A team from Palm Microlaser Technologies - a 100% subsidiary of Carl Zeiss MicroImaging in Jena - is one of the candidates for the 2006 Deutsche Zukunftspreis (German Future Prize)
This was announced in Berlin in September by undersecretary Gert Haller, head of the German Federal President's Office.
Karin Schutze, Yilmaz Niyaz, and Carsten Hoyer were nominated for the German President's Future Prize for the development of the LMPC laser micromanipulation technique and its implementation in marketable instrument systems.
The innovative LMPC (laser microdissection and pressure catapulting) technique provides high purity biological specimens required to explain cellular processes on a molecular level.
The award, established by the federal president to highlight innovative potential in Germany, will be presented on November 23, 2006 in Berlin by German president Horst Koehler.
On the day of the presentation, a jury consisting of distinguished personalities from science and industry will select the winner from the four nominated teams.
The nomination is recognition of the team's extraordinary performance in developing the LMPC technology, stated the office of the federal president during the press conference in Berlin.
The LMPC technology allows cells and cell areas, as well as living cells or cell components such as chromosomes, to be marked, extracted with a laser beam and catapulted into a vessel without contact, and therefore also without contamination, using a single laser pulse.
The specimen can then be used to obtain highly pure DNA, RNA or proteins for molecular examinations.
The resulting detailed information about cellular processes on a molecular level are of major importance, eg for disease diagnosis and treatment.
More than 600 systems have been delivered since the global market launch of the Palm MicroBeam.
Palm Microlaser Technologies thus became the international technology and market leader in the field of non-contact dissection techniques for single cells in biomedicine, ie, laser microdissection and micromanipulation systems in particular.
LMPC technology has been honored on many occasions.
As early as 2001, Karin and Raimund Schutze, the founders of Palm Microlaser Technologies, received the Philip Morris Prize for the development of a marketable micromanipulation system.
In July 2006 they were the winners of the first prize of the Berthold Leibinger Innovation Award.
The German President's prize for technology and innovation, presented for the tenth time in 2006, is an annual award honouring outstanding innovations in technology, engineering and natural sciences within Germany.
The German Future Prize is worth 250,000 euros and is one of the most prestigious science awards in Germany.
It honors projects of great scientific value which are ready for use and marketable.
It is not possible to apply for the prize.
The right to propose candidates for the German Future Prize lies with leading German establishments in science and industry.
The LMPC technology project was recommended by the jury of the Philipp Morris research award.
