Nano and sustainable materials: testing, commercialization and regulatory roundup
Limitations of Recent Cellulose Safety Studies: Review by Vireo Advisors and our partners found significant issues with the findings and conclusions of two reports on the safety of micro and nanofibrillated celluloses recently published as part of a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) – funded Pilot Project on New Approach Methodologies for the Hazard Assessment of Nanofibers. Read more.
UK Guidance on Genotoxicity Testing Strategies for Manufactured Nanomaterials: the UK Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COM) published a webpage detailing a recommended staged approach to genotoxicity testing, listing projects evaluating nanomaterial genotoxicity methodologies, and outlining the applicability of in vitro assays for genotoxicity testing. Read more.
Nanomaterials Occupational Health: The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) plans to develop a new aerosol testing method to evaluate respirator penetration against workplace nanomaterials and evaluating the effectiveness of NIOSH-approved respirators for workers exposed to nanomaterials. Read more.
Five New Chemicals Under Scrutiny by the US EPA: The EPA proposes to evaluate five chemicals and designate them as High-Priority Substances for risk evaluation under TSCA. They are: Vinyl Chloride (CASRN 75-01-4), Acetaldehyde (CASRN 75-07-0), Acrylonitrile (CASRN 107-13-1), Benzenamine (CASRN 62-53-3), and 4,4’-methylene bis(2-chloroaniline) (MBOCA) (CASRN 101-14-4). Read more.
Updating the US Government BioPreferred Program: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) spring 2024 Unified Agenda includes efforts to streamline Biobased Markets Program (BioPreferred) regulations by merging federal procurement and voluntary labeling guidelines, as well as amending the “biobased product” definition to include renewable chemicals, and to exclude motor vehicle fuels, heating oils, and electricity. Read more.
The European Commission Seeking Members for a New Technology Council for Advanced Materials. This council will coordinate efforts to meet future needs for advanced materials in Europe and build the advanced materials ecosystem. Stakeholders from academia, industry, and associations representing academia, RTOs and/or industry are encouraged to apply before the 9 September deadline. Apply here.
US EPA Conference on New Approach Methods for Chemical Safety Testing: Interested stakeholders are invited to participate in a hybrid conference November 5-6, 2024. The EPA will highlight the state of the science, provide updates and solicit input. Registration.
Graphene Composites for Liquid Hydrogen Storage: First Graphene joins the $3.72 million Accelerating Low-carbon Hydrogen Production and Safe Storage for Utilisation in Mobility (HyPStore) project to develop novel lightweight and impermeable cryogenic storage tanks to meet immediate challenges in hydrogen storage and distribution in the aerospace sector. Read more.
New work on cellulose-based film and coating materials: VTT’s work was featured in Packaging World, highlighting the Films For the Future (F3) project and the CelluloseFilms line. Read more.
Notable Papers:
Limitations of recent cellulose studies: How overzealous dispersion technique, fluorescence labeling and interpretation limit the findings of recent safety assessments for cellulose materials, Zhang, Y., Fox, D.M., Ong, K.J., Ede, J.D., Sayes, C.M., Kangas, H., Ilona, L., Goergen, M., Moon R., Shatkin, J.A., (2024) Trends in Food Science & Technology, 151, 104620
Pro-inflammatory and genotoxic responses by metal oxide nanomaterials in alveolar epithelial cells and macrophages in submerged condition and air-liquid interface: An in vitro-in vivo correlation study, Emilio Di Ianni, Johanna Samulin Erdem, Shan Narui, Håkan Wallin, Iseult Lynch, Ulla Voge, Nicklas Raun Jacobsen, Peter Møller. (2024) Toxicology in Vitro, 100:105897
The impact of surface functionalization of cellulose following simulated digestion and gastrointestinal cell-based model exposure, Amanda K. Charlton-Sevcik, A.K., Collom, C., Liu J.Y., Hsieh Y-L, Stark, N., Ede, J.D., Shatkin, J.A., Sayes, C.M., (2024) International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 271(2), 132603
Latest Developments in the Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials: A Framework for Advanced Materials and Emerging Technologies, Shatkin, J.A., Ede, J.D., Ong, K.J. (2024) Chapter 15 in Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: Theory and Practice, edited by Dennis J. Paustenbach, Kenneth Feinberg, published by Wiley.
Aqueous exfoliation and dispersion of monolayer and bilayer graphene from graphite using sulfated cellulose nanofibrils, Pingrey, B., Ede, J.D., Sayes, C.M., Shatkin, J.A., Stark, N., Hsieh, Y.-L. (2024) RSC Advances, 2024, 14, 9860-9868.
Regioselectively Carboxylated Cellulose Nanofibril Models from Dissolving Pulp: C6 via TEMPO Oxidation and C2,C3 via Periodate–Chlorite Oxidation, Guo, M., Ede, J.D., Sayes, C.M., Shatkin, J.A., Stark, N., Hsieh, Y.-L. (2024) . Nanomaterials 2024, 14, 479.
A comparative analysis of microfibrillated versus conventional cellulose after enzymatic digestions, Collom, C., Fox, D., Ong, K.J. Shatkin, J.A., Sayes, C.M. (2024) Cellulose, Volume 31, pages 5981–5985.
Life-cycle risk assessment of graphene-enabled textiles in fire protection gear, Ede, J.D., Zhang, Y., Diges, A.S., Shatkin, J.A. (2024) NanoImpact, 43: 100488.