Press releases and news 2017

On August 30, 2017, the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB received start-up funding from the Catalyst Fund of the State of New Zealand for their cooperation with SCION, a New Zealand Crown Research Institute focusing on the wood industry and processing. In the future, the two institutes will work together to develop new ideas in the field of bark utilisation in biorefineries and plan joint research projects.

At the beginning of October, the project "Smart Water Future India", funded by the German Federal Environment Ministry from the Export Initiative Environmental Technologies, was launched. The aim of the project, which is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, is to develop a concept for intelligent water management for Coimbatore in southern India, a city with more than one million inhabitants. In doing so, it should be indicated how India's booming metropolises can be supported with the help of German water and wastewater technologies.

Microbial pathogens can be diagnosed unambiguously and within just 24 hours by means of high-throughput sequencing of their genetic makeup and special bioinformatics evaluation algorithms. Fraunhofer researchers have validated this in a clinical study with sepsis patients. The researchers present the NGS diagnosis platform at Medica in Düsseldorf from November 13–17, 2017.

The consortium led by Leiden University Medical Center and the Dutch hDMT (human Disease Model Technologies) has been assigned by the EU with the task to create a roadmap for the future development of organ-on-chip technology. Its aim is to establish a European infrastructure to enable coordinated development, production and implementation of organ-on-a-chip systems. The consortium is funded by the EU FET-Open Program and brings together six leading European research institutions, including the Fraunhofer-Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart, Germany.

Instant coffee and powdered milk are produced by spray drying. Fraunhofer researchers have adapted this technique to the tricky question of incorporating insoluble substances in core-shell particles. The new method helps reduce the concentration of active ingredients in therapeutic medications.

Today, MIT Technology Review reveals its annual list of Innovators Under 35. For over a decade, the global media company has recognized a list of exceptionally talented technologists whose work has great potential to transform the world. Svenja Hinderer, scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Stuttgart Germany, has been recognized as an inventor for her work.

Over the next few years, in a research project funded by the EU, an international consortium is developing a new technology for a better treatment of multiple sclerosis. The idea of the innovative “Nose2Brain” approach is to transport a special active substance directly through the nose into the central nervous system. For this purpose, the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB is working on an active ingredient formulation which is introduced direct into the Regio olfactoria by means of a special applicator and which can release the active ingredient there over a prolonged period of time.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP and the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB will present new developments in films and the efficient control of coating processes at the upcoming International Converting Exhibition Europe ICE being held in Munich from 21 - 23 March 2017. Under the motto "Functional films – efficient coating processes", emphasis will be put on new film functionalities and accelerated test methods (Hall A5, Stand 1031).

For her work within the EU-funded research project BioEcoSIM the Fraunhofer scientist Dr. Jennifer Bilbao received the Ivan Tolpe Award on February 9th 2017 in Ghent, Belgium. In the framework of this project, the involved partners developed a new process to valorize pig manure into various fertilizers and soil improvers. In this way, agricultural residues can be reused promoting the principle of circular economy.

Many vaccines contain viruses that are inactivated to prevent them from harming recipients. This is generally achieved by adding chemicals. Fraunhofer scientists are taking a different approach, using low-energy-electrons to irradiate the pathogens. The advantages of this new method are that it produces no toxic waste and provides a faster and less aggressive way of rendering pathogens inactive.