All Knowledge & Insights By Date

In April 2018, the International Standardization Organization (ISO) published standard ISO 19007:2018, “Nanotechnologies — In vitro MTS assay for measuring the cytotoxic effect of nanoparticles.”  The standard specifies a method for evaluating the effects of nano-objects and their aggregates and agglomerates on cellular viability using the MTS assay.  The assay design includes performance requirements and control experiments to identify and manage variability in the...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published a March 23, 2018, report entitled Evaluation of in vitro methods for human hazard assessment applied in the OECD Testing Programme for the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials.  The Testing Program for the Testing of Manufactured Nanomaterials tested 11 manufactured nanomaterials to generate information, including their physico-chemical properties, environmental fate, and environmental and mammalian...

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a Federal Register notice on March 1, 2018, announcing that it will hold a public hearing on April 11, 2018, to receive comments about CPSC’s agenda and priorities for fiscal years (FY) 2019-2020.  CPSC’s Fiscal Year 2019 Performance Budget Request to Congress states that CPSC “will continue supporting nanotechnology research, coordinating with other federal agencies to extend limited...

On February 28, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of three Group B -- Antimicrobial Efficacy Test Guidelines, under Series 810, Product Performance Test Guidelines.  The guidelines provide recommendations for the design and execution of laboratory studies to evaluate the effectiveness of antimicrobial pesticides against public health microbial pests.  83 Fed. Reg. 8666.  The three final guidelines are: OCSPP 810.2000 --...

On February 26, 2018, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) issued a call for study topics on nanomaterials.  EUON states that it intends to conduct up to three studies annually to address knowledge gaps about nanomaterials on the EU market.  The studies should be considered of interest for either a specific audience, such as regulators or researchers, but can also be for a wider use such as the general public.  Proposals should address an...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget proposal on February 12, 2018.  According to EPA’s press release, the proposed budget will provide $6.146 billion to support EPA’s new FY 2018-2022 Strategic Plan and mission of protecting human health and the environment.  EPA states that the “Back-to-Basic” agenda set out in the Strategic Plan has three over-arching goals reflecting EPA Administrator...

On February 12, 2018, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) posted its Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Performance Report.  According to the Report, in fiscal year (FY) 2017, CPSC exceeded its target of five collaborations by establishing seven research collaborations on the environmental health and safety of nanomaterials.  The collaborations “will increase knowledge of the potential exposure to consumers from products that contain nanomaterials and explore methods to...

The European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) has opened a call to access its Nanobiotechnology Laboratory.  The Nanobiotechnology Laboratory features state-of-the-art equipped facilities designed to foster interdisciplinary studies, with a special emphasis on the characterization of nanomaterials, nanomedicines, advanced materials and their interactions with biological systems, as well as on the detection, identification, and characterization of nanomaterials in food...

On February 1, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is publishing new guidance that sets forth a tiered approach intended to help manufacturers and EPA determine when the number of field trials necessary to register seed treatment uses can be reduced.  In its memo and attached Seed-Treatment Focus Group (STFG) Guidance Document dated January 26, 2018, EPA states that its Health Effect Divison (HED) has received “multiple waiver requests for seed-treatment...

On January 22, 2018, the White House again delayed the effective date of revisions to the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, referred to as the Common Rule.  Final revisions were published on January 19, 2017.  On September 8, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and 15 other federal departments and agencies published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing revisions to each agency’s codification of the Federal Policy for the...

The German Environment Agency (UBA) has published a report summarizing the contents and outcomes of the October 2017 scientific stakeholder meeting on nanomaterials in the environment.  The meeting focused on the relevant regulatory results of recent German and European research projects on nanomaterials in the environment.  The stakeholder meeting provided a forum for participants to present the state of the knowledge on environmental nanosafety in a regulatory context, as well as to...

In November 2017, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published standard ISO/TS 20787:2017, “Nanotechnologies — Aquatic toxicity assessment of manufactured nanomaterials in saltwater lakes using Artemia sp. Nauplii.”  ISO/TS 20787:2017 specifies a test method, aiming to maximize repeatability and reliability of testing, to determine whether manufactured nanomaterials are toxic to aquatic organisms, specifically Artemia sp. nauplius.  ISO states that ISO/TS...

In December 2017, Germany’s Federal Environment Agency (UBA) published a report entitled Clarification of methodical questions regarding the investigation of nanomaterials in the environment:  Development of a decision support tool for the investigation of nanomaterial’s environmental behaviour based on dispersion behaviour and dissolution in relation to various environmental parameters.  UBA states that for an adequate and valid interpretation of data regarding the environmental fate and...

On November 30, 2017, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) published a supplement to the President’s 2018 budget.  The supplement also serves as NNI’s annual report and summarizes the progress made in achieving NNI’s goals, the research and development (R&D) activities and plans of the participating agencies, and the agency investments in each program component area.  The President’s 2018 Budget requests $1.2 billion for the NNI, “a...

Germany’s Federal Environment Agency (UBA) published a November 2017 report entitled Considerations about the relationship of nanomaterial’s physical-chemical properties and aquatic toxicity for the purpose of grouping.  The report notes that, based on the variety of existing nanomaterials with numerous modifications, “the effort of investigating environmental fate and effects will be tremendous.”  As a result, it will be necessary to group nanomaterials that feature...

In October 2017, the presentations and report for the June 20, 2017, Second European Conference on “Standardization for Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials:  Reliable data for an effective management of nanomaterials” were posted.  The European Committee for Standardization (CEN)/Technical Committee (TC) 352 “Nanotechnologies,” together with the CEN-European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) Management Center, the European Commission (EC), and the European...

Nanotechnology The National Science Foundation (NSF) Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NSE) grantees conference on progress in nanotechnology will be held December 12-13, 2017.  The conference will highlight the research and education activities of ongoing NSE grant projects.  It will include a combination of keynotes, panels, posters, program information sessions, discussions of research trends, and principal investigator meetings with NSF program directors.  The...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) will have six sessions at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Europe, which will be held May 13-17, 2018, in Rome, Italy.  ECHA’s sessions will include one on recent developments in regulatory science and environmental risk assessment of nanomaterials.  To support the session, ECHA welcomes abstracts on experience gained in environmental hazard and risk assessment of nanomaterials illustrated by case studies.  Presentations...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published a November 7, 2017, report entitled Consumer and Environmental Exposure to Manufactured Nanomaterials — Information used to characterize exposures:  Analysis of a Survey.  The report provides a “light analysis” of the results of a Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) survey on consumer and environmental exposures to manufactured nanomaterials.  The survey, initiated in 2015, was designed...

On October 12, 2017, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) published questions and answers (Q&A) regarding a study on whether nanometric pigments from tattoo inks can permanently accumulate in lymph nodes.  BfR states that by using X-rays from a particle accelerator in Grenoble, it discovered where the pigments accumulate in the tissue.  According to BfR, until now, the accumulation of pigments from tattooed persons has been known by optical coloring of the lymph nodes...