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Physics & Astronomy

2+1 is Not Always 3 – In the microworld unity is not always strength

In the microscopic world, where the modern miniaturized machines at the new frontiers of technology operate, as long as we are in the presence of two…

Physics & Astronomy

Winds at Quarter Light Speed Detected in Binary Systems

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, used data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) XMM-Newton space observatory to reveal for the first time…

Health & Medicine

Fiber Optic Biosensor Microfluidic Chip Detects Glucose Levels

Insulin deficiency and hyperglycemia are two well-known culprits behind diabetes, both of which are reflected in blood glucose concentrations. Now, researchers…

Materials Sciences

New Lead-Free Personal Cooling Units Coming Soon

“Most electrocaloric ceramic materials contain lead,” said Qing Wang, professor of materials science and engineering. “We try not to use lead. Conventional…

Life & Chemistry

Cells Sense Their Shapes: Insights from MBL Whitman Center

“Cells adopt diverse shapes that are related to how they function. We wondered if cells have the ability to perceive their own shapes, specifically, the…

Materials Sciences

Exploring Phosphorene: New Method for Material Orientation

Now, a team including researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has developed a new method to quickly and accurately determine that orientation…

Materials Sciences

Atomic Magnets: Harnessing Hydrogen and Graphene Innovations

“Essentially, we have found a golden key with which to achieve efficient heat transport in electronics and other power devices by using graphene…

Life & Chemistry

New Discovery: Tumor Cells Change Mode in Cancer Research

One in three people still develop cancer at some point in their lives, and even now half of these cases result in death. There is therefore a demand for new…

Life & Chemistry

Bearded Dragons Exhibit REM and Slow Wave Sleep Patterns

Behavioral sleep is ubiquitous among animals, from insects to man. In humans, sleep is also characterized by brain activity: periods of slow-wave activity are…

Life & Chemistry

Microbots Made With Graphene Oxide Clean Water Pollution

Working with colleagues in Barcelona and Singapore, Samuel Sánchez’s group used graphene oxide to make their microscale motors, which are able to adsorb lead…

Life & Chemistry

Candidalysin: Unveiling Candida Albicans’ First Toxin

Throughout evolution, pathogens have come up with many tricks to infect and damage their hosts: viruses capture whole cells and turn them into factories for…

Technology Offerings

New Hope for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Insights on Marbostat

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that leads to progressive joint deformity, disability, and occasionally premature death. Emerging evidence suggests the utility of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) in the treatment of chronic immune and inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. Several studies have shown the decreasing effect of selective HDAC6 inhibitors on the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines in vitro and a significant therapeutic response has been demonstrated in animal inflammatory disease models.

Technology Offerings

Metallized open-cell foams and fibrous substrates

Open-cell foams and fibrous substrates provide a wide range of properties which make them very attractive for different applications in many fields. Metallization of open-cell foams and fibrous substrates could give novel polymer / metal composites with highly interesting properties for a variety of ap- plications. However, the applications with metal composites are still limited, because of the existing problems due to the metallization methods, where often complex or laborious procedures are required or are restricted to certain polymer surfaces, if high quality metallization is desired.
Therefore, there is a need for the homogenous metallization of open-cell mel- amine formaldehyde (MF) foams which provides electrically conductive foams with a specific resistance R < 50 Ω mm2 m–1, which until now is not known in the current state-of-the-art.

Technology Offerings

IAP – Intrinsic Antimicrobial Polymers

State of the art antimicrobial polymers are polymers with antimicrobial additives such as silver or copper. Additionally, a further approach is using functionalized monomers, containing amine or quaternary ammonium/phosphonium groups. These monomers can be polymerized to intrinsically microbial polymers. Unfortunately, they suffer from poor material properties (low glass transition temperature, high water uptake).
The novel intrinsic antimicrobial polymers overcome these shortcomings. Several groups of polymers have been developed (homopolymers and copolymers) with favorable processing characteristics, e.q. can be used in an injection molding process or press molding.
The standard JIS Z 2801 test to quantitatively test the ability to inhibit the growth of microorganisms over a 24 hour period of contact reveals a reduction of up to log 7,1.
Four patent applications have been filed at the European Patent Office. Further international applications are still possible. On behalf of the Fachhochschule Münster PROvendis offers licenses for interested enterprises.

Technology Offerings

Textile Emergency Seat – Rescue system for the fast and effective evacuation of people

The invention here described regards a textile rescue seat designed for the effective distribution of the weight on two carrying-operators. Experiments show that an adult of average weight can be carried on staircases and along corridors without overloading the two operators, relieving the strain on shoulders, neck and back and preventing health issues.
A prototype of the invention has been produced and successfully tested in a simulated evacuation in a multi-storey building. Low material and production costs comibined with little space required for storage are attractive features for a competitive product to be introduced into the market. Many items can be preventively stored in every public building or on board passenger ships and used also by non-professional operators. The principle of usage is intuitive and enables every healthy person on site to take part in the evacuation operation. A patent application has been filed in Germany. On behalf of the RWTH University, PROvendis is seeking a partner for further development in view of licensing the technology.

Technology Offerings

New Method to Measure Brown Fat Activity Using miR-92a

The present invention is a technology that significantly simplifies the measurement of BAT by PCR-based quantification of exosomal microRNA-92a in serum. Exosomal miR-92a levels inversely correlate with BAT activity. This novel method is as the first of its kind qualified to routinely measure the BAT activity in large cohorts of patients.
The measurement of BAT activity is not only important in the diagnosis and treatment of weight-related diseases, but is also a screening tool for the development of drugs that regulate the BAT activity. Such drugs are of use in pathological leanness (e.g. cachexia), obesity and other metabolic diseases.
The invention has been validated by studies in mice and man. On behalf of the University of Bonn, PROvendis offers access to rights for commercial use as well as the opportunity for further co-development. In case of interest we will be pleased to inform you about the patent status.

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