Nanomaterials safety explored at Spanish conference

The safety of nanomaterials will be the topic of discussion at a scientific event in Spain.

Experts will present their work at the event, ‘New tools and approaches for nanomaterial safety assessment’, as well as discussing opportunities for future research programs.

Engineered nanomaterials (ENM), which are defined as having at least one dimension smaller than 100 nm, have attracted a great deal of attention during recent years, due to their many technologically interesting properties.

However, some of these properties have given rise to concern that they may be harmful to humans. As such, creating commercial products using ENM requires rigorous testing and there are many barriers to overcome.

Scientists at the meeting are developing techniques that will make the testing process for ENM up to 30 times faster, using cutting-edge systems biology approaches and high-throughput screening methods.

Testing just one nanoparticle to assess its impact on human and environmental health takes in the region of two years, while further life-cycle analysis (LCA) to assess how a particle may behave over the lifespan of a particular product can further delay product development.

Speeding up this testing process will have a dramatic impact on the European economy, while also safeguarding the health of European workers, citizens, wildlife and the environment.

It is hoped that by working together, the group will be able to greatly enhance Europe’s nano industry by improving:

• hazard assessment along the life cycle of nano products;
• exposure assessment along the life cycle of nano products;
• risk assessment and management;
• systems biology approaches in nanosafety;
• categorisation and grouping of nanomaterials;
• nanosafety infrastructure;
• safety by design.

The event is jointly organised by five major EC-funded projects: NANOSOLUTIONS, SUN, NanoMILE, GUIDEnano and eNanoMapper.

It will be held on 7–9 February 2017 in Malaga, Spain.