Category Group

Long life to Queen and Kings 2025 !

We wish to welcome M. Vincent Paillard to our goup.  Vincent joined the group on October 15, 2024,  as a PhD student for the next 4 years. Vincent will works on Silver and its antimicrobial effect on food, packaging, and… Continue Reading →

Congratulatulations to justine for her PhD ! Congratulations to Justine V. Schwarte for the successful defense of her PhD thesis in chemistry with the title: “Towards understanding and combating bacterial resistanc: metallo-β-lactamase enzymes and new antibacterial compounds” on 6th of… Continue Reading →

We wish to welcome Mr. Yann Antony to our group!  Mr. Yann Antony joined the group on April 2, 2024, as a scientific visitor for the next 3 months.

4-[(E)-2-(1-Pyrenyl)Vinyl]Pyridine Complexes: How to Modulate the Toxicity of Heavy Metal Ions to Target Microbial InfectionsJ. V. Schwarte, A. Crochet, K. M. Fromm.  Molecules 2024, 29, 1565. DOI: 10.3390/molecules29071565

We wish to welcome Mr. Luca Manciocchi to our group!  Mr. Luca Manciocchi joined the group on January 8, 2024, as a scientific visitor (https://lima.unistra.fr/) for the next 3 weeks.

Long life the Queens !

A delegation of chemistry and biology students was able to meet and discuss with Nobel laureate Jacques Dubochet after his lecture organized by the Museum of Natural History of Fribourg. Thank you, Jacques Dubochet for sharing your life as scientist… Continue Reading →

Fixative effect of 2-oxo-2-phenylacetates in fine fragrance and eau-de-toilette applicationsD. L. Berthier, J. Girard, K. M. Fromm, A. Herrmann. Flavour Fragr J. 2023; 00: 1-10. doi:10.1002/ffj.3769 

We wish to welcome Ms. Chloé Morin-Payé to our goup.  Chloé joined the group on November 1, 2023,  as a PhD for the next 4 years.

For the edition of Explora 2023, Katharina has propose 2 shows (D, F).

Dr. Fabienne Gschwind was back to Fribourg, she had gives a presentation: From Mine to Battery – how are cathode materials made?(Bonus: What does it take to bring new battery material to mass production?)” Fabienne is now in Umicore (Battery… Continue Reading →

Oksana and Antoine have present her works a the NCCR retreat in Charmey

We wish to welcome Ms. Claudia Tringali to our goup.  Claudia joined the group on September 1, 2023,  as a PhD for the next 4 years.

Two talks by Antoine and Alexandre and two posters by Jocelyn and Salem – and one poster by former group member Atena at the 2023 SCS Fall meeting in Bern!

Alexandre won a poster prize on the 16th International Symposium on Applied Bioinorganic Chemistry (ISABC 2023) in  Ioannina (Greece). Congrats Pitchoune !!

Agonist and Franck tutorial’s : “Photophysical Properties of Anthracene Derivatives” (here ) is highlight by Photochem journal. (link)

Katharina, Bernd, Alexandre and Salem are at Ioannina (Greece) for the 16th International Symposium on Applied Bioinorganic Chemistry (ISABC 2023)

Fromm group had participated to the “Nuits des musées 2023”, we have proposed different activities in our “Laboratoires des saveurs” hosted by the “Musée d’histoire naturelle de Fribourg”. Thanks to Central lab and Aurélien for the preparations and to Anne,… Continue Reading →

Katharina has been elected president of the University. At its meeting on 17 May 2023, the Senate formally elected Katharina Fromm as Rector of the University of Fribourg. It was proposed and aboded by the Senate one Plenary Assembly on… Continue Reading →

Photophysical Properties of Anthracene DerivativesA. Kastrati, F. Oswald, A. Scalabre, K. M. Fromm. photochem 2023, 3(2), 227-273. DOI: 10.3390/photochem3020015 

Happy Birthday to 20 years old ISIS in Strasbourg.

The Fromm group joins the Department of Chemistry in thanking Emerith for her services to our Department and group. After more than 42 years of service, she will retire now. Emerith, it was great to have you with us for… Continue Reading →

The Fromm group congratulates this year’s graduates in Chemistry – and of course especially the ones who joined the Fromm group, Alexandre and Jocelyn 😊!

