Press releases and news 2019

The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB participates in the EU project imSAVAR to develop innovative model systems for the evaluation of immunomodulatory therapeutics. The institute coordinates the development of novel immunocompetent in-vitro models with a focus on microphysiological systems, especially organ-on-chip platforms, as well as on cell-based reporter gene assays with immune receptors. Fraunhofer IGB also leads the Management work package and is part of the Project Management Office together with Fraunhofer IZI.

By 2050, the chemical industry should operate in a climate neutral fashion, which means phasing-out fossil oil, gas and coal. Therefore alternative carbon sources and renewable energy have to be utilized in order to replace fossil reserves. A new Stuttgart Research Initiative will elaborate on the concept of such a future chemical factory, both from a fundamental and application-oriented standpoint. The University of Stuttgart, German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB will be involved in the initiative.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB is using a new, recently patented process to develop new polyamides from the terpene 3-carene, a residual material from the cellulose industry. The biobased polyamides Caramid-R^® and Caramid-S^® produced using this process represent a new class of polyamides with outstanding thermal properties. The production of the monomer for Caramid-S^® was already successfully piloted in a 100-liter scale. The Fraunhofer researchers will present the new polyamides at the K trade fair in Düsseldorf from 16 to 23 October 2019 (Hall 7.0, Stand SC01).

Organ-on-a-chip technology has the potential to revolutionize drug development. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB have succeeded in putting various types of tissue onto chips. Their latest coup has been to recreate the human retina in the form of a retinal organoid. In a parallel development, the research team hopes that organ-on-a-chip technology will open up the field of gender-specific medicine.

Impact statement: New technology that recreates some of the complexity of the human retina may help scientists study eye disease and screen for drug side effects that harm the eye.

How can we achieve the internationally agreed climate targets? The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB makes the greenhouse gas CO₂ usable as a carbon source for the chemical industry. With a patented catalyst synthesis, screening for the optimal catalyst in high throughput and combined (electro)chemical-biotechnological processes, various concepts are available to CO₂ emitting industries. The platform chemical ethylene has already been successfully produced from CO₂ in an electrochemical demonstrator with an electrode area of 130 square centimeters.

Under the name "Variolytics", Dr.-Ing. Matthias Stier and his team are planning to set up a spin-off company in order to launch their real-time mass spectrometer developed at the IGB. They have applied for a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) as part of the "EXIST − business start-ups in science" funding programme. With success: The application has now been approved and the project will be supported with over 1.5 million euros over a period of two years.

“The future of sustainable value creation systems” was the theme of a workshop on the Biological Transformation of the European manufacturing industry, hosted by the European Technology Platform ManuFUTURE and Fraunhofer in Brussels. Some 40 experts from industry, the European Commission and research institutions discussed how materials, structures and processes of living nature could be used in manufacturing for a more sustainable future. In parallel the Commission published the first draft of the “Strategic Plan” for Horizon Europe which references bio-inspired and bio-integrated manufacturing as well as “enhanced information-based technologies inspired by nature and biology”.

The founding phase is complete: the European Organ-on-Chip Society (EUROoCS) is now welcoming members to join. The annual conference, held this year in Graz (Austria), saw launch of the community website and the start of its availability as an information resource. “We invite scientists, engineers, as well as regulators and patient representatives interested in these new laboratory models to become active members of the society and contribute to efforts of the Organ-on-Chip community in promoting recognition and implementation of this exciting research field,” says Christine Mummery, chair of EUROoCS and professor of Developmental Biology at Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB and the University of Stuttgart aim to use the climate-damaging greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as a raw material for the production of chemicals. To do this, they are developing a combined plasma and membrane process that splits CO₂ into oxygen and the chemical base material carbon monoxide. The process is made possible by the separation of oxygen using a new perovskite capillary membrane. This membrane is CO₂-stable and permeable for oxygen at 1000°C.