Press releases and news 2003

Natural substances discovered in tropical rainforests are often later produced using genetically modified organisms in industrial fermentation processes. But in Ghana, a facility will soon be set up to extract one of the world’s sweetest flavor enhancers from native plants.

Human tissue is often needed to repair injuries or treat certain diseases. Complications arising through tissue engineering are rare, because replacement tissue is grown from the patient’s own cells. The Fraunhofer IGB is now certified to manufacture tissue for cartilage transplants.

Biochips have become the tool of choice for automating drug and protein screening. Sven Knecht was awarded the 3rd Hugo-Geiger Prize 2003 of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft for developing future methods of manufacturing biochips based on micro- and nano-technologies.

Sven Knecht from Fraunhofer IGB was awarded the third Hugo Geiger Prize 2003 and the Procter & Gamble Sponsorship Prize 2003 for his thesis.

VPM GmbH, together with GBF, has licensed in its first project: a new, soluble beta-interferon that promises improved treatment of multiple sclerosis, the most common disease of the central nervous system. The substance was studied and developed in the laboratory by the Hannover-based Gene Technology Department of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB) in Stuttgart.

Multiple sclerosis is one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system, treated successfully with the protein Interferon-beta. Researchers at Fraunhofer IGB have developed an improved Interferon-beta with enhanced solubility, bioavailability and pharmacokinetic stability. In June 2003, the US patent was granted, the European patent has been promised recently.

Kathrin Zeller was awarded the 2003 Max Buchner Prize for her thesis work in using a resistance chip to show spot mutations of Candida albicans.

Freqently, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are responsible for the formation of resistances in pathogens. Researchers at Fraunhofer IGB have optimized a DNA chip, which enables the identification of such mutations in the ERG11 gene of the human pathogenic fungus Candida albicans.

Protein microchips can be used for the diagnosis of diseases. Researches at Fraunhofer IGB have developed a novel chip surface consisting of protein binding nanoparticles. These nanoparticles enable the direct enrichment and analysis by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.