Stimuli-Responsive and Antibacterial Cellulose-Chitosan Hydrogels Containing Polydiacetylene NanosheetsE. S. Madivoli, J. V. Schwarte, P. G. Kareru, A. N. Gachanja, K. M. Fromm. Polymers 2023, 15(5), 1062. DOI: 10.3390/polym15051062

Chances and challenges of long-distance electron transfer for cellular redox reactionsB. Giese, M. Karamash, K. M. Fromm. FEBS Letters 2023, 597, 166-173. DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.14493

Salem has started a PhD in our group the 03.01.2023, he will work on Electron transfer processes in Geobacter sulfurreducens.

Thanks to all, we wish you a merry chrismas.

Edwin won a poster prize at the Commonwealth Chemistry Conference. https://commonwealthchemistry.org/2022-winners-of-commonwealth-chemistry-posters/

Jocelyn has started a PhD in our group the 01.09.2022, he will work on Multimetallic compounds: sensing and antimicrobial properties.

We wish to welcome Dr. Boopathi Appakutti Achuthan to our group.

Congratulations to Franck, who has been accepted to take part in the first ever PharmaCamp, where the top young talent meets pharmaceutical industry, as one out of 25 participants. The event will take place in Bern on 15-16th September, 2022…. Continue Reading →

Alexandre attended recently the “Roche Continents 2022”, as one of 60 international participants from all over Europe. Congratulations! This program brings together young, talented students from European universities for a one-week program to challenge the boundaries of their thinking around… Continue Reading →

Alexandre has started a PhD in our group the 01.08.2022, he will continue his master work on Mechanism of antimicrobial activity of silver.

First conference for Alexandre, with a flash poster presentation and a poster prize. Congratulations.

It is a great pleasure to announce that two Chemistry @ UniFr students won the prize for best PhD speaker presentation (Florian Marquenet) and best flash poster presentation (Alexandre Bianchi)! Together with Justine Schwarte and the conference chair of the… Continue Reading →

Florian presents as the 6th speaker at the very first conference on metal-binding peptides.

Justine is the 4th presenter at the first ever conference on metal-binding peptides! Well done!

A department retreat was organized Wednesday, the morning was dedicated to discussion on the department’s future, the afternoon was dedicated to group cohesion with a a game in Fribourg.

Ali Kaiss just won the 1st prize of oral presentation for young scientists at the international conference for coordination and bioinorganic chemistry, ICCBIC-28, held in Smolenice Castle from June 5-June 9 2022. Congrats!!!!🎈 

Katharina is on the advisory board for a new book series about the lives of famous chemists – these books are not only autobiographies, but also highlight on the process of creativity! https://l-i-c.org/

A part of the group is presenting their research in the XXVIII. International conference on coordination and bioinorganic chemistry in Smolenice, Slovenia. https://anorganika.online/iccbic/home.htm

Today, Prof Bernd Giese presented bioinorganic chemistry made in Fribourg at the Nobel Symposium near Stockholm. Other big names on the program: Steve Lippard, Jackie Barton, Ed Solomon, Judith Klinman, Marc Fontecave, Alison Butler and many more! Fantastic line-up!

Today, PhD and MSc students following the lecture of Solid State Chemistry of our department of chemistry at Unifr visited the metallurgical company Extramet in Plaffeien to learn about hard metal production and do some hands-on analytics.

Katharina is in Bilanz, a Swiss magasin. PDF here

the Charity show organize by Kataharina, was in the local newspaper : “La liberté“. Thanks again to all for your help. https://www.laliberte.ch/info-regionale/solidarite/chimistes-de-l-uni-de-fribourg-mobilises-pour-l-ukraine-638923

With the help of prof. Christian Bochet (Chemistry), Alessandro Puotti (Biology), Jörn Dengjel (Biology), her group and Aurélien, Katharina organised a show to raise money for Ukraine! Thanks to all of us, we were able to raise 4’000 CHF which… Continue Reading →

Complexation Behavior of Pinene–Bipyridine Ligands towards Lanthanides: The Influence of the Carboxylic ArmA. B. Solea, L. Yang, A. Crochet, K. M. Fromm, C. Allemann, O. Mamula, Chemistry 2022, 4, 1, 18-30. DOI:10.3390/chemistry4010002   Special Issue to Celebrate the Life and… Continue Reading →

It is a great pleasure that we could hold the Christmas Show today, starring Christian Bochet, Jörn Dengjel, Alex Puoti, Baptiste Hildebrand and Aurélien Crochet (and myself). Thanks to Anne Schuwey and the apprentice as well as Aurélien for the… Continue Reading →

Katharina was live on TV and Radio this past Sunday! See the interview (in German) here: https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/sendung/persoenlich?id=02072b83-a890-4aae-8c9f-39e245382273 If you only want to listen: https://www.srf.ch/audio/persoenlich/chemieprofessorin-katharina-fromm-und-starkoch-alain-baechler?id=12101102

Katharina was just on a delegation with State Councilor Curty to Mulhouse where a letter of intent was signed with the French delegation from the Grand Est.

