% interest in the Isan System, which was honored with a "Top 50 Water Company for the 21st Century" award by the Artemis Project. Our subsidiary, Clyra Medical Technologies, Inc., focuses on advanced wound care management and is preparing to make FDA 510(k) applications in 2013.

Hidden Investment Opportunities at Global Pet - Article Points to BioLargo's Commercial Prospects

The pet industry was worth approximately $50.8 billion in the United States in 2011, according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), with approximately 62% of U.S. households owning a total of 86 million cats and 78 million dogs. And, with pet ownership up 2.1% in 2012, reaching a new all-time high, these figures are only going to continue rising. In fact, many consider it to be a relatively recession proof industry.

Large companies like PetSmart Inc. (PETM) have been clear beneficiaries of these trends, with third quarter 2012 revenues up 8.8%, same-store sales up 6.5%, and earnings per share up 50% thanks to a 30 basis point improvement in merchandise margins. As North America’s leading pet retailer, these metrics suggest a lot of strength in the sector.

Finding Hidden Value in the Space

Investors looking for hidden value in the space should consider some of the attendees at the Global Pet Expo, which took place between February 20th and February 22nd this year in Orlando, Florida. Presented by the APPA and PIDA, the 2012 expo featured 835 exhibitors, 2,487 booths and more than 3,000 new product launches geared towards the 5,011 pet product buyers in attendance.

While some presenters like 3M Corporation (NYSE:MMM) and Procter & Gamble Inc. (NYSE:PG) are diversified, others like OurPet’s Corporation (OTC Pink: OPCO) and BioLargo Inc. (BLGO) represent unique niche opportunities for investors to consider, particularly with their recent exposure to retailers, distributors, buyers and other qualified professionals.

Given the past few years of tough economic times, while big companies seemed to sit on cash rather than take any risk associated with introducing new products, it seems like the pet industry is ripe for innovation and nimble companies, like BioLargo, may just find themselves in the right spot at the right time.

Nature’s Best Solution® Product Family

BioLargo Inc. (BLGO), a company focused on leveraging Nature’s Best Solution®, iodine, to solve some of the world’s most important problems, is perhaps best known in the pet industry for its Odor-No-More® products, primarily sold into the equine industry. Recently, however, the company has expanded its focus to create its own wholly owned Nature’s Best Solution® product line-up, targeting multiple industries.

Nature’s Best Solution® extends the company’s product line-up to include multiple products in various sizes and SKUs, with an emphasis on feline and animal wound care products, leveraging its award-winning odor elimination technology. By targeting a broader consumer base with best-in-class products, with beautiful packaging and a crisp marketing image, management believes that its products can capture market share from the competition.

Nature’s Best Solution® products include:

Litter Box Deodorizing Concentrate – Environmentally-friendly and non-toxic granulated concentrate to be applied to cat litter, based on its award-winning technology, which eliminates odors and moisture, which management believes out performs any products that are currently on the market today.

Litter Box Odor Eliminator – Safe and effective unscented spray that removes odors without using masking fragrances or toxic ingredients, providing a more effective product than competitors.

Litter Box Wipes – Safe and non-toxic wipes that are perfect for cleaning and deodorizing any pet surface without the use of harsh fragrances or chemicals.

Stain & Odor Eliminator – Treatment in a liquid spray bottle, for eliminating smells and stains on all sorts of surfaces types including carpets, which adds a light fragrance to its patented micronutrient formula that neutralizes and eliminates odors instead of simply masking them.

In addition to its feline product line-up, Nature’s Best Solution® also includes animal Wound and Skin Antimicrobial Hydrogel and Liquid products, which is the company’s first entre into this lucrative and growing market segment that Veterinary Practice News estimates exceed $300 million annually in the USA. Through its subsidiary Odor-No-More, Inc., it also sells another consumer product under the brand DeodorAll® Sport (www.deodorallsport.com) for athletes that was recently featured in USA Hockey Magazine and looks to be gaining traction for its high product performance marks in this sport segment that has a notoriously tough to tackle odor issues.

