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ePaper created 2014-12-22, 09:34:33 | version 1.34.00
32 FUNCTIONALISATION OF IMPLANT SURFACES The HZG Institute of Biomaterial Science has developed a technique for preventing undesirable blood-clotting on the rough surfaces of implants. It involves shield- ing the surfaces of the materials used in implants by means of multiply connected, highly branched ether- based elements. As a result, significantly less of the blood platelets and proteins, like fibrin, involved in blood-clotting are able to attach to implant surfaces. Implants made of materials function- alised in this way tolerate contact with blood bet- ter than conventional implants. HZG MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY FOR BIOMASS PRODUCTION USING FLUE GAS As part of the International Building Exhibition held in Hamburg in 2013, the biotech firm SSC GmbH installed the world’s first bioreactor-facade on a residential apartment block. The facility is designed to produce both algae biomass and heating for the building. Inside the facade, algae grow using car- bon dioxide from the flue gas produced by a biogas-driven heating system. In order to provide enough nourishment for the algae over a 200-square-metre surface, SSC uses a module equipped with CO2-selective membranes devel- oped by the HZG. This module increases the CO2 concentration from 9 to 45 per cent by volume and has now been operating fault-free for a full year. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research (HZG) Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research (HZG) Contact between blood and materials with a rough surface (grey) can trigger clotting due to the adhesion of proteins such as fibrin (green) and blood platelets (red). Image: HZG Algae grow inside the facade, nourished by CO2 from the building’s heating system. Image: HZG Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) COMBS OF LIGHT ACCELERATE COMMUNICATION The amount of data generated worldwide is growing continuously. With the help of light, this data can be transmitted rapidly and efficiently. Scientists from KIT and the Swiss École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have now demonstrated that data streams can be transmitted over distances of sever- al hundred kilometres at a speed of 1.44 terabits per second using miniaturised optical frequency combs – this corresponds to the data volume produced by more than 100 million telephone conversations. Optical microresonator made of silicon nitride. Image: J. Pfeifle/KIT structures determine the characteristics and functions of the systems, such as living cells or cell groups. Research of this molecular structures aims to provide the knowledge required for the fabrication of functional nanoscale mate- rials, the controlled manipulation of the flow properties of complex liquids, and the development of active molecular substances. BioInterfaces in Technology and Medicine Active biomaterials are becoming increasingly important in regenerative medicine, biological medical technology and biotechnical procedures. This programme deals with the en- tire developmental chain from biomaterials to toxicological and immunological evaluation to the design of implants and controlled drug delivery systems. PROGRAMMES IN THE COMING FUNDING PERIOD 2015–2019