Research

In the few years since its founding, CME has succeeded in creating interdisciplinary synergies within the University which make microscale environmental research visible to the outside world. In the same vein, it has taken the necessary first steps to set up the corresponding courses of study. Out of the research fields under discussion since the early days of CME, moreover, three main research areas have now emerged which can be described by the terms Water, Aerosols and Biological Action. Each of these areas is thematically embedded in larger national and international projects.

An exciting recent development is the participation of CME, in the role of national coordinator, in the priority programme “Biological responses to nanoscale particles”, which is one of the main research areas being promoted by the German Research Foundation (DFG). This programme is devoted to exploring the elementary processes that are involved in the uptake of nanoparticles by cells, the transport of these particles and their biological action. The background to this research is the increasing prevalence of nanoparticles, tiny particles possessing innovative chemical and physical properties, in the environment. Because they are smaller than cells or cell nuclei, these nanoparticles can easily penetrate them and in some cases disrupt their function.
The Effect of Ultrafine Dusts in Densely Populated Metropolitan Areas represents another main research area at CME. The acute and chronic health effects of ultrafine dusts are being examined at several locations in the Ruhr area for the first time within the framework of epidemiological studies. To identify the causes of the health effects caused by such fine dusts, toxicological studies are being carried out parallel to the epidemiological studies. During these studies the fine dusts contained in environmental samples taken at specific locations throughout the Ruhr district are examined with a view to cellular and molecular reactions.

The significance and health-related effects of the Action of Metal and Metalloids on Human Beings is the subject of research carried out by the DFG research unit FOR 415. This research group is already conducting an extensive investigation on this topic that involves analyzing the geogenic and anthropogenic emissions of organometallic and organometalloid compounds, the processes by which these compounds are created and converted in the environment, and their genotoxic and neurotoxic effects.

The objective of the project carried out by the research group was to detect and analyze alkylated (mainly methylated) compounds of the elements arsenic, antimony, bismuth, mercury, tin and selenium in characteristic environmental sectors. This research topic was explored by means of an intensive collaboration between analytical chemists (occurrence of the compounds), microbiologists (mechanisms of formation), physical chemists (stability of the compounds) and toxicologists (relevance of the compounds to human health).

Significant cytotoxic, genotoxic and neurotoxic effects were demonstrated for a large number of the compounds detected; dozens of articles have been published in professional journals on this topic. These elemental species occur not only in the environment but also in the course of human metabolism. The highest concentrations of these compounds were measured in the waste management sector, especially during composting (mainly arsenic species). 

However, metals can also be methylated in the course of metabolic processes; this can cause toxification (e. g. in the case of bismuth) or detoxification (e. g. in the case of arsenic). Processes of this kind can be investigated in studies carried out with human subjects: here volatile bismuth species can be demonstrated in the blood and respiratory air of subjects to whom they have been administered. These findings are evidence of biomethylation processes in the large intestine and thus demonstrate the substantial role played by the microbial flora colonizing the intestinal tract in metabolic processes.

Together with German, European and Chinese partners, CME is studying the ecological effects of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River and its catchment area as part of the research programme “Research Collaboration Yangtze Region”. Numerous individual projects have already been approved or initiated. By participating in grant programmes, selected young scientists from China and Germany will be given the opportunity to work on the joint research project in the country of their respective counterparts.

The heterogeneous “hinterland” of many European metropolitan areas offers numerous chances to rethink the post-industrial future in a foresighted manner. The objective of an ambitious new project titled “New Paths to Water” − which is based on the premise that water is one of the cardinal elements − is to develop practicable ideas for urban open spaces and residential neighborhoods. The project aims to make the vision of “residing and living with and near water” reality. The Ruhr area, a region that has witnessed dramatic changes such as the remodeling of the Emscher River and the post-industrialization process, is predestined to serve as a model for urban areas and megacities worldwide.