All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On June 25, 2020, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) Program Performance One-Pager (PPOP).  NTRC conducts research to understand the potential effects on human health of exposure to engineered nanomaterials (ENM) and develops methods to control or eliminate exposures.  According to the PPOP, NTRC’s accomplishments include conducting a survey to gather information about companies’ safety and...

On June 30, 2020, from 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. (EDT), the European Union (EU) NanoSafety Cluster will hold a webinar on “Immune response from occupational exposure to CNTs and nanofibres.”  The following speakers will discuss work at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on the association of occupational exposure with ex vivo functional immune response in workers handling carbon nanotubes and...

The U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) will hold a webinar on June 24, 2020, on “Advances in self-powered wearable sensors:  A biofuel-powered electronic skin.”  NNI states that the development and commercialization of self-powered, battery-free sensors with wireless capabilities would represent a significant step toward meeting the requirements for next-generation biosensors, medical devices, and robotics.  Dr. Wei Gao, California Institute of Technology, will...

The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) will hold a webinar on July 7, 2020, on “Introducing the NanoHarmony project.”  Funded through Horizon 2020, NanoHarmony began on April 1, 2020.  NanoHarmony brings together 14 expert partners from ten European countries and will work alongside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to support the development of test guidelines and guidance documents for...

On May 26, 2020, the European Union (EU) NanoSafety Cluster announced the publication of the final report of the (nano) TiO2 safety communication Task Force.  The goal of the task force was to provide scientific input to the ongoing classification of titanium dioxide (TiO2).  The Task Force ran from January 2018 to January 2019, collecting information regarding the classification of TiO2 and information on TiO2 hazard potential from available...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on May 20, 2020, that a recent study has analyzed existing research on whether nanomaterials used in consumer products and at workplaces are absorbed through the skin.  The study was commissioned by EUON and carried out by the RPA consortium of Triskelion and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).  According to EUON, the study found that the lack of standardized,...

On April 12, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) published Environmental Health Criteria 244:  Principles and methods to assess the risk of immunotoxicity associated with exposure to nanomaterials.  WHO states that the document presents an overview of the current knowledge and evidence on principles and basic mechanisms of immunotoxicity caused by engineered nanomaterials (ENM).  The document provides guidance on principles and methods for hazard and risk assessment of...

As reported in our April 8, 2020, blog item, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) published a prepublication copy of A Quadrennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative:  Nanoscience, Applications, and Commercialization.  The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) asked the National Academies to form an ad hoc committee to conduct a quadrennial review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)...

On May 4, 2022, NanoHarmony will hold a webinar in its series of webinars covering the different phases that an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) test guideline (TG) progresses through during its journey from a science-based initial idea through to use by industry to fulfill regulatory obligations. This webinar will cover phases 2 and 3 of the TG process, technical development and commenting and approval. Speakers will include: Chair Claus Svendsen, United Kingdom...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On April 6, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a report that provides options and recommendations for a new methodology to evaluate changes in resource capacity needs of human drug and biosimilar biologic review programs. Titled “Independent Evaluation of the PDUFA and BsUFA Resource Capacity Planning Adjustment Methodology: Evaluation and Recommendations,” the analysis of the methodology was reviewed by an...

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published standard ISO/TS 11308:2020, “Nanotechnologies — Characterization of carbon nanotube samples using thermogravimetric analysis.” The standard provides guidelines for the characterization of carbon nanotube (CNT)-containing samples by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), performed in either an inert or oxidizing environment. The standard offers guidance on the purity assessment of the CNT samples through a quantitative...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) posted an article on April 6, 2020, announcing the availability of a study that found a lack of data on female fertility.  The study, A critical review of studies on the reproductive and developmental toxicity of nanomaterials, was commissioned by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and carried out by DHI A/S and the Danish National Research Center for the Working Environment.  The scope of this project was to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 3, 2020, EPA announced the availability of a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) to the Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science proposed rule. EPA notes that the SNPRM “is not a new rulemaking; rather, it provides clarifications on certain terms and aspects of the 2018 proposed rule.” The SNPRM: Proposes that the scope of the rulemaking applies to influential scientific information, as well as significant regulatory decisions;...

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) have published a prepublication copy of A Quadrennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative:  Nanoscience, Applications, and Commercialization.  The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) asked the National Academies to form an ad hoc committee to conduct a quadrennial review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) pursuant to the 2003 21st Century...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a proposed rule on April 1, 2020, that would amend the significant new use rules (SNUR) for certain chemical substances that were the subject of a premanufacture notice (PMN) and a significant new use notice (SNUN), including functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) (generic).  85 Fed. Reg. 18173.  This action would amend the SNURs to allow certain new uses reported in the SNUNs without additional notification...

On March 30, 2020, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) released a “Nano Matters” podcast episode on “Improving Pesticide Use with Nanotechnology.”  In the episode, Cristina Sabliov, Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Louisiana State University, explains how nanotechnology can improve pesticide delivery.  She discusses her work on a polymeric nanoparticle delivery system that could reduce the environmental impact of pesticides.  “Nano...

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published standard ISO/TS 19808:2020, “Nanotechnologies — Carbon nanotube suspensions — Specification of characteristics and measurement methods.”  The standard specifies the characteristics to be measured of suspensions containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (carbon nanotube suspensions).  The standard includes the essential and additional characteristics of the carbon nanotube suspension, and the corresponding...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 17, 2020, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) announced that one of its laboratories has developed a device using a natural protein to create electricity from moisture in the air. Electrical engineer Jun Yao and microbiologist Derek Lovley have created what they call “Air-Gen,” which consists of an air-powered generator with electrically conductive protein nanowires produced by the microbe Geobacter. The Air-gen...

On January 28, 2020, the European Union (EU) published The NanoDefine Methods Manual, a collection of three Joint Research Center (JRC) reports developed within the NanoDefine project “Development of an integrated approach based on validated and standardized methods to support the implementation of the EC recommendation for a definition of nanomaterial.”  According to the Manual, the overall goal of the NanoDefine project was to support the implementation of the European Commission...

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances (TLV®-CS) Committee has included carbon nanotubes on its 2020 list of chemical substances and other issues under study.  Being placed on the under study list indicates that the TLV®-CS Committee has selected carbon nanotubes for development of a threshold limit value (TLV®).  ACGIH® describes TLVs® as health-based values representing the...