M&A Potential & Upcoming Inflection Points for BioLargo

Cat litter sales in the United States alone totaled $1.83 billion in 2009, up from $1.51 billion in 2005, according to market research firm Euromonitor. With Nestle’s (OTC Pink: NSRGY) Purina and Clorox’s (NYSE:CLX) Fresh Step and Scoop Away controlling the majority of the market, 31.2% and 27.7% in 2010, respectively, there could be catalysts in the form of M&A.

The timing of events could be helpful to uncover hidden value. First, BioLargo had entered into this market by executing an exclusive license deal with Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) two years ago. The agreement calls for minimum purchase order for Central to retain exclusive rights that came due early this month. Second, Central has had their hands full with ‘transformational change’, as evidenced by its new CEO’s recent quote, “We continue to focus on our transformation to an integrated multi-brand consumer products company. We expect to make significant progress over the next few years as we aggressively build our brands, lower our costs, and drive meaningful revenue and profit growth.”

Thirdly, BioLargo has not made any announcements about Central executing any purchase orders, which would most certainly be material business events requiring disclosure. It is therefore safe to assume that Central has not executed on its minimum purchase obligations. If Central continues to not meet the required minimums, during the next 60 days cure period as described in the agreement, then the exclusive license deal will no longer be in effect.

When you put all the events together, it seems as though BioLargo may be sitting pretty in a win-win situation. If Central decides it wants to hang on to exclusivity and execute on the minimums, BioLargo benefits, and if not, then BioLargo will be free to target numerous other distributors and selling channels for its already developed and positioned products. With the company already expanding its product line and hiring a new marketing firm to sharpen its focus toward sales, early traction from the pet industry could help propel these other products in numerous other end markets.

Remember too how dynamic the animal healthcare industry has become. Just last month Pfizer spun off its animal unit in an IPO worth $2.2 billion giving us a tip off as to how big this market can really become. Best-kept-secret, BioLargo could be onto something special with its advanced wound care products as if finds distribution and sales for its cutting edge products.

How big can BioLargo become? We don’t know for sure, but consider these additional products seem like a natural fit for BioLargo, based on its ability to leverage its underlying technology in soaps, shampoo, detergents, cleaners, skincare, wound care, eye care, anti-fungal and numerous other multi-billion dollar consumer markets. The green cleaners market for consumer products alone exceed $600 million a year in market potential.

Additional Opportunities to Consider

As we’ve seen, BioLargo’s unique technology can also be used to do much more than just control pet odors, which has led to its formal expansion into multiple industries. These markets represent billions of dollars of additional potential for a company that continues to trade with a modest market capitalization given just its near-term opportunities in the pet industry.

Additional opportunities that are a keen focus for BioLargo include:

Advanced Human Wound Care – The Company formed a new subsidiary name Clyra Medical Technologies, Inc., to pursue regulatory approval of its antimicrobial solution in the growing $19 billion advanced wound care industry. And recently, the firm added former Smith & Nephew Wound Management VP Tanya Rhodes to its management team as a senior advisor as it heads into FDA application.

Water Treatment – The company indicates that is evaluating plans to form a water subsidiary in 2013, and has been honored as a founding member of a Canadian government backed research chair at the University of Alberta Department of Engineering, that includes top industry players, to develop sustainable water treatment solutions for the oil sands industry, where BioLargo’s breakthrough technology could be used for environmental remediation. Dr. Vikram Rao, former Chief Technical Officer for Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), is helping the company’s founder and Chief Science Officer, Kenneth Reay Code to spearheading this effort with his 30+ years of experience in the industry to focus in on fracking and other oil and gas related opportunities. Mr. Harry DeLonge, former Pepsi Senior Vice President of Technology and recipient of lifetime achievement awards by the American Water Works Association and International Society of Beverage Technologists joined the team to help focus in on serving the food and beverage industry.

