The microreactor in a drop of liquid
BAM offers fast analysis at low cost
The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) department has been part of the Adlershof Science Park since the very beginning. In line with the growing number of its assignments it has modified its domicile. Originally belonging to the East German Academy, the building`s space was no longer adequate and had to undergo extensive renovations and new construction work. The last phase of this project now expects Module 2 to be completed and occupied by 2014.
The BAM will then have in the Adlershof Technology Park three buildings of its own that will be running additional special laboratories with 350 employees. “Today it’s all about fast analysis at low cost,” answered Professor Ulrich Panne, new president of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) and Head of the Analytical Chemistry and Reference Materials Department, when asked about the objectives in his field of work. He talked about the deep inroads made into microtechnology and miniaturized applications that can sample small volumes and analyse their structures. Some examples he named were “lab on a chip” and “point of care diagnostics” where miniaturization “has made complex reactions easy to control as well as faster and cheaper than before”.
Centre of excellence
His department is a centre of excellence for analytical chemistry and works on all aspects of the analytical process. It is named "Innovation and reliability in analytical chemistry". Integral part of which are questions regarding quality assurance and metrology in chemistry, the development and certification of reference materials and the establishment of analytical procedures through standardisation or cooperative tests, both national and international.
Transfer of technologies
On the other hand, it works on the development of new applications and instruments. The chemical analysis of soil, water, sewage, foodstuffs, and waste have long become global themes as environmental and consumer protection measures, likewise materials analysis in modern production or medical engineering. No wonder that this know-how embodied by the BAM scientists is also of great interest to business enterprises operating on these specific markets. Projects for and with customers and the transfer of technologies have long been part of the business pursued by the Adlershof researchers.
Low cost reliable systems
On the applications side, micro technology provides the basis for low cost reliable systems that are manufactured in high piece numbers, including disposable variants, and can be exported all over the world. When asked about this pillar of his department, Ulrich Panne replied: “We need it for ourselves, but we also do it for technology transfer.”
By Klaus Oberzig for Adlershof Special