Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST

The prototype kilogram – to which all scales are calibrated to – is losing weight. International efforts are striving to redefine the base unit for measuring mass and, in future, redefine the kilogram on natural constants. For this purpose, the Avogadro experiment determines the number of atoms in almost perfect silicon spheres. Fraunhofer researchers have recently succeeded in homogeneously coating the spherical surfaces.

Cost-effective plastics are used for many medical disposable products. Atmospheric pressure plasma processes such as those used and developed at the Fraunhofer IST offer a variety of possibilities for changing the physical or chemical characteristics of surfaces so that they can be used for biomedical applications.

3D-printed biocompatible support structures known as scaffolds play an important role in the field of regenerative medicine. Together with seven project partners, the Fraunhofer IST is currently working on an advance in 3D printing that will allow for greater time and cost efficiency in producing the scaffolds while at the same time functionalizing them through atmospheric pressure plasma processes.