Merck Lab @ TU Darmstadt: Low-instrumented Diagnostics & Analytics
January 2016 marked a milestone for the Merck Lab @ TU Darmstadt – especially with regard to the new topical focus. The cooperation between Merck KGaA and the TU Darmstadt has been successful for more than ten years and continues to be part of a long term, strategic partnership of company and university.
The shared lab provides a great new location and atmosphere for collaboration at the department of Macromolecular Chemistry & Paper Chemistry at the Ernst-Berl-Institute located at the campus Lichtwiese. Innovative research in the field of “Low-instrumented Diagnostics & Analytics” aims at developing cost effective technology platforms for disease diagnostics and optimizing analytical detection techniques within 2016-2021.
The team focuses on the development of paper based, microfluidic systems for immunodiagnostics and analytics. It furthermore involves state-of-the-art printing technologies and biotechnological engineering. Consequently, the new cooperation is built on an interdisciplinary team of chemists, biochemists, biologists and engineers, similar to the former cooperation of “Printable Electronics” from 2006 to 2016.
Merck contributes three members including project leader Gerhard Schwall who closely cooperate on site with five research groups of the departments of Chemistry and Engineering allowing an efficient link of basic research and direct application.
Involved research groups:
- Prof. Dr. M. Biesalski, Department of Chemistry, Macromolecular Chemistry and Paper Chemistry
- Prof. Dr. H. Kolmar, Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. E. Dörsam, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Printing Science and Technology
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. S. Schabel, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Paper Technology and Mechanical Process Engineering
- Prof. Dr. S. Hardt, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nano- and Microfluidics