Potential Investment Opportunity

BioLargo Inc. (BLGO) represents a unique potential investment opportunity, with a market capitalization of just $19 million. With near-term potential in the pet and consumer products industry and long-term potential in several other industries, investors have a chance to invest in one company targeting multiple billion dollar markets with a single unique technology.

For more information, see the following resources:

Company Website

Potential Hidden Opportunities in the Fracking Industry: Article Defining BioLargo's Opportunity in Fracking

Potential Hidden Opportunities in the Fracking Industry

 ACCESSWIRE-TNW via Comtex

There's little question that fracking has been a boon for the United States, with billions of additional barrel equivalents of oil and gas now recoverable. In fact, the Energy Information Agency (EIA) recently projected that the U.S. would grow to become the largest producer of oil by 2020, a net exporter of oil around 2030, and nearly self-sufficient in energy by 2035. And, the "energy renaissance" has already dramatically improved the prospects of many U.S. energy companies, with the Market Vectors Fracking ETF (NYSE: FRAK) trading up nearly 20% since June 2012.

Unfortunately, many investors believe the upside may already be priced into many of these stocks, particularly as new gas supplies drive down prices. Many companies operating in the space have suffered from record low natural gas prices and oil supply gluts in the key-trading hub of Cushing, Oklahoma. While oil prices are likely to remain near the level that fracking makes sense economically, margins are likely to be squeezed moving into 2013, as developed markets remain in slow growth and emerging market demand (primarily from China) cools.

Identifying Opportunities in the Space

So, where do investors put their money?

Fracking companies themselves may be poised for a struggle with operating margins, but companies servicing the growing fracking industry may represent an opportunity. In particular, the fracking process has garnered a lot of negative press for its impact on the environment. Most of the wastewater generated from the fracking process - which involves pushing clean water with chemicals underground to coax out oil and gas - is simply pumped deep underground and is at risk of seeping into public water reserves.

Many companies already hire specialists to transport wastewater away from oil and gas sites, but the adoption of recycling technologies has slowed due to their high cost. But, with the millions of new wells projected to come online by 2035, the issue of recycling water will transition from an environment issue to a strategic issue due to the lack of freshwater. According to one Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, it takes between 70 billion and 140 billion gallons of water to frack 35,000 wells per year, which is the same amount of water that's consumed each year by Chicago or Houston.

Companies involved in fracking that require such water recycling services range from giants like Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) - after its purchase of XTO in 2009 that helped it enter the fracking space - to smaller E&P players like Rosetta Resources (NASDAQ: ROSE), EXCO Resources (NYSE: EXO) or Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE: GTE). These companies represent billions of dollars in market capitalization with a need for a resource that continues to spike in price - as demonstrated by the 20% 52-week performance of the PowerShares Water Resource Portfolio (NYSE: PHO).

Finding a Cheaper and Eco-Friendly Immediate Solution

BioLargo Inc. (OTCBB: BLGO) is a promising small company working on a cheaper immediate solution that uses all-natural compounds to purify wastewater. Using what it calls Nature's Best Solution™ - free iodine that is combined with filtration technology to generate what they call an Advanced Oxidation System that provides a non-toxic and all-natural way to purify water before it's returned back to the environment or reused. Iodine is known to kill many of the most common pathogens present in natural freshwater sources and when combined with other complementary processes, the post-treatment water eliminates the threats that watersheds, wells and groundwater in the areas surrounding fracking activity pose. For reuse, in many cases, simple filtration followed by iodine to remove bacteria is sufficient.

The company has already begun to introduce its technology to the oil industry via its founding membership position in Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's (NSERC) "Industrial Research Chair in Oil Sands Tailings Water Treatment". Other members of the board include Canadian National Resources Ltd. (NYSE: CNQ) and Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU), illustrating the scope of the problem in the oil sands industry alone. Presumably, this expertise could be translated directly to much the same problems faced by the fracking industry, namely contaminated water.

And when it comes to a timetable, BioLargo has already begun commercializing its proprietary CupriDyne® technology in other end markets like wound care and companion animal markets, demonstrating that it is commercially viable and that its technology is safe for consumers. These activities are also generating early stage revenues and show the promise of positive cash flow as they ramp up, which is necessary to continue developing its product lines for the oil and gas industry as well as other potential end markets.

