Empa - Departement Materials meet Life
The „Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt (Empa)“ forms a bridge between research and practical application. At Empa, innovative solutions are developed for priority challenges facing industry and society - in the areas of nanostructured, "smart" materials and surfaces, energy, construction and environmental technologies, resource efficiency, as well as medical technology and personalized medicine.
The department "Materials meet Life" focuses on novel materials which are useful for a variety of health innovations in and on the human body. We develop and conduct research on new materials and systems that protect and support the human body individually under various conditions.
To do this, we need to holistically understand and manage the interactions between materials and biology at the level of biomolecules, bacteria, cells, and tissues from the nanoscale to the macroscale, using state-of-the-art and specially designed analytical tools.
Our activities are based on a comprehensive and holistic view from the atomic to the macro scale, focusing on five modules where novel materials deliver significant added value:
- Wearable sensors / wearables for health
- Materials and systems for precision medicine
- Implants and biointerfaces
- Biomedical imaging technologies
- Nanostructured materials and systems
These five modules are closely linked, thanks to their shared perspective and expertise in materials synthesis, materials processing, bioanalytics, computational modeling and simulation, bioinformatics, imaging and life sciences.