Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) invites proposals for upcoming studies aimed at addressing knowledge gaps for nanomaterials within the EU market, such as: Questions related to the health and safety aspects of nanomaterials, including hazard and risk assessment; Specific issues surrounding the uses, associated risks, and benefits of nanomaterials; or Information about markets of nanomaterials. EUON notes that studies are based on desk research and surveys and should...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service announced on April 9, 2024, that ARS researchers published a study revealing the ability of cotton gin waste to synthesize and generate silver nanoparticles in the presence of silver ions. ARS states that cotton gin waste, also known as cotton gin trash, “is a byproduct of the cotton ginning process and occurs when the cotton fibers are separated from the seed boll.” Using a simple heat treatment of cotton gin waste...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted a research update on April 2, 2024, entitled “Advancing Environmental Safety: Celebrating 20 years of Nanotechnology Research at EPA.” The item states that EPA collaborates across federal and state governments, industry, and the international community on nano-related research. In addition to its in-house nanotechnology research, EPA supports nano-related research through external grant programs such as the Science to Achieve Results...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Nanotechnology Research Center’s (NTRC) Field Studies Team (the Team) evaluates advanced materials and processes in workplaces ranging from large manufacturers, research and development labs, and government facilities, to schools, libraries, and other non-industrial settings. An April 1, 2024, NIOSH Science Blog item entitled “Celebrating 20 Years of Research: Highlights From NIOSH’s Nanotechnology Research Center’s Field...

On March 15, 2024, the European Commission (EC) published in the Official Journal of the European Union an amendment to the Cosmetics Regulation. The following nanomaterials have been added to Annex II (substances prohibited in cosmetic products). From February 1, 2025, cosmetic products containing these substances shall not be placed on the European Union (EU) market. From November 1, 2025, cosmetic products containing these substances shall not be made available on the EU market:...

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published the report of the first Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) workshop on NanoCarriers. The report states that NanoCarriers (nano-scaled structures loaded with an active substance) “promise benefits for various fields of applications but they also present great diversity in terms of chemical composition, structural features, and applications.” The June 14-15, 2023, workshop included governmental...

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) is organizing a series of National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) webinars on nanometrology, metrological challenges, and recent advances in three topical areas: food, agriculture, and environment; nanoscale medical and pharmaceutical products; and nanoparticles in electronics. Registration is open for the fourth webinar in the series, Metrology of Nanoparticles in Electronics, which will be held April 5, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. (EDT). The...

On March 5, 2024, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) held a symposium entitled “Enabling the Nanotechnology Revolution: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act.” The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) posted a readout of the symposium on March 6, 2024. According to OSTP, during the symposium, “leaders from academia, government, and industry spoke about U.S. success in nanotechnology and future...

On March 5, 2024, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) published its supplement to the President’s 2024 budget request. NNI states that the President’s 2024 budget requests an “all-time record” of $2.16 billion for it, with a sustained investment in foundational research that will fuel new discoveries and increase investments in application-driven research and development (R&D) to advance technologies of the future and address national priorities. The President’s 2024...

In a March 4, 2024, blog item entitled “Sweating the Small Stuff: 20 years of NIOSH Research on Engineering Controls for Nanotechnology,” the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) highlighted the control approaches that it has recommended, “based on extensive research on the pharmaceutical, coatings, and cosmetic industries”: General Safe Practices for Working with Engineered Nanomaterials in Research Laboratories (2012): Provides approaches to working with...

The February 2024 issue of Nature Nanotechnology includes an article entitled “How nanoparticles are counted in global regulatory nanomaterial definitions.” Authored by Kirsten Rasmussen, Juan Riego Sintes, and Hubert Rauscher, European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC), the article examines differences between the definitions in various jurisdictions and how to achieve a global definition. The jurisdictions reviewed include Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development...

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) is organizing a series of National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) webinars on nanometrology, metrological challenges, and recent advances in three topical areas: food, agriculture, and environment; nanoscale medical and pharmaceutical products; and electronics. Registration is open for the third webinar in the series, Nanoscale Medical and Pharmaceutical Products, which will be held March 1, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. (EST). The webinar will...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the latest edition of the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials -- Tour de Table. The Tour de Table compiles information provided by delegations on the occasion of the 23rd meeting of the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) in June 2023. The Tour de Table lists U.S. developments on the human health and environmental safety of nanomaterials....

On February 1, 2024, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted a NIOSH Science Blog item entitled “NIOSH Global Collaborations on Workplace Safety of Nanomaterials.” According to the blog item, NIOSH’s global collaboration efforts “build on the strong NIOSH [Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC)] research and guidance efforts contributing to the global technical information and guidance about protecting workers and aim to facilitate international...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on February 5, 2024, that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has published two new ex-ante publicity notices for two service contracts: “Survey on state of the art of carbon-based nanomaterial detection and quantification in environmental and biological matrices”: ECHA expects to launch a call for tender to initiate an EUON systematic survey on the current state of the art for carbon-based nanomaterial detection and...

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) is organizing a series of National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) webinars on nanometrology, metrological challenges, and recent advances in three topical areas: food, agriculture, and environment; nanoscale medical and pharmaceutical products; and electronics. Registration is open for the second webinar in the series, Nanometrology for Food, Agriculture, and Environment, which will be held February 2, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. (EST). The...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has commissioned, as part of the activities of the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON), a study on the collection and review of information on nanomaterial-based and nano-enabled plant protection products, biocidal products, and fertilizing products. The study includes a systematic literature and documentary review on nanoforms of (active) substances and delivery systems of the corresponding formulations used in biocidal products, plant...

Nano4EARTH will hold a roundtable discussion on January 24, 2024, on nanotechnology-enabled catalysts that could help achieve climate goals. The discussion aims to identify fundamental knowledge gaps, needs, and opportunities to advance current climate mitigation goals through the use of nanocatalysts in industrial processes. According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), by convening stakeholders from different sectors, backgrounds, and expertise, the goal of the roundtable “is to...

The Malta Initiative is conducting a survey to collect input on priorities where the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Test Guidelines (TG) and Guidance Documents (GD) need actions to make them applicable to nanomaterials and other advanced materials. The survey includes a preliminary list of suggested topics. Respondents can choose specific topics upon which to comment. The survey will close January 12, 2024. According to the NanoSafety Cluster (NSC), the Malta...

On January 3, 2024, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted a NIOSH Science Blog item entitled “Looking to the Past and the Future of NIOSH Nanotechnology Guidance.” As the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) celebrates its 20th anniversary, it is looking back over two decades of published guidance to help reduce worker exposures to engineered nanomaterials and discussing the needs for future research efforts. The NTRC Strategic Plan NIOSH published...