Prof. Dr. English is a biochemist and was until recently director of the Center for Industrial Biotechnology (CIB)" at the University and Technical University of Lübeck. He is a professor of biotechnology (natural product chemistry). He has a large number of publications and third-party funded projects in this area with the chemical , pharmaceutical and food industries.

Prof. Dr. English will contribute to the proposed project with his expertise in the chemistry and industrial application of polysaccharides. The focus here is on the encapsulation of active ingredients and bacteria with hydrogels. This includes both the chemical-analytical characterization of the polymers and the encapsulation strategy with the bacteria. Commercial polysaccharides such as alginates and carrageenans will first be investigated as hydrogels.

In addition, different concentrations of nutrients, water and protective substances must be set in the capsules in order to ensure the stable viability of the encapsulated rhizobia for more than 6 months.

After the bacteria have been encapsulated, the suitability of common drying processes (freeze drying, vacuum drying, spray drying, fluidized bed drying) for storage and application must be examined for the formulation. An important practical aspect when using these methods is the reduction of the drought stress that occurs on the bacteria through specific protective substances.

Finally, the aim is to find a stable formulation that, in addition to the stably encapsulated rhizobia, also contains micro-clover seeds so that a corresponding granulate can be used.