technology transfer blog

Hydrogen sulphide is a highly toxic and corrosive environmental pollutant with an obnoxious smell, the removal of which is necessary for pollution control and processing requirements within industry. A new invention in the field of chemistry & biotechnology from the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg demonstrates that specially modified iron, manganese, cobalt and nickel porphyrins can be used for the efficient catalytic removal of hydrogen sulphide species (H2S, HS-, S2-), here labelled H2S.

An invention by scientists of the University of Bayreuth, which is based on the active ingredient Combretastatin-A (CA), shows promising effects in the treatment of drug-resistant tumors. CA, a plant-based vascular-disrupting (antivascular) active substance, specifically attacks the blood vessels that supply tumors. New Combretastatin derivates, which were developed jointly by the universities of Bayreuth and Halle-Wittenberg, now display increased antivascular effect.

This invention by LMU scientists concerns risk prognosis for chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL). The disease progression in patients with CLL varies significantly; some patients live decades after diagnosis, whereas in others the disease takes a more progressive course and is resistant to chemotherapy, sometimes resulting in death within a year of diagnosis. A risk-prognosis method can therefore facilitate the decision-making process on the correct form of treatment.

Modulation of miR-24 expression and its implications for vascular disease. MiRNAs were recently implicated in the regulation of diverse cardiac functions in a series of genetic studies. Myocardial infarction results in hypoxia of cardiac tissue that triggers an array of pathophysiological effects including cardiomyocyte apoptosis and impairment of vascularization. Studies have shown miRNAs to be important for regulation of endothelial function, especially angiogenesis. Although these studies help to delineate the role of miRNA in heart physiology, growth and morphogenesis, molecular mechanisms for miRNAs in cardiac disease pathways are poorly understood. MiR-24 is expressed in a variety of organs, but its role in the cardiovascular system is unclear. Therefore, the therapeutic potential of specific miRNAs and their antagonists in cardiac diseases remains to be established.

This invention from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in the field of pharmaceutics & medicine is about antigen determination of tissue–invasive lymphocytes.
CD8+ T cells key roles: they defeat infection diseases, they attack "self" tissue in autoimmune diseases, they attack tumor tissues. This invention is an unbiased strategy to determine the antigens of tissue-invasive lymphocytes. HTS-Method to identify CD8+T-Cell target antigens of 7-9 amino acids length. Extremely high sensitivity, fast and convenient, no antigen-processing required, positive plasmid may be recovered and examined.




Figure: Multiple sclerosis-plaque: What does this T-cell recognize?