Article: Profiting from the Clean Water Act- BioLargo Offers a Promising Opportunity

Link Here

The Clean Water Act (CWA) has been in the press a lot lately, as many companies struggle to meet its demands. With the powers granted by the Act expanding in scope, investors may want to consider companies that are well positioned to benefit from its increased implementation. In this article, we’ll take a look at the CWA and its implications, as well as potential investment opportunities.

What is the Clean Water Act?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Clean Water Act establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into U.S. waters and regulating quality standards for surface waters. These laws make it unlawful to discharge pollutants into navigable water unless a permit is obtained from the organization.

The EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls these permits that can be issued to companies and other organizations. While individual homes that use septic systems don’t require permits; industries, municipalities, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters.

Recently, the CWA has controversially grown to include the regulation of water itself as a pollutant, enabling the EPA to regulate the flow of water. For instance, the EPA proposed a plan to deal with sediment in the Accotink Creek aggravated by storm water runoff from Interstate 495, issuing a Total Maximum Daily Load limit to control the amount of water flowing.

Permitting & Prosecutions on the Rise

The EPA has been consistent in prosecuting companies and organizations under the Clean Water Act over the past several years. For instance, BP plc (NYSE:BP) and its partners are facing between $891 million and $3.5 billion in fines imposed under the CWA on the 810,000 barrels of oil blown out from its Macondo well that entered U.S. waters.

New regulations may also require industrial farms to obtain permits under the NPDES, which could significantly expand the CWA’s jurisdiction. A Superior Court in Hyde County, NC recently ruled that the state has the authority to require Rose Acre Farms to be regulated under the federal CWA because of pollutants released from ventilation fans in its henhouses.

These cases illustrate the CWA’s expanding jurisdiction, with prosecutions targeting increasingly larger organizations on the rise. As a result, companies are seeking out new solutions to safely and affordably dispose of waste into water supplies, or to clean wastewater before it’s released into existing water supplies.

Investing in the Clean Water Act

There are many investment opportunities to capitalize on the increasing reach of the Clean Water Act. Companies like American Water Works Company Inc. (NYSE:AWK) provide wastewater treatment services for municipalities, but those targeting environmental remediation may be better targets to capitalize on CWA regulation.

Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE:CLH) is perhaps the best-known play in the sector, providing environmental, energy and industrial services throughout North America. Investors started taking note of the company after the BP plc (NYSE:BP) oil spill, when the company was retained to help mitigate damages and pollution-related fines.

While there are many other larger companies in the space, like US Ecology Inc. (NASDAQ:ECOL), smaller companies offer investors larger potential upside. After all, it’s easier for a $1 million company to double its market capitalization than a $1 billion company to do the same, although these companies entail additional risk that should be carefully considered.

BioLargo Offers a Promising Opportunity

BioLargo Inc. (BLGO) is focused on solving some of the world’s most important problems using Nature’s Best Solution®, free iodine. Their version of free iodine is both non-toxic & non-staining and yet is also a broad-spectrum disinfectant with no known microbial resistance. Since Iodine is also an essential nutrient, the combination of efficacy and safety makes it perfect for applications that range from wound care and household products to advanced industrial applications like managing contaminated water.

The company’s Cupridyne® technology combines micronutrients with water from any source to deliver free-iodine on demand in controlled dosages, balancing efficacy of performance with concerns of toxicity. With its new Advanced Oxidation System, iodine can be electrochemically created to eliminate dangerous contaminates, nano-sized particulates and even fully soluble contaminates for any water treatment system.

Currently, the company is testing these systems in a number of different industries, including oil and gas exploration, as a founding member of a research chair at the University of Alberta, working in cooperation with the Canadian government. Meanwhile, Vikram Rao, previously from Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), and Harry DeLonge, from PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP) provide the management experience necessary to bring these products to fruition.