Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses IZI-BBFraunhofer IZI-BB offers a comprehensive range of methods for the non-invasive investigation and characterization of novel surfaces and coatings, as well as for evaluation in hygiene management. By defined (bio-)chemical functionalization (branched linkers) or by applying thin films (biopolymer-based membranes or switchable hydrogel layers) surfaces with new properties or so-called intelligent surfaces can be created. The technological implementation takes place both on geometric materials such as fibres and on planar carriers such as plates or chips. The surfaces themselves vary from glasses and wafer materials to plastics.
Another focus is the analysis of surfaces for cell culture, for which certain methods have been specially designed.
Range of services
- Occupancy density measurement - Occupancy with peptides, markers, DNA, etc.
- Germ load measurement for hygiene management
- Non-invasive examination of surfaces: Contact angle determination, ellipsometry, surface plasmon spectroscopy (SPR), fluorescence microscopic techniques, e.g. Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
- Microindentation: Characterization of mechanical properties of surfaces and coatings
- Time-resolved investigation of cell adhesion on functionalized surfaces using total reflection microscopy (TIRFM)
Fields of application
- Food monitoring
- Herd management
- Surfaces for cell culture