And we generate manifold interdisciplinary working fields which stimulate our basic and applied research projects. A broad repertoire of screening systems is operated by a number of laboratories situated in different HKI Departments. Toxicological analysis and preliminary bioactivity profiles using in vitro and in vivo models lead to a set of data which may form the basis for further collaborations with industrial partners. Most importantly, the information generated is deposited in a HKI-internal data handling system which allows to retrieve and evaluate compounds with interesting profiles. This is the basis to promote further external collaborations, i.e. with pharmaceutical industries.
Most entries belong to the varieties of nocardiaformic and coryneformic bacteria.
We maintain a constant collection and isolation program and we acquire collections of microorganisms from various academic sources. This pool of microorganisms and the sample collection derived thereof forms the basis for many screening collaborations. At present the pool consists of approximately 3500 pure chemical compounds of microbial and plant origin. Most compounds are direct isolates from nature, however a small number of chemical derivatives is included as well. The pool is fed by a large community of mainly academic institutions.