Press / Publications

Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM works on designing more sustainable chemical production processes using its technology portfolio based on (micro)structured reactors, Flow Chemistry and Process Intensification. Electrochemical synthesis also plays a role.

Pieces of plastic in the sea, chlorophyll content in bodies of water, the degree of drought in fields – since April 2022, the German environmental satellite EnMAP has been orbiting our Earth and will be collecting myriad data during its five-year mission. The Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have developed various core components for the optical system of the hyperspectral satellite.

A microfluidic chip takes up a water sample, adds the necessary chemicals and transports it to the detection site. What's the point? In this way, the water is to be analyzed fully automatically and with various parameters, and at the lowest possible cost. A further developed chip prototype for water analysis devices has emerged from the MICROCHIP project.

How can viruses be effectively eliminated from indoor air? This question is now becoming more important as fall approaches. Efficient indoor air purification is essential, especially in schools. Fraunhofer researchers are investigating and op- timizing various filter and air purification techniques in the AVATOR project.

Cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer in women worldwide. Early detection of precancer has shown to be successful in reducing cancer incidence and mortality. The Horizon 2020 CHILI project aims to translate new cervical cancer screening strategy to low-income settings. The strategy includes a new cervical cancer screening test which is currently being developed in ELEVATE another Horizon 2020 project, and combines self-sampling with a low-cost, portable measurement device, detecting both the human papilloma virus – the main cause of cervical cancer – and cancer biomarker proteins.

SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged at the end of 2019 has caused COVID-19 pandemic with over 3.7 million deaths worldwide, more than 1 million deaths in Europe and about 90.000 deaths in Germany. At the moment, variants originating in very different countries are still spreading rapidly and keeping the world on tenterhooks. We need technologies that are fast, accurate, portable to facilitate detection wherever needed, and do not require expensive, complex laboratory equipment or the expertise of highly skilled people.

Fraunhofer researchers are working as part of an international consortium to develop ammonia-based fuel cells. When used as fuel for ships with electric engines, ammonia is as eco-friendly as hydrogen, but easier and safer to handle. Fraunhofer reports on this in "Research News".

The BMBF-funded project CTCelect is making significant progress in the investigation of isolated circulating tumor cells (CTCs). In an integrated approach including user surveys as well as ethical and legal aspects, the consortium has developed and tested a system for CTC isolation over the last four years, which is robust and easy to use for the user and is based on the patient-friendly collection of a single blood sample. With the help of the development status of the open and thus flexibly applicable CTCelect system validated on real samples, extensive new results in medical research are made possible.

A new type of microreactor for synthesis with Grignard reagents will make reactions faster, safer and also yield a purer product. What’s more, the new microreactor is scalable and can be operated flexibly. Fraunhofer reports on this in "Research News".

As a pioneer in applied research, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft brings together the expertise of 23 separate Fraunhofer facilities to develop new development and production technologies for innovative cell and gene therapeutics, as well as vaccines, in the “Production for Intelligent Medicine” innovation cluster. As a first step of the project, a concept for a modular pilot plant for the automatic production of these therapeutics is to be developed combining both Industry 4.0 and Health 4.0.