Bio-concrete and biogenic construction materials with cyanobacteria

Transitioning to climate-friendly construction

02-Jul-2024 - Fraunhofer researchers have developed a method of creating biogenic construction materials based on cyanobacteria. The bacteria multiply in a nutrient solution, driven by photosynthesis. When aggregates and fillers such as sand, basalt, or renewable raw materials are added, rock-like solid ...

Effective metal extraction with electron-stimulated microorganisms by bioleaching

25-Jul-2022 - Researchers are working on solution for the economical consumption of resources, their recycling and the future recovery of new raw material sources, as well as on an environmentally friendly but still demand-oriented extraction worldwide. The extraction of heavy metals from their ores with the ...

Effective metal extraction with electron-stimulated microorganisms by bioleaching

14-Jul-2022 - As part of the project "BioIntElekt" (Development of an innovative small-scale, low-energy electron beam source integrated in a bioreactor system, funding reference: 601015) funded by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in an internal program, metals should be mobilized with the help of bacteria. At the ...

Inactivating pathogens using low-energy electrons

Fraunhofer Prize for “Human- and Environment-Centered Technology” for new method of producing vaccines

07-May-2021 - Vaccines are currently a great source of hope for many people, as it is believed they will help to protect society against COVID-19 and pave the way back to a normal life. The current focus is clearly on coronavirus – but vaccines are also fundamental to combating other pathogens. A team of ...

Use of low-energy electrons for innovative biotechnology processes

21-Feb-2020 - The Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP has been utilizing electron-beam technology for decades in the development of cleaning, sterilization, and surface-modification processes and systems. Fraunhofer researchers from the Medical and ...

Producing vaccines without the use of chemicals

07-Jan-2019 - Producing vaccines is a tricky task – especially in the case of inactivated vaccines, in which pathogens must be killed without altering their structure. Until now, this task has generally involved the use of toxic chemicals. Now, however, an innovative new technology developed by Fraunhofer ...

Surface modification using accelerated electrons

Fast, gentle, precise, stable and durable

16-Feb-2018 - Surfaces must satisfy a wide range of requirements: they need to be decorative, and even contribute substantially to hygiene. They also play a large role in biomedicine. There are numerous processes for functionalizing surfaces, depending on the application. Many are already well established and ...

New procedure for producing safe and more effective vaccines

08-Nov-2016 - A consortium of four Fraunhofer Institutes (the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, and the Fraunhofer Institute for ...

Killing germs with electron beams

Sterilizing biological tissue

05-Sep-2016 - Medical products, packaging and food can be safely and efficiently sterilized with electron beams. In the future, Fraunhofer researchers also plan to use accelerated electrons to eliminate germs from tissue transplants and to change the properties of the organic material in the process. It is ...

Portable lab analysis: mini spectrometer integrated into your mobile phone

12-Nov-2013 - Researchers at the Technische Universität Dresden and the Fraunhofer FEP are developing a novel type of an ultra-tiny spectrometer that fits into your mobile phone. The novelty here are metallic nano-antennas for harvesting, filtering and amplifying of incoming photons. In addition, thin-film ...