News Archive

In our video "Overview of the Application Process for the VAH List of Disinfectants" you get an overview of the application process for the VAH List of Disinfectants from Dr. Florian Brill

Our Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion on Norderney has changed the location at the Norderney harbor by a few hundred meters. 

The new address is: Am Hafen 6, DE - 26548 Norderney.

The colleagues can now keep an eye on the ship traffic but also on the test objects at any time and are even closer to the fresh seawater for tests in the aquariums or for the current development of the "Mini-RotoMarin".

In the first annual issue of the magazine "Hygiene & Magazin" an article about the 7th Conference of Applied Hygiene and Microbiology and Virology was published. You can find the article HERE

You can find the original article HERE.

The next CAHMV will take place on 24.11.+25.11.2022, again as a hybrid event both at the "AMERON Hamburg Hotel Speicherstadt" and online. More information follows.

The storm surge Zeynep has raged in the night from Friday (18.02.22) to Saturday also on Norderney and caused a high water of 2.28 m. Our premises remained undamaged, only our garage was under water. 

On the video you can see our new location in the background and at the lifeboat one of our storage pontoons. However, pontoon and test plates were well moored and survived the storm well.

Dr. Brill receives new authorizations and thus expands the service portfolio - For our Hamburg laboratory we now have the authorization to work with notifiable and notifiable animal pathogens of protection level S2. You can download the authorization HERE. 

All other certificates for our various laboratories can be found HERE.

The discourse on gender equality is also of high importance in science. According to statistics from the German UNESCO Institute, the worldwide proportion of women in science is only about 30% (cf. UNESCO Institute 2022).

In order to address this issue, UNESCO and UN-WOMEN launched the "International Day of Women and Girls in Science". We as a company, which is sometimes active in the scientific field, would also like to draw attention to the issue of gender equality. As part of this, we asked two of our female scientists what their wishes and conditions are for working in science in the long term.

Vanessa Wiencke answered the question as follows:

"Respect, recognition and security - In many areas of science, it is not easy for women and girls to get trained at all. For example, being told that a woman should have her big brother show her how to do certain calculations is quite off-putting and leads to a certain amount of demotivation. This is just one of many things I encountered in my studies that are simply disrespectful, to say the least. After changing my field of study and university, I realized for the first time that there are also scientists who make no distinction between genders, nationalities or political as well as religious orientations. Actually, this should be normal in our modern society. But in some areas of science this does not seem to be the case. If you look back in history, you often see that great female scientists had made great discoveries for which other scientists then got the credit. Whether it was because they were "only women" remains to be seen. But it is definitely the case that women and girls are often not trusted to do good scientific work. Only truly outstanding performance is usually recognized. There are studies that show that the mathematical performance of girls is reduced when they hear before a test that girls cannot do math. I would like to see my achievements continue to be recognized and for other women and girls to be recognized and encouraged for their achievements from a young age. When you study a science subject, you are told that when you work in science, it is usually because you work on a project for a certain amount of time and when you finish a project, you have to find a new project and therefore a new job. While that brings a lot of variety and a certain level of adventure, it also brings a certain level of uncertainty. As a woman, the topic of family usually comes up sooner or later. If a woman has to look for a new job every few years and runs the risk of having to stop working in the meantime, this leads to a conflict between family planning and a career in science. In addition, it is still often the case that women do the housework and raise the children. This is slowly changing, but only slowly, and leads to mothers having at least 1.5 times the workload of other women. For future possible family planning, I would like to have some financial security. I don't want to raise children without being able to be there for them. At the same time, I want to be able to do my scientific work conscientiously and thoroughly. Without the right partner at my side, the support of my colleagues and the security of my employer, balancing family and work is unthinkable for me. I think this is not unique to science. As a scientist with a permanent position in a company, I have more security to realize my wishes and goals. I'm glad to work in a family-oriented company like this, where people treat each other with respect regardless of gender."

Another colleague writes:

"In order to be willing and able to work in science in the long term, you need not only a positive working environment and a corresponding monetary component, but also other factors. One very important factor is, of course, (stable) working conditions. Especially in order to be able to work in science in the long term, it is essential not only to find the working conditions necessary for research and science at the beginning, but also to be able to reliably build on them over time, i.e. not just to get short temporary contracts. Another, no less important factor, is the possibility to actively participate in setting goals and to help formulate them. This is also and especially important with regard to the self-motivation to achieve these goals. Last but not least, the compatibility of career (science) and family rounds off the conditions for wanting to work in science in the long term."

Bildquelle: <a href='https://www.freepik.com/vectors/scientist'>Scientist vector created by pch.vector - www.freepik.com</a>

The Life Science Nord Magazine 2022 has been published! And we are part of it... 
LSN has interviewed Dr. Florian H. H. Brill Brill and a great article has been created.
Thank you Life Science Nord!

You can find the magazine HERE

The foundation is based in particular on the successful work of the working group of Professor Dr. Dirk Bockmühl at the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences on topics of applied hygiene in the household sector. Here, for example, the influence of modified washing and dishwashing processes at lower temperatures for energy-saving reasons on hygiene is a central topic. Furthermore, more and more laundry is being washed that cannot withstand higher washing temperatures due to the low quality of the fabrics. For especially manufacturers in the field of washing and dishwashing in the household sector, services are offered to check the efficiency of cleaning and disinfection processes. Here, individual tests that reflect practice as closely as possible are of great interest.

More than any other crisis, the pandemic affects all generations, all social groups and social, economic, political and cultural life worldwide. It is being felt everywhere, albeit to varying degrees. In this free online update, we would like to offer you the opportunity to find out about important questions on the topic and to exchange ideas with our experts from the clinical, research, political and industrial sectors.

The webinar will take place on October 28th, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and is free of charge. You can find more information about the registration HERE

We are pleased and proud to announce that the Dr. Brill Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion has been accredited by the German Accreditation Body DAkkS according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 for its antifouling tests at the Norderney site since January 2022. We are thus the first institute in Europe whose already known competence has now also officially proven its expertise through the state competence determination procedure.

Here you will find the certificate confirming this and the procedures for which our institute has been accredited. These are static and dynamic tests in Rotomarin® of biocide-free and biocide-containing antifouling systems for ships, harbor and offshore structures, as well as the barnacle quick test developed by us. With the accreditation, our customers can now be sure that our data will find international recognition e.g. in approval processes or also the upcoming Blue Angel for environmentally friendly antifouling products. The team on site around Bernd Daehne has done an excellent job in close cooperation with the QM team to reach this milestone. If you have any questions about this or would like to request a quote, our familiar contacts are available to help.

Here you can find an overview of our other certificates.

With the recruitment of the new laboratory manager Dr. Mashal Alawi as of April 1, 2021, we have gained a proven expert in the molecular biological analysis of environmental and human samples. He immediately established a molecular biology laboratory in the S2 area in Bremen with his new team. Now we are ready to offer comprehensive services. These are e.g. microbiome analyses using Next-Generation Sequencing techniques (NGS), identification of microorganisms and viruses (metagenomes and sangers) and quantification of microorganisms and fungi by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Applications of the methods are in the business areas of cosmetics, pharmaceutical products, biocorrosion and biofilm formation. Details can be found under "Molecular Biology".

By participating in regularly conducted interlaboratory tests, we have undergone the required quality controls and are approved by the VAH for the submission of test reports leading to certification of products by the VAH.