Great examples from industrial process chemistry helps to prepare students for life in industry! Thanks SCS!

Jocelyn Pradegan, Master student, Pyrene building blocks for luminescent coordination polymers Baptiste Chapuis, Bachelor student, Anthracene derivatives synthesis as building blocks for luminescent coordination polymers

On October 14th 2021, the third kick-off meeting of the platforms between Fribourg highschools and the university of Fribourg took place, with one highlight being the launch of Leonardo, for talented maths pupils, presented here by Prof. Ioan Manolescu.

The Fromm Group has reached more than 10’000 citations, out of which 5’500 over the past five years! Hooray! Our two most cited papers are about antibacterial properties of nanoparticles, cited >2’000 times, and about coordination polymers, cited >1’500 times,… Continue Reading →

We wish to welcome Mr. Alexandre Bianchi to our group!  Alexandre is back in the group  as masterand.

NMR reveals the interplay between SilE and SilB model peptides in the context of silver resistanceL. Babel, M.-H. Nguyen, C. Mittelheisser, M. Martin, K. M. Fromm, O. Walker, M. Hologne; Chem. Comm. 2021, 57, 8726-8729. (cover) DOI: 10.1039/D1CC02597J

7-OH quinoline Schiff bases: are they the long awaited tautomeric bistable switches ?A. Georgiev, D. Yordanov, N. Ivanova, V. Deneva, N. Vassilev, F. Kamounah, M. Pittelkow, A. Crochet, K. M. Fromm, L. Antonov; Dyes and Pigment 2021, 195, 109739. DOI:10.1016/j.dyepig.2021.109739

We wish to welcome Mr. Justas Mikutavicius  to our group!  Justas  joined the group  as science visitor (NNCR intern) for the next 3 months.

Congratulatulations to Edwin for his PhD with awards ! Congratulations to Edwin Madivoli for the successful defense of his PhD thesis in chemistry. Edwin was host in our laboratory with the help of the Swiss Excellence Stipend program.

We congratulate our alumna Dr Jacinthe Gagnon for her new job up at Group Marcelle where she is now the Regulatory Affairs Specialist for the cosmetic products! Wishing her all the best and satisfaction for this new step in her career!

We congratulate Prof. Liudmil Antonov, collaboration partner over many years, for his receiving the Grand National Pythagoras Prize 2021. The Pythagoras Prizes are the most prestigious Scientific awards in Bulgaria, frequently referred as the “Bulgarian Nobel Prizes”. https://bnt.bg/news/nagradi-za-prinos-v-naukata-pitagor-2021-295515news.html (see ca…. Continue Reading →

Congratulatulations to Atena for her PhD ! Congratulations to Atena Solea for the successful defense of her PhD thesis in chemistry with the title: “Pinene-pyridine derivatives: synthesis, self-assembly and sensing applications” on 24th of March 2021. This PhD project is… Continue Reading →

General Chemistry: Large Classes, Mixed Public, Three Languages (A Personal Experience)K. M. Fromm; Chimia 2021, 75, 39-44. doi:10.2533/chimia.2021.39

Chemistry Europe Fellows Katharina M. Fromm and Karl Gademann on interview in Chimia. http://docserver.ingentaconnect.com/deliver/connect/scs/00094293/v74n12/s20.pdf?expires=1614616807&id=0000&titleid=10984&checksum=1A00C7D584E6DFC46BB9BEC6FFCD873F

On January 14th, Katharina’s participation to the mini-symposium on Metalloagents in antimicrobial resistance was a great success with approximatively 80 participants. Katharna’s presentation was “Agent Silver – with a Licence to Kill: Compounds, Nanomaterials and Mechanism of Action”

Chemistry Views article about the Chemistry Europe Fellows: https://www.chemistryviews.org/details/ezine/11284547/A_European_Chemist_If_Not_A_World_Citizen.html Tis article on Chemistry Views about the Chemistry Europe Fellows, is based on the interviews that Katharina and the other Fellows gave to their Society journals. 

