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Surface activation or cleaning by cold plasma is getting more and more attention. Current plasma-based solutions for flexible materials however lack efficiency or are technically too complex and error-prone. Scientists at the HAWK developed a plasma roller device for effective and fast plasma treatment of flexible materials.

The invention describes a CAR which recognizes CD30 as a target antigen and initiates lysis of CD30-positive (CD30+) tumor cells but not of CD30+ healthy cells like hematopoietic stem cells. Specific genetic modifications of the anti-CD30 CAR ensure the specific targeting of CD30+ tumor cells and prevent unwanted side-effects. This approach has been tested in vitro with CD30+ hematopoietic stem cells and CD30+ tumor cells and in vivo in mice transplanted with human CD30+ hematopoietic stem cells. In vivo experiments provided evidence that the treatment with anti-CD30 T-cells has no unwanted impact on the endogenous immune system. Thus, the CAR is most suitable for clinical application in targeting CD30+ leukemia and lymphoma cells. A clinical study phase I is planned for early 2016, indication: cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Adoptive T-cell therapy is a very promising approach in the treatment of cancer. Early phase clinical trials with genetically engineered T-cells expressing a tumor-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) show significant efficacy in the treatment. However, currently used CAR modified T-cells for antigen-directed targeting towards tumor cells have insufficient performance in the anti-tumor attack, e. g. less amplification and cytolytic activity after the transfer of the modified T-cells into the patient. Scientists from the University Medical Center of Cologne developed a bispecific CAR, which improves the performance of genetically engineered T-cells expressing these CAR polypeptides on their surface. The bispecific CAR comprises two antibody units, with one antibody unit being an anti-CD30 single chain antibody unit and the other antibody unit being an antibody unit specific for an antigen present on the surface of a predetermined target cell, e. g. for the tumor carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) on breast cancer cells.

Biological coatings have a high potential for manifold applications, especially for medical applications or biodegradable coatings. Up to now, the formation of biological coatings is accompanied either by a low control over film formation or connected to high costs. Current challenges that need to be overcome are a high control over the film thickness, an even and continuous coating of objects with a complex geometry, or the site-specific coating of single areas on one object. The new concept Enzymatic Bio-Coating is able to solve these Problems. Suitable supports are: Glass, wood, and miscellaneous plastics and metals.
Casein layers are antibacterial, edible, and renewable.

Auf Grundlage eines neuen Oxidationsverfahrens wurden Gassensoren entwickelt, die ohne die sonst notwendige Sensorheizung auskommen. Das besondere Verfahren der potentiostatisch und galvanostatisch kontrollierten plasma-elektrolytischen Oxidation (PEO) ermöglicht dabei die Herstellung einer mechanisch stabilen TiO2-Schicht mit exzellenter Adhäsion auf einer Titanfolie.

This new biomarker provides a convenient and reliable assay for the detection and differentiation of Fusarium from other fungal pathogens, especially Aspergillus.