A number of H2020 funded projects are working on various aspects of the Safe-by-Design (SbD) concept and all rely upon industry to understand its meaning and how to use the tools being developed in these projects.
Disseminating this knowledge to a wider audience will help in the acceptance and uptake of SbD by companies and will also allow the projects to learn more about stakeholder needs.
A workshop that allows knowledge exchange between various SbD projects as well as listening and learning from  different stakeholder groups (industry, academia, regulators, insurance, consumers) can help adjusting research, dissemination and exploitation strategies accordingly. This ensures project outcomes and tools are relevant long after the project has officially concluded.

Click here for the workshop flyer or to registrate.

A joint final conference of the five major FP7 projects NANOSOLUTIONS, SUN, NanoMILE, GUIDEnano, and eNanoMapper.

The conference will present the main results achieved in the course of the projects fostering a discussion about their impact in the nanosafety field and possibilities for future research programmes. The conference welcomes consortium partners from the organizing projects, as well as representatives from other EU projects, industry and government, civil society and media.

More information: http://www.nmsaconference.eu/.

Abstract submission until 30/09/2016.

Ambition, format, goal

10 years of investment in nanosafety science by the European Commission via Framework Programmes 6 and 7 has led to an enormous body of data and expertise on nanosafety science in Europe.  To ensure continuity of effort, and facilitate the translation from nanosafety science to standardisation, industry and regulation within Horizon2020, the flagship projects on mechanisms of nanomaterials interactions with living systems, NanoMILE and NanoSOLUTIONS organize a workshop on 13-14.09.2016, with the goal to develop a consensus paper on scientific best practice and approaches for high throughput & “omics” approaches to nanosafety assessment.  

The workshop will consist of keynote presentations followed by break-out discussion to reach consensus on selected topics, based around a prepared discussion document.  Summaries from the discussion break-out groups will be presented back to the group in plenary for final discussion.

Outputs from the workshop will be:

–        White paper & associated summary publication

–        Agreed terminology for the topic and agreed protocols and approaches

–        Agreed understanding of current limitations of the methods / approaches in terms of their applicability to different NMs classes

–        Plan for benchmarking activities and securing buy-in of projects with capabilities to achieve this.

This 2-day event will be followed by an EU NanoSafety Cluster meeting, at the same venue, on 14.09.2016.  Registration for the NSC meeting to Elina Drakvik (Elina.Drakvik@ttl.fi).

Location

Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

Further information / to express interest in participating:

Nanosafety Forum for young scientists

The NanoSafety Cluster is hosting a “Nanosafety Forum for Young Scientists”. The event will take place in Visby, Sweden, on 15-16.09.2016, complemented by opportunities to meet experts and senior scientists. Prior to the Forum for young scientists the NSC meeting will be held on the 14th.

The event is an open Forum for scientists in the nanosafety research field including scientific sessions with oral presentations from the young scientists and forward looking keynotes from established senior investigators. The goal is to exchange scientific information and visions and to enable young and senior scientists to learn to know each other.

Early bird registration at preferential rate is now extended to 30 July.
Final registration deadline is 15 August 2016.

More information at: http://www.trippus.net/nanosafetyforum2016

Industrial Technologies 2016 (22-24.06.2016, Amsterdam) is the largest networking conference in the field of new production technologies, materials, nanotechnology, biotechnology and digitalisation in Europe, with more than 200 speakers and 1500 attendees.

On the first afternoon, the NanoMILE partner EU-VRi organized a workshop on "Nanosafety: From research to implementation of Risk Management and Safe Innovation in the nanotechnology industry". The workshop presented, illustrated and discussed, through recent and running R&D projects and initiatives, ways and solutions to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and the market. At this workshop, EU-VRi presented outputs from nanosafety research, NanoMILE and other NanoSafety Cluster projects, that will lead to operational tools for the nanotechnology industry.

Please find here the agenda of the workshop.

Please find here the presentations of the workshop.

1. Deng, Z.J., et al., Nanoparticle-induced unfolding of fibrinogen promotes Mac-1 receptor activation and inflammation. Nat Nanotechnol, 2011. 6(1): p. 39-44.

Unraveling the Complexity in the Aging of Nanoenhanced Textiles: A Comprehensive Sequential Study on the Effects of Sunlight and Washing on Silver Nanoparticles

Denise M. Mitrano, Enzo Lombi, Yadira Arroyo Rojas Dasilva, and Bernd Nowack

Abstract:

The scientific understanding of nanoparticle (NP) release and transformations they undergo during the product life cycle is hampered by the narrow scope of many research endeavors in terms of both breadth of variables and completeness of analytical characterization. We conducted a comprehensive suite of studies to reveal overarching mechanisms and parameters for nanosilver transformations either still adhered to the fabric or when released after washing. Laboratory prepared nanoenhanced fabrics were investigated: three Ag variants and one Au used as an unreactive reference to separate mechanical from chemical releases. Sequential combinations of sunlight irradiation and/or washing in seven different detergent formulations was followed by NP characterization divided into two groups: (1) dissolved and particulate matter in the wash solutions and (2) the fraction that remained on the fabric. Analytical techniques included spICP-MS, XANES, TEM, SEM, and total metals analysis of fabric digests and wash water filtrates. Sunlight irradiation stabilizes metallic Ag upon washing. Detergents containing oxidizing agents assisted with Ag particle release but not Au NPs, inferring additional chemical mechanisms. While particle size played some role, the NP capping agent/fabric binder combination was a key factor in release. When particles were released, little alteration in size was observed. The use of well-controlled fabrics, unreactive reference materials, and a life-cycle based experimental regime are paramount to understanding changes in Ag speciation and release upon use of nanoenhanced textiles.