On January 14th, Katharina will participate to the mini-symposium on Metalloagents in antimicrobial resistance. 10:00 am (Fribourg Time )/ 17:00 pm (Hong Kong Time) “Agent Silver – with a Licence to Kill: Compounds,Nanomaterials and Mechanism of Action”, Prof. Katharina Fromm… Continue Reading →

Katharina was particpating to the online meeting of “Science after Noon – Wissenschaftskultur für die Zukunft”. article: https://a-plus-full.kiwi.novu.ch/site/assets/files/12670/portra_t_wissenschaftskultur.pdf meeting:

Every Christmas, Prof. Katharina Fromm, with the support of many different members of the group is launching a new spectacle full of chemical experiments, smoke and color! Video on Youtube: here

On the Ni0.75Ti1.5Fe0.5(PO4)3/C NASICON-type electrode materialM. Srout, M. Amou, K. M. Fromm, I. Saadoune; J. Electroanal. Chem. 2020, 114913, In Press. DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2020.114913

Our 200th paper: New Antimicrobial Strategies Based on Metal ComplexesM. Claudel, J. V. Schwarte, K. M. Fromm; Chemistry 2020, 2(4), 849-899. DOI: 10.3390/chemistry2040056

Alma&Georges (UniFr Magazin) proposed an advent calendar. The idea is to spread a bit of peotry, reflection, laught in this troubled period or simply a short break during or fullfilled days. Katharina is the first storyteller ! Alma&Georges: https://www3.unifr.ch/alma-georges/articles/2020/adventskalender-2020-1-gedankenfunke-von-katharina-fromm?lang=de Facebook :… Continue Reading →

New Antimicrobial Strategies Based on Metal ComplexesM. Claudel, J. V. Schwarte, K. M. Fromm; Chemistry 2020, 2(4), 849-899. DOI: 10.3390/chemistry2040056  

Katharina was invited to the aee suisse meeting 2020 as vice-rector of Research and Innovation: https://aee-congres.ch/fr/ Her presentation is available here

Katharina has participate to a debate on technology transfert with Fribourg Network: “Osez le transfert technologique – Wagen Sie den Technologietransfer” More information on Fribourg Network website: https://2019.fribourgnetwork.ch/en/2020/08/27/live-debate-on-youtube/ You could also found the debate on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1529&v=5YLTewBBZUM&feature=emb_title

Merci pour tout Michel, nous te souhaitons une bonne retraite !

Happy Birthday to our Postprof!!!Happy Birthday to our Postprof!!! Special Issue “Radically Different—A Themed Issue in Honor of Professor Bernd Giese on the Occasion of His 80th Birthday” https://www.mdpi.com/journal/chemistry/special_issues/themed_issue_bernd

Katharina has received the honour of the European Chemical Societies Publishing as Chemistry Europe Fellows 2018/2019.

Atena will participate as speaker at the “Café du jeudi”: Les armes chimiques et leur détection.

Katharina was invited to the radio show CQFD, on RTS1. Des batteries à base de bactéries

Congratulatulations to Mohammed for his PhD !

The new review of Katharina in now available online: Chemistry of alkaline earth metals: It is not all ionic and definitely not boring! K. M. Fromm, Coord. Chem. Reviews 2020, 408, 213193. DOI: 10.1016/j.ccr.2020.213193 abstract: “Some scientists might consider group 2 chemistry as “boring, closed… Continue Reading →

Thank you all so much for your contributions! It was a wonderful day!

Three times “Full House” Today, the Chemistry Department of the University of Fribourg has hosted the German and French speaking classes of the Colleges St. Michel and Gambach. In total, some 750 pupils, distributed over one show in German and… Continue Reading →

The fastest rising institutions in materials science: Unifr ranks 46th worldwide! https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03766-z

One day after the press conference with Guy Parmelin and Matthias Egger, Katharina gave an interview to the Swiss Radio SRF1, „Tagesgespräch“ with Marc Lehmann and Gabriela Hug. https://m.srf.ch/play/radio/tagesgespraech/audio/100-millionen-fuer-sechs-forschungsschwerpunkte—ein-luxus?id=b70b6b6c-4156-41be-ba9e-62b438c2d1d8

This year the Xmass show was : Once upon a time… in Fribourg. Thanks to all for coming, we hope that you have appreciate the show.    

Surface modifications of positive-electrode materials for lithium ion batteries N. H. Kwon, J. Conder, M. Srout, K. M. Fromm, Chimia, 2019, 73, 880-893. DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2019.880

Congratulations to Michela who received her postdoctoral stipend from SNF to go to Australia!

Congratulation to the Dr. Serhii Vasylevskyi for his PhD thesis.