Biomaterials

At the Fraunhofer IGB we offer our partners complete development of biomaterials from developing a suitable synthesis strategy, by way of characterization to the biological evaluation. Here you benefit not only from our many years of experience, but above all from the interdisciplinary work of our research teams from the fields of biology, chemistry and process technology.

Materials development

• Advice on issues relating to the synthesis of biomaterials
• Development of customized biomaterials
• Biofunctionalization of synthetic materials

Mechanical properties

• Determination of functional properties
• Material stability and degradation behavior
• Surface analytics

Biological material characterization

• Characterization of cell-material interactions
• Biocompatibility testing

• Surface analytics
• Accredited biocompatibility testing

The measuring techniques we offer comprise methods for characterizing liquids, gels and solids with various geometries: particles, membranes, fibers, textiles, (ultra-)thin layers and smaller three-dimensional components.

Microscopic processes

• Light/ Fluorescence microscopy, Laser-scanning microscopy (imaging of structures ~1 µm)
• Scanning electron microscopy (imaging of structures 10 nm – 10 µm)
• Infrared/ Raman microscopy (demonstration of the local distribution of functional groups)
• Atomic force microscopy (visualization and measurement of surface roughness down to the atomic range)

Spectroscopic processes

• Infrared, Raman, UV, Photoelectron spectroscopy, Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) to characterize the chemical composition of a material
• Electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR) to detect long-lived radicals
• X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for the chemical analysis of the uppermost atomic layers
• Ellipsometry and imaging ellipsometry to determine layer thicknesses < 1 nm to 1 µm, also spatially resolved

Mass spectrometry

• MALDI-TOF-MS, ESI-MS to detect and identify proteins, peptides and polymers, MALDI Imaging
• ICP-MS
• GC- / LC-MS

Equipment for mechanical material characterization

• Special/Other analyses (particles, membranes, porous systems, polymers, fluids)
• Particle size distribution, Zeta potential, Specific surface, DSC, TGA, Contact angle measurements, Tensiometry, GPC