Booklets and Flyers

The Power of Molecular Biology in Environmental Testing

Unlock insights into microbial communities, antibiotic resistance, and functional gene dynamics with advanced molecular tools for ecotoxicology and biodegradation studies.

More information: Molecular Biology in Environmental Testing

Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSD) with invertebrates

Testing of standard and non-standard invertebrates in lentic and lotic test systems for the determination of acute and chronic endpoints for a SSD approach.

More information: SSD with invertebrates

We are pleased to send you our newsletter 2024. This year, we would like to give you an insight into the research topics that we presented at the 34th SETAC Europe Conference in Seville in May 2024:

• Transcriptomic Point-of-Departure: Integrating OMICs Data into Regulation
• Performance of a Modified Screening Method for Degradation of Polymers
• Crop Protection by RNA Interference – a Horizon Scanning of Approaches to Inform Risk Assessment
• Portrait: Marie Winter

In addition, you will find a report on the SETAC special session “Regulatory Requirements for Scientific Development”, which you can access via Link on our website.

We hope you enjoy reading: Newsletter NOV24

Further information on our research topics at SETAC 2024 is available on this website.

In its latest newsletter, the Fraunhofer IME in Schmallenberg presents an insight into new assessment procedures and test methods that are required due to a changed perception of risks:

• When water fleas perceive fish: Fish kairomones initiate a protective reaction in the
  water flea Daphnia magna
• WildOMICs: Unravelling the biological potential of the German Environmental Specimen
• Leachability as a Measure for Substance Mobility in the classification as PMT/vPvM
• Portrait: our long-time colleague Uwe Boshof.

We hope you enjoy reading: Newsletter NOV23

We are pleased to publish our Newsletter November 2022. We present the following current research projects - focused on molecular analytical methods - from Fraunhofer IME in Schmallenberg:

• TrendDNA: a time travel into Biodiversity
• Toxicogenomic method to monitor adverse effects in water samples from wastewater treatment plants
• Understanding soil microbiomes: where are we? Identification of missing test systems and endpoints
• Portrait: Dr. Bernd Göckener

NEWSLETTER

November 2021

The European chemicals regulation REACH requires the (further) development of guidelines for
special issues. Read about our work:

·         Bioaccumulation assessment of nanomaterials

·         Experimental characterization of NER for persistence Assessment

·         Endocrine disruptors as a threat to fish populations

·         Portrait: Dr. Karsten Schlich

November 2020

Potentially problematic substances present in the environment require investigation relating to their exposure and effects by means of adapted test and analysis methods. This includes substances such as for feed ingredients and additives in aquaculture, for plastics in films for agriculture and horticulture, or for the spectrum of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated surfactant compounds in human blood.
In the portrait we introduce Dr. Steve Ayobahan, whose doctoral thesis and subsequent activity in our young scientist group »Eco’n’Omics« will support the production of environmentally friendly substances during their  development stage in the future.

November 2019

Research dedicates itself to explore the unknown – and there is plenty of it in regulatory substance evaluation. Whether you look at chemical substances of unknown or variable composition (UVCB substances), unknown products formed during food processing or unknown effects on possibly unknown influence factors on fish populations – we show how our detecting and systematic approaches contribute to scientific understanding and evaluation. Furthermore, we introduce Verena Kosfeld as one of our doctoral candidates, who in her work merges the two research fields namely bioaccumulation and monitoring.

Special issue "Nano" June 2019

This year Fraunhofer IME celebrates its 60^th anniversary – this means 60 years of research into the environmental risk assessment of substances and consumer exposure. For almost 20 years we have been dealing with the effect of nanomaterials on the environment – by practical investigations and participation in the elaboration of international guidelines. Based on our comprehensive knowledge we develop solution approaches and provide answers to current problems. In this newsletter you will find examples as well as a portrait of Dr. Kerstin Hund-Rinke who very successfully promotes our research in the ecotoxicology of nanomaterials from the beginning to the present day.

November 2018

Contamination of food by chemical substances results from transfer processes. We explore such processes by carrying out a large variety of studies. To elucidate the transfer of fluorinated alkyl substances via feeding material into animal products we develop methods aiming at their total detection. For the prediction of metabolites originating from pesticides and reaching farmed fish via feedstuff we have developed a method to replace animals. In addition, we describe how we improve the determination of the degrading behaviour of chemicals in soil by investigating the reliability of recording experimental conditions.We also introduce Dr. Kerstin Derz, Deputy Head of the Department Ecological Chemistry.

November 2017

Analyzing the environmental risk of chemical substances and assessing the quality of environmental media – these are key tasks of the Applied Ecology Division at Fraunhofer IME. In this issue we present a novel test system for sensitive lotic invertebrates and a new method to prove the occurrence of Anticoagulant Rodenticides in German inland waters using a multi-method developed for the German  Environmental Specimen Bank. Taking wastewater treatment as an example we explore whether the chemical composition of nanomaterials can give a hint on their ecotoxicity. We also introduce Matthias Teigeler, head of our worldwide recognized fish laboratory.

November 2016

Chemicals reach the environment via production, transport, use and disposal of consumer products. From there they find their way into raw food materials. The limits of detection are continually decreasing, more and more substances can be identified in increasingly smaller concentrations. Acting as a mediator between industry and regulatory bodies we are involved in the development of many international test procedures for substance evaluation. In this first issue of the Applied Ecology Newsletter we present some of these activities. We also introduce Dr. Burkhard Knopf who retrospectively identifies substance
concentrations in the framework of the German Environmental Specimen Bank.

Nanomaterials are capturing the European market in a rapidly increasing number of products, available both for industry and private consumers. They offer a wide spectrum of technical and commercial  opportunities, e.g. as ingredients of foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Evidence published in scientific literature during the past few years, however, suggests that some nanomaterials, due to hazardous properties, might give reason for health and safety concerns with regard to humans and organisms in the environment. While draft guidance of competent authorities is still under development, we are able to provide a full spectrum of experimental methods to test and assess the behavior, fate and effects of nanomaterials in a way that fully complies with regulatory requirements.

Food enterprises compete in a tough market environment. The safeguarding of secure and sustainable food becomes more and more challenging in times of complex global flow of foods. The customers seek safe and healthy food in good quality and at a favourable price. However, even today, about 30 percent of the global produced food is spoiled during transport. Emerging trends in the food sector target faster food supply times requiring highly efficient logistics for fast handling