[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/10913\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E As microscopic materials proliferate, ensuring they are safe is a priority\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile others might dream big, Dr Otmar Schmid dreams small. That\u2019s because he works on nanomaterials, which are so tiny they\u2019re invisible to the naked eye.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDemand around the world for nanomaterials is growing. Industries such as electronics, energy, food, medicine and transport rely on nanomaterials to make a host of technological advances.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENew world\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENanomaterials include synthetic types \u2013 made for example from metals or carbon \u2013 or naturally occurring versions such as ash and cellulose. They\u2019re used in products ranging from computers and clothes to bicycles and paints.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGiven the waves they\u2019re creating in numerous manufacturing sectors, nanomaterials are regarded by some as the basis of a new industrial revolution. By influencing the interactions among atoms, these materials hold the promise of myriad new products ranging from better medicines to cleaner energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, they already increase the amount of electricity generated by solar panels and improve the durability of construction materials. They could just as well lead to faster computing, self-cleaning clothes and more customised healthcare.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded for scientific advances in nanotechnology, with three researchers from Europe winning the award in 2016 and three US-based ones claiming it in 2023.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYet these materials have such microscopic components that traditional rules on product safety might no longer apply.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is a whole new world opening up with these new materials,\u2019 said Schmid, head of the pulmonary aerosol group at the Helmholtz Research Centre in Munich, Germany. \u2018Many have different properties than conventional materials, which may alter their risk for human health. This doesn\u2019t mean that nanomaterials are necessarily more dangerous, but it means that we need different methods to see whether there is cause for concern.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EThere is a whole new world opening up with these new materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Otmar Schmid, HARMLESS\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchmid and colleagues are pioneering ways to determine when nanomaterials become a safety risk \u2013 and when companies and governments need to take action.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We need to engineer these materials in such a way that risk is minimised,\u2019 said Miguel A. Ba\u00f1ares, research professor at the Spanish National Research Council, or CSIC. \u2018This needs to be top of mind during the design phase.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBa\u00f1ares led a research project that received EU funding to develop computer models capable of predicting whether a nanomaterial could be hazardous. The project, called\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/814426\u0022\u003ENanoInformaTIX\u003C\/a\u003E, wrapped up in February 2023 after four years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBa\u00f1ares stressed the importance of the whole area of research by comparing nanomaterials to sand.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Imagine if you have a closed bottle of sand,\u2019 he said. \u2018If you open that bottle, nothing will happen. If, however, you open a bottle with nanoparticles in it, just removing the lid will spread the particles. So you might, for example, breathe them in.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStaying ahead of the curve\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn sum, nanomaterials have a different \u201crisk profile\u201d than traditional materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We predict and model the properties of the nanomaterial,\u2019 said Ba\u00f1ares. \u2018In this way, we can better understand how they will interact with the environment and the human body.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESuch information can be useful for companies when designing these materials and for regulators when weighing product safety.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, regulatory regimes in Europe and elsewhere have been updated to cover simple nanomaterials. The challenge is to ensure rules keep pace with the development of the next generation of nanomaterials, which will have more components and greater complexity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn nanomaterials, the smallest units are less than 100 nanometres. That\u2019s a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018You need electron microscopes to make it visible,\u2019 said Schmid.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENext generation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether with a colleague named Dr Tobias Stoeger, Schmid coordinates an EU-funded research project to ensure that future nanomaterials are safe.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EWe need to engineer these materials in such a way that risk is minimised.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Miguel A. Ba\u00f1ares, NanoInformaTIX\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECalled\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/953183\u0022\u003EHARMLESS\u003C\/a\u003E, the project runs for four years until the end of January 2025 and is focusing on materials with new shapes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We\u2019re developing measurement methods and modelling techniques,\u2019\u0026nbsp;said Schmid. \u2018With them, we and others can see how much risk a material represents.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe used the example of batteries to highlight the research and regulatory challenge, saying they have an \u2018enormous amount\u2019 of chemical complexity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There are billions of parameters that can be changed to optimise the performance but which can also turn out to be hazardous,\u2019 said Schmid.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENanomaterials can be risky only when present in certain quantities or when applied together with other materials. Learning more about the right amounts and combinations for nanomaterials is a priority for HARMLESS.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is a knowledge gap,\u2019 said Schmid. \u2018We need to understand the underlying biological mechanisms associated with these materials. If we know this, we can decide what safe levels of exposure are.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESafe by design\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA goal is to ensure safety in the design phase of new nanomaterials.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECalled \u201cSafe and Sustainable by Design\u201d, or SSbD, this would avoid the current situation where companies create materials first and assess their potential risks later.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Companies need to make safe and sustainable products from the very beginning,\u2019 said Schmid. \u2018You don\u2019t want to waste money producing something that turns out to be hazardous.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2022, the European Commission published an SSbD\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/op.europa.eu\/en\/publication-detail\/-\/publication\/eb0a62f3-031b-11ed-acce-01aa75ed71a1\/language-en\u0022\u003Ereport\u003C\/a\u003E on chemicals and materials to establish a framework for further action by regulators and companies in this area.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe report and projects like HARMLESS and NanoInformaTIX highlight the need for governments and industries to work together on the future safety of nanomaterials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHand in hand\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEU research projects provide regulators with information to sharpen their own knowledge of the materials and stay a step ahead of what is a rapidly evolving market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Regulators depend on their knowledge,\u2019 said Ba\u00f1ares. \u2018It\u2019s very important that the information we gather is presented in an understandable way to them.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the same time, new nanomaterials are often so complex that some responsibility for safety will remain with the companies themselves, according to Schmid.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018These materials are incredibly advanced,\u2019 he said. \u2018They\u2019re just very hard to regulate in advance.\u2019\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. 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