The workshop was organized by INERIS for NanoReg2 with strong participation of the NanoMILE partners Vitrocell and KIT.

The aims of the workshop were to:
- Bring together users of ALI exposure systems
- Make a state-of-the-art on techniques used in ALI exposures: atmosphere generation, exposure techniques at the ALI, cell response/read-out parameters
- Exchange experience (what is done, what are common tools/issues people working on; in which projects)
- Raise discussion on the way to go forward to achieve future implementations of these technologies in a regulatory context (develop guidelines/harmonization/validation)

To achieve these goals, the program included lectures, short presentations, poster session and discussion with a panel of experts.

In an effort to better relate nanomaterial aging procedures to those which they are most likely to undergo during the life cycle of nano-enhanced products, in this paper we describe the various transformations which are possible when exposing Ag engineered nanoparticles to a suite of commercially available washing detergents. While Ag nano transformations and washing of textiles has received considerable attention in recent years, our study is novel in that we (1) used several commercially available detergents allowing us to estimate the various changes possible in individual homes and commercial washing settings; (2) we have continued method development of state of the art nanometrology techniques, including single particle ICP-MS, for the detection and characterization of nanomaterials in complex media; and (3) we were able to provide novel additions to the knowledge base of the environmental nanotechnology research community both in terms of the analytical methods (e.g. the first time particle aggregates have been definitively analyzed via single particle ICP-MS) and broadening the scope of “real world” conditions that should be considered when understanding Ag nanomaterials through the life cycle.

Our findings, which were recently published in the journal Environmental Science and Toxicology, indicate that the washing detergent chemistry shows dramatic differences in particle behavior during the initial wash cycle and has ramifications for the dissolution/transformation potential of the Ag particles over time. The use of silver as an antimicrobial treatment in textiles continues to garnish considerable attention. Last year we published a manuscript in ACS Nano that considered how various silver treatments to textiles (conventional and nano) both release nano-sized material after the wash cycle with similar chemical characteristics. That study essentially conveyed that multiple silver treatments would become more similar through the product life cycle. Our newest work is meant to be a foil to our previous study where we investigate one material under various washing conditions thereby creating more varied silver products as an end result. These findings carry implications on how real world use conditions of one product can be create substantially different transformation pathways of the embedded nanomaterial, encouraging further discussion as to which metrics and characterization factors are most useful when studying “relevant” aged nanomaterials used in future toxicity or environmental fate studies.

The detergent chemistry was found to be the decisive factor that influenced the release and transformations of silver nanomaterials in the textiles we created. In the Venn Diagram above, a few of these points are highlighted. The most significant change occurred when detergents contained oxidizing agents that prompted an oxidative dissolution of the silver particles suspended in solution. So in the wash water, we founded smaller silver particles and, depending on the strength and concentration of the oxidizing agent in the solution, more dissolved silver. Another important parameter was the physical form of the detergent; i.e. powder vs. liquid detergent. In powder detergents there was an increased likelihood of new particle formation from the dissolved material. This is a phenomenon that we also observed in our previous washing studies: that silver nanomaterials can be formed in the washing detergent. Together these studies show that silver material incorporated into the textile (either silver nanomaterials or conventional forms of silver) and the dynamics of the detergent are intertwining factors which can create a suite of silver forms when washing the fabrics.

Beyond simply being an interesting finding in the laboratory and for the scientific community; public interest was also piqued when these topics were presented this year at the American Chemical Society in Denver, Colorado, USA. A local newspaper reporter was present at the meeting and wrote a short popular science article highlighting the topic. The article appeared to gain some traction, as Dr. Denise Mitrano was asked to speak on the local radio and create a podcast on the topic on two different occasions from KSL radio in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Denise M. Mitrano, in NanoMILE Work Package 3: Lyfe cycle evolution of MNMs.

Effects of pH and fulvic acids concentration on the stability of fulvic acids – cerium (IV) oxide nanoparticle complexes. Olena Oriekhova, Serge Stoll, University of Geneva. Chemosphere 144 (2016) 131-137.

Abstract:

The behavior of cerium (IV) oxide nanoparticles has been first investigated at different pH conditions. The point of zero charge was determined as well as the stability domains using dynamic light scattering, nanoparticle tracking analysis and scanning electron microscopy. A baseline hydrodynamic diameter of 180 nm was obtained indicating that individual CeO₂ nanoparticles are forming small aggregates. Then we analyzed the particle behavior at variable concentrations of fulvic acids for three different pH-electrostatic scenarios corresponding to positive, neutral and negative CeO₂ surface charges. The presence of fulvic acids was found to play a key role on the CeO₂ stability via the formation of electrostatic complexes. It was shown that a small amount of fulvic acids (2 mg L⁻¹), representative of environmental fresh water concentrations, is sufficient to stabilize CeO₂ nanoparticles (50 mg L⁻¹). When electrostatic complexes are formed between negatively charged FAs and positively charged CeO₂ NPs the stability of such complexes is obtained with time (up to 7 weeks) as well as in pH changing conditions. Based on zeta potential variations we also found that the fulvic acids are changing the CeO₂ acid-base surface properties. Obtained results presented here constitute an important outcome in the domain of risk assessment, transformation and removal of engineered nanomaterials released into the environment.