In 2006, a group of scientists proposed five grand challenges to support the safe development and handling of nanotechnology. Ten years on, in an article published this week in Nature Nanotechnology, Andrew Maynard (Director of the Risk Innovation Lab at Arizona State University) and Robert Aitken (Director of SAFENANO and Chief Executive of the Institute of Occupational Medicine, IOM) – two of the original authors – look at where we have come, and where we still need to go.
In the article, Maynard and Aitken provide a personal assessment of progress made toward addressing each of the original five grand challenges, namely:
Whilst there are indications of substantial progress in some areas and a lot that has been learned over the last decade, the authors highlight critical shortfalls in other areas that potentially limit the safe development and beneficial uses of nanotechnology. The remaining challenges are not nano-specific per se, they say, but represent a materials challenge more broadly.
Original publication:
Maynard A.D., Aitken R.J. (2016). 'Safe handling of nanotechnology' ten years on. Nat Nanotechnol, 11(12): 998-1000.
Information on the sponsorship programmes of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research on nanotechnologies for humans and the environment.
A database with important and generally understandable aspects on health and environment of applied nanomaterials as well as facts on the safety of manufactured nanomaterials.
The chapters on release, exposure, uptake and behavior of nanomaterials in the human body and in the environment as well as the risk assessment will give you a first overview.
Tue Mar 03 @12:00AM Cluster Nanotechnology: NanoCarbon Annual Conference |
Tue Apr 20 @ 8:00AM - 05:00PM NanoTox2021 |
In October we would like to present the special issue "Future Nanosafety" published in "Chemical Research in Toxicology".
In 17 articles operation procedures for future test methods, alternatives for animal testing, safe-by-design processes and detection methods of nanoparticles are presented.