A lot of attention in research is focused on the development of engineered nanomaterials, with scientists across