DIAGONAL: Development and implementation of safe design tools and guides for multi-component and high aspect ratio nanomaterials.

The DIAGONAL project’s main objective is to establish new structure-property-function (SPF) and structure-property-hazard (SPH) relationships through characterization activities (hazard and exposure) and modeling. This will allow for the adaptation of the ongoing risk assessment, management, and governance work, making it available to industry and guiding the design of multi-component and high aspect ratio nanomaterials to be safer.

Context

Currently, there is a significant scientific gap in understanding how the structure and interactions that occur in multi-component nanomaterials (MCNMs) and high aspect ratio nanomaterials (HARNs) can affect their properties, increasing their hazard.

To address this scientific information challenge, the DIAGONAL project aims to develop new methodologies that guarantee long-term nanosafety and contribute to increasing knowledge in aspects related to risk assessment, management, and governance. To this end, experimental (in vitro) and predictive (in silico) research will be used to elucidate the interactions between components of nanomaterials (NMs), their transformation into products, and between NMs and the environment, promoting a better understanding of their potential effects on human health and biota. The knowledge generated will be compiled in the form of risk management guides, which will include safe-by-design (SbD) and sustainable-by-design (SusbD) tools

Summary and Objectives

The main objective of DIAGONAL is to increase the understanding of the behavior of MCNMs and HARNs and to establish new structure-property-function (SPF) and structure-property-hazard (SPH) relationships through characterization activities (hazard and exposure) and modeling. This will allow for the adaptation of the ongoing risk assessment, management, and governance work (strategies, recommendations, and regulatory instruments), making it simultaneously available to industry and guiding the design of safer MCNMs and HARNs.

Within the project, a series of secondary objectives will be developed:

1. Understand the physicochemical properties of MCNMs/HARNs throughout their life cycle.
2. Gain knowledge about the toxicology of MCNMs and HARNs, as well as their transformation and degradation products.
3. Understand the fate, behavior, and environmental exposure of MCNMs and HARNs depending on real-life environments.
4. Understand the implications of exposure to MCNMs and HARNs for human safety.
5. Develop and validate multi-scale modeling tools capable of predicting and characterizing nano-specific properties, hazard, AOP (Adverse Outcome Pathway), and environmental exposure of MCNMs and HARNs, including the real-life environment and the behavior of their individual components.
6. Develop knowledge and test safe-by-design (SbD) tools in seven industrial cases, facilitating the redesign of nanomaterials and NEPs (Nano-enabled products) design and manufacturing processes.
7. Add the dimension of sustainability to SbD and demonstrate its application in two industrial cases.
8. Adapt risk management standards and guidelines to the unique properties of these NMs and NEPs, facilitating their use by industry.
9. Contribute to the risk management work undertaken by the European Chemicals Agency (through the REACH regulation) and other bodies, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
10. Integrate the use of SbD approaches in SMEs.
11. Explore societal perceptions regarding MCNMs and HARNs.

Consortium

The DIAGONAL consortium brings together 22 partners from 13 European countries, including 9 research centers, 10 SMEs, 1 large company, and 2 universities.

1. UNIVERSITY OF BURGOS (Coordinator) – Spain
2. CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE (CNRS) – France
3. ITENE TECHNOLOGICAL CENTRE – Spain
4. WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY – Netherlands
5. IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS – Greece
6. INSTITUTO DE SOLDADURA E QUALIDADE – Portugal
7. NOVAMECHANICS LIMITED – Cyprus
8. QSAR LAB SPOLKA Z OGRANICZONA ODPOWIEDZIALNOSCIA – Poland
9. BIONANONET FORSCHUNGSGESELLSCHAFT MBH – Austria
10. RINA CONSULTING – CENTRO SVILUPPO MATERIALI SPA – Italy
11. LUXEMBOURG INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – Luxembourg
12. BRIMATECH SERVICES GMBH – Austria
13. IZES GGMBH – Germany
14. NEOVILI SA – Switzerland
15. VIREO ADVISORS LLC – United States
16. PHORNANO HOLDING GMBH – Austria
17. IRIS SRL – Italy
18. MONOLITHOS KATALITES KE ANAKIKLOSI ETAIREIA PERIORISMENIS EVTHINIS – Greece
19. CREATIVE NANO PC – Greece
20. OCSiAl Europe S.a r.L – Luxembourg
21. TEKNOLOGISK INSTITUT – Denmark
22. GRAPHENE-XT SRL – Italy

Results

Within WP3, predictive computational models have been developed for:

• Assessing the environmental fate of nanomaterials released into the environment.
• Occupational exposure.

As part of WP4, the (eco)toxicological profile of a set of complex nanomaterials (MCNMs and HARNs) used in 7 different demonstrators has been characterized. Comparison of the toxicological profile before and after applying strategies to reduce toxicity.

In WP5, ITENE has developed:

• Strategies focused on designing safer nanomaterials.
• Strategies focused on modifying the design and development process of these nanomaterials to increase safety during these stages.
• Strategies focused on improving the sustainability of nanomaterials, with a life cycle approach, that allow the development of nanomaterials with a lower environmental impact.

In WP6, led by ITENE, two key tools have been developed:

• Risk Management Tool: A tool that allows evaluating worker exposure to nanomaterials during their handling, and suggests actions to mitigate this risk with the aim of improving their safety.
• DST: Decision Support Tool: A tool that allows companies that synthesize or handle nanomaterials to improve the safety and sustainability of both their products and their processes, by recommending different strategies. To do this, the tool allows the user to perform an analysis, in terms of safety, of the hazard of the material and the risks associated with the processes in the different phases of the life cycle, from design to application, as well as on its sustainability.