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Research & Development


From science to industry

The transfer of knowledge from the university to industry was of crucial importance when e~nema was founded. Started as a spin-off from the Department of Biotechnology and Biological Control of the Institute of Phytopathology at the University of Kiel, the company optimised the liquid culture of insect-pathogenic nematodes developed there and set up industrial scale production.

Experts for biotechnological process optimisation

By constantly thriving for optimisation of biotechnological production processes, e~nema has become an expert in the industrial production of microorganisms: Due to the complex mutual relationship of the insecticidal nematodes with physiologically instable symbiotic bacteria, the reliable and high yielding production of these sensitive microorganisms was a prerequisite to consistently produce nematodes at high and increasing yields.

Experts for technical process optimisation

Along with optimising the production process biologically, the technical side of nematode production and the symbiotically associated microorganisms was enlarged and improved. The technical equipment increased in size and versatility with improved knowledge on the bottlenecks of the production process. For instance, the largest bioreactor used today has a capacity of 8000 liter.

Transfer of know-how and technology

Besides research on existing or new products from e~nema itself toll production gives rise to further research areas. Due to the generously scaled and versatile equipment e~nema can offer its facilities to other companies or research institutes. The organisms which we were asked to produce might be used in the familiar area of biological control. Others are used in completely different sectors, like aquaculture, for instance. Due to the knowledge and experience of e~nema, the production processes can be developed, performed and optimised in close co-operation with the client.