Herein, we present the immobilization of a technical grade β-d-galactosidase on amino-functionalized microtiter plates. Afterward, we transferred the results to a resin-based approach. For the covalent binding of the enzyme, an amino-functionalized microtiter plate was prefunctionalized with 1,4-phenylendiisothiocyanate. The cleavage of the substrate 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoxyl-β-d-galactopyranoside (X-Gal) produces a deep blue dye, which was quantified in a microtiter plate reader at 595 nm. The maximum reaction rates and the Michaelis–Menten constant were calculated. In addition, the unwanted blue precipitate formed during the experiments could be minimized by optimizing the experiments. When transferring the immobilization method to Rink amide resin, o-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside was used as the substrate and the measurement was carried out in a photometer at 420 nm.

Abstract"Technology Initiative for NwT (Natural sciences and Technology) school courses" was an innovative teaching project in cooperation between the University of Furtwangen (HFU), the State Seminar for Didactics and Teachers Education Rottweil and the Fürstenberg Gymnasium (FG) Donaueschingen. The main objectives of this project were the development of teaching units and the implementation of advanced training for NwT-teachers in the fields of process, medical and energy engineering. The ultimate aim is to facilitate a higher level of technology teaching in NwT school courses and in consequence to have more school graduates interested in and suitable for engineering studies. Between 2012-2015, 39 technology teaching units were published and 325 teachers took part in 18 workshops. Evaluation of the project showed that many teachers used the training material in class. The hope is that more and improved technical education in school will lead to more engineering students and therefore more engineers in Germany who can fill the current engineer's gap. The project will continue this year focusing on advanced training for teachers as well as the development of further technical and project-oriented teaching material.