The Adolphe Merkle Institute

12/10/2026

🌽 Turning corn proteins into ingredients for plant-based foods: The Adolphe Merkle Institute researcher Mingqin Li is upcycling agricultural side streams to develop new ingredients for meat and dairy alternatives.

Zein, the main protein in corn, is difficult to process because it does not dissolve in water. But using an enzyme-based approach, zein can be made water-soluble and transformed into protein nanofibrils that can help blend ingredients and form gels.

🧪 Already validated under laboratory conditions, this innovation provides a new method to turn underused agricultural resources into high-value food ingredients. AMI's Food Science and Technology group is now working toward industrial implementation.

Université de Fribourg - Universität Freiburg

02/10/2026

12/03/2026

Welcome to AMI, John! 👋

We’re thrilled to welcome Dr. John Abendroth as a new Assistant Professor at The Adolphe Merkle Institute Université de Fribourg - Universität Freiburg, where he will expand our research into the fields of quantum sensing and spin chemistry here in . Stay tuned for more on his work at the intersection of , , and advanced .

European Research Council

12/03/2026

A new space for food innovation at AMI! 🍽️🔬

Last week, we inaugurated the brand-new Food Innovation Space, developed by our Food Science and Technology group led by Prof. Hanjo Limbach.

🥄This new facility, a professional-level kitchen equipped with precision instruments designed for food-grade experiments, combines AMI’s expertise in soft nanomaterials with advanced food processing and analysis technologies—strengthening Fribourg’s growing role as a hub for food innovation.

Representatives from the Adolphe Merkle Foundation, Université de Fribourg - Universität Freiburg, cantonal authorities, and industry joined us for the event, which also featured a mini-symposium and presentations about the group’s research to develop sustainable food materials, novel textures, and new approaches to valorizing food waste.

It’s an exciting step forward for food research and collaboration at AMI and beyond!

12/03/2026

🎓 We have a new Dr. at The Adolphe Merkle Institute!

Congratulations to Luca Grillo from our Polymer Chemistry and Materials group for successfully defending his PhD thesis “Bio-inspired compositionally graded membranes with directional water transport characteristics.”

👏 Well done, Luca, and best of luck with your next career steps!

Luca’s research was part of a recently concluded five-year collaboration between the Adolphe Merkle Institute and Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation under the SPIRIT program. The project explored bio-inspired polymer membranes with directional or switchable water transport properties — advancing our understanding of how structure influences function and opening doors to future advanced membrane technologies.

Université de Fribourg - Universität Freiburg

09/03/2026

So what's been cooking at th Adolphe Merkle Institute?

18/12/2025

Fascinée depuis l’enfance par les teintes éclatantes des ailes des papillons, Viola Vogler-Neuling souhaite s’en inspirer pour révolutionner l’industrie de la couleur. Les recherches de la physicienne de l’AMI sont soutenues par un subside Ambizione. Féru de papillons, le grand-père de ...

23/09/2025

🎉 What an amazing Saturday at the Université de Fribourg - Universität Freiburg Explora open day! Our teams from The Adolphe Merkle Institute and the NCCR Bio-Inspired Materials were on hand to bring science to life for visitors of all ages. From tasty food science demos that revealed what’s on your plate to a dance-powered physics crash course, we had something for everyone. Guests even learned to identify different types of cells and teamed up with KidsUni for a thrilling science treasure hunt! A huge thank you to everyone who joined us—and a special shout-out to Sofia Martin Caba for coordinating! 🙌🔬🕺🔍

25/07/2025

What's the green blob?
s.almeida of the Swiss NanoAnalytics (SNA) platform (link in bio) is observing a biological sample with the help of a confocal .

The system uses high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, capable of visualizing and analyzing detailed structures inside biological and material samples.

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Photo by

08/07/2025

A little something (in French) from the Université de Fribourg - Universität FreiburgUniversité de Fribourg - Universität Freiburg about our recent Walls Lab Western Switzerland event at AMI, with interviews of Nick Zahnd, Oindrila Mandal, and Eva Baur. Many thanks to Christian Doninelli for the interest and the article!

Il a su trouver les mots juste pour séduire le jury et devancer ses neufs autres concurrent·e·s. Jeudi 3 juillet, Nick Zahnd, doctorant à l’AMI, a remporté l’étape fribourgeoise de ce concours de vulgarisation scientifique. Rencontre avec l’heureux vainqueur et ses deux dauphines. Il a s...