diff --git a/DigitalData.Core.Application/DIExtensions.cs b/DigitalData.Core.Application/DIExtensions.cs
index 2000121..31983f6 100644
--- a/DigitalData.Core.Application/DIExtensions.cs
+++ b/DigitalData.Core.Application/DIExtensions.cs
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 using AutoMapper;
 using DigitalData.Core.Contracts.Application;
 using DigitalData.Core.Contracts.Infrastructure;
-using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
 using Microsoft.IdentityModel.Tokens;
-using System.Configuration;
 
 namespace DigitalData.Core.Application
 {
@@ -58,11 +57,28 @@ namespace DigitalData.Core.Application
             return services;
         }
 
-        public static IServiceCollection AddDirectorySearchService(this IServiceCollection service)
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Adds the directory search service to the <see cref="IServiceCollection"/>.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="service">The <see cref="IServiceCollection"/> to add services to.</param>
+        /// <param name="directorySearchOptions">
+        /// Optional. An instance of <see cref="DirectorySearchOptions"/> to configure the directory search service.
+        /// If not provided, the options need to be configured separately.
+        /// </param>
+        /// <returns>The updated <see cref="IServiceCollection"/>.</returns>
+        /// <remarks>
+        /// This method adds the necessary services for directory search functionality, including memory caching.
+        /// If <paramref name="directorySearchOptions"/> is not provided, ensure to configure the options separately
+        /// using the <see cref="IOptions{TOptions}"/> pattern.
+        /// </remarks>
+        public static IServiceCollection AddDirectorySearchService(this IServiceCollection service, DirectorySearchOptions? directorySearchOptions = null)
         {
-            service.AddMemoryCache();
-            service.AddScoped<IDirectorySearchService, DirectorySearchService>();
-            return service;
+            if(directorySearchOptions is not null)
+                service.AddSingleton(Options.Create(directorySearchOptions));
+
+            return service
+                .AddMemoryCache()
+                .AddScoped<IDirectorySearchService, DirectorySearchService>();
         }
 
         public static IServiceCollection AddJWTService<TClaimValue>(this IServiceCollection services, Func<TClaimValue, SecurityTokenDescriptor> tokenDescriptorFactory)
diff --git a/DigitalData.Core.Application/DigitalData.Core.Application.csproj b/DigitalData.Core.Application/DigitalData.Core.Application.csproj
index 30d2e29..c47f59a 100644
--- a/DigitalData.Core.Application/DigitalData.Core.Application.csproj
+++ b/DigitalData.Core.Application/DigitalData.Core.Application.csproj
@@ -6,12 +6,6 @@
     <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
-  <ItemGroup>
-    <Compile Remove="NewFolder\**" />
-    <EmbeddedResource Remove="NewFolder\**" />
-    <None Remove="NewFolder\**" />
-  </ItemGroup>
-
   <ItemGroup>
     <PackageReference Include="AutoMapper" Version="13.0.1" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Abstractions" Version="7.0.0" />
diff --git a/DigitalData.Core.Application/DirectorySearchOptions.cs b/DigitalData.Core.Application/DirectorySearchOptions.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a1225c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DigitalData.Core.Application/DirectorySearchOptions.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+namespace DigitalData.Core.Application
+{
+    public class DirectorySearchOptions
+    {
+        public string? ServerName { get; init; }
+
+        public string? Root { get; init; }
+        
+        public int UserCacheExpirationDays { get; init; }
+        
+        public Dictionary<string, string> CustomSearchFilters { get; init; } = new();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/DigitalData.Core.Application/DirectorySearchService.cs b/DigitalData.Core.Application/DirectorySearchService.cs
index 9fe3321..a3494da 100644
--- a/DigitalData.Core.Application/DirectorySearchService.cs
+++ b/DigitalData.Core.Application/DirectorySearchService.cs
@@ -1,12 +1,10 @@
 using DigitalData.Core.Contracts.Application;
-using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis;
 using System.DirectoryServices;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory;
-using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
 using System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement;
-using Microsoft.Extensions.Localization;
 using DigitalData.Core.DTO;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
 
 namespace DigitalData.Core.Application
 {
@@ -20,20 +18,21 @@ namespace DigitalData.Core.Application
         private readonly DateTimeOffset _userCacheExpiration;
         public Dictionary<string, string> CustomSearchFilters { get; }
 
-        public DirectorySearchService(IConfiguration configuration, ILogger<DirectorySearchService> logger, IMemoryCache memoryCache)
+        public DirectorySearchService(IOptions<DirectorySearchOptions> options, IMemoryCache memoryCache)
         {
             _memoryCache = memoryCache;
 
-            ServerName = configuration["DirectorySearch:ServerName"] ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("The server name for directory search is not configured. Please specify the 'DirectorySearch:ServerName' in the configuration.");
+            var dirSearchOptions = options.Value;
 
-            Root = configuration["DirectorySearch:Root"] ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("The root for directory search is not configured. Please specify the 'DirectorySearch:Root' in the configuration.");
+            ServerName = dirSearchOptions.ServerName ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("The server name for directory search is not configured. Please specify the 'DirectorySearch:ServerName' in the configuration.");
+
+            Root = dirSearchOptions.Root ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("The root for directory search is not configured. Please specify the 'DirectorySearch:Root' in the configuration.");
 
             SearchRootPath = $"LDAP://{ServerName}/{Root}";
+            
+            CustomSearchFilters = dirSearchOptions.CustomSearchFilters;
 
-            var customSearchFiltersSection = configuration.GetSection("DirectorySearch:CustomSearchFilters");
-            CustomSearchFilters = customSearchFiltersSection.Get<Dictionary<string, string>>() ?? new();
-
-            var dayCounts = configuration.GetValue<int>("DirectorySearch:UserCacheExpirationDays");
+            var dayCounts = dirSearchOptions.UserCacheExpirationDays;
             if (dayCounts == default)
                 _userCacheExpiration = default;
             else