Safe(r) by design guidelines for the nanotechnology industry

The meaning of life … cycles: lessons from and for safe by design studies

“…It appears that 5 out of 20 reviewed studies use both the terms SbD and SSbD, 15,37,38,40,45 and another 4 studies add sustainability assessments to safety assessment without mentioning the term SSbD explicitly. 1,6,36,47 Another general finding is that most (18 out of 20) of the reviewed studies focus on engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) and nanoparticles (NPs). 1,6,16,17,34–39,41–48 We note that all the reviewed studies have been published in between 2017–2022 and that 18 out of the 20 reviewed studies focus on nanomaterials and/or nanoparticles.…”

“…1,6,36,47 Another general finding is that most (18 out of 20) of the reviewed studies focus on engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) and nanoparticles (NPs). 1,6,16,17,34–39,41–48 We note that all the reviewed studies have been published in between 2017–2022 and that 18 out of the 20 reviewed studies focus on nanomaterials and/or nanoparticles. This short timeframe and focus are most likely explained by the short history of the term SbD (see above) and the recent interest for nano-safety studies.…”

“…Several studies mention the importance of considering the life cycle of a nano-enabled or chemical-enabled product. 1,6,15,17,36–40,45,46 A few recommend the use of LCA as part of an SbD framework, roadmap or working procedure proposed. 15,36,38,40 Only a few actually perform a cradle-to-gate 43 or cradle-to-grave/cradle LCA.…”

“…In many of the scholarly papers on SbD it is not specified what the term ‘life cycle’ refers to. Moreover, in our definitions above we implicitly assumed clear and distinguishable definitions of basic terms as ‘product’, ‘material’ and ‘chemical’ while these may have different meanings for different disciplinary communities and SbD require interdisciplinary collaboration of different scientific and R&D communities, 34–39 or may have quite similar meanings as shown by expressions such as ‘chemical products’ and ‘chemical materials’, and by some of the publications reviewed in this article (see Results section below). To prevent misunderstandings in such collective endeavours, unambiguous definitions are crucial for creating mutual understanding between different communities and to further the interdisciplinary SbD debate.…”

The colony forming efficiency assay for toxicity testing of nanomaterials—Modifications for higher-throughput

“…The nanosize that gives rise to the highly advantageous properties of nanomaterials (NMs) designed for various products and purposes could also induce unintended effects on human health. To develop safe NMs, the safer-by-design (SbD) principle should be followed, whereby toxicity testing is performed in parallel with the development of the NMs ( Yan et al, 2019 ; Sánchez Jiménez et al, 2022 ). Validated test methods for NM hazard identification are urgently needed, as standard toxicity test protocols often need modifications to avoid biased results.…”