Press and Media

Human tissue models instead of animal experiments? What is already possible for some questions still faces major hurdles for more complex contexts and applications. In a joint project of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, and the Translational Center for Regenerative Therapies at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC, Würzburg, scientific principles and biomaterials for the standardized production of valid tissue models are to be developed.

Can virus replication really be influenced by plant extracts? Researchers at the Fraunhofer Translational Center for Regenerative Therapies at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC and at the Institute of Virology and Immunobiology at the Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg have investigated this question.

This year's winners of the Ursula M. Händel Animal Welfare Prize of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft have been determined. As the DFG has now announced, the team from the Fraunhofer Translational Center for Regenerative Therapies (TLZ-RT) and the University of Würzburg will be honored for its research into alternatives to animal testing based on cell-based tissue models, and will share the 80,000 euro prize with Dr. Michael K. Melzer from the University of Ulm.

What otherwise takes hours in the laboratory, involves annoying waiting times and many sources of error, can now be accomplished by a robot in less time, well digitally documented and with high reproducibility. Automation of synthesis processes for nanoparticles can be a milestone for the use of new therapeutic and diagnostic medical devices – and at the same time increase occupational safety and relieve highly qualified laboratory personnel from monotonous routines.

The ImAi project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is intended to create an animal-free replacement for the Draize test on rabbits used worldwide to assess the eye irritancy potential of chemicals. The new test is based on tissue models of the cornea cultivated in the laboratory. At the end of the project, a new standard procedure should be available for use worldwide.

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.

The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is placing unprecedented restrictions on public life and economy. The global research efforts to fill the knowledge gaps regarding the new pathogen and to develop effective therapies are correspondingly large. In Wuerzburg, too, researchers from the Fraunhofer Translational Center for Regenerative Therapies are working together with the virologist Prof. Dr. Bodem from the University of Wuerzburg to identify active substances against the virus.

Around 60 international experts met on November 7 at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg to report on the state of the art in the field of 3D tissue models and prevention of animal experiments in the development of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The Forum MedTech Pharma and the Fraunhofer Translational Center for Regenerative Therapies TLC-RT had invited to the conference, which is scheduled to take place annually.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC and the University Hospital Würzburg host the “22nd International Symposium on Signal Transduction at the Blood-Brain Barriers”, which will be held from September 11 – 13 2019 in Würzburg, Germany.

The WHO reports an estimated 429,000 malaria deaths each year. The disease mostly affects tropical and subtropical regions and in particular the African continent. The Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC teamed up with the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME and the Institute of Tropical Medicine at the University of Tübingen for a new test method to detect malaria parasites in blood. The idea of the research project “NanoFRET” is to develop a highly sensitive and reliable rapid diagnostic test so that patient treatment can begin as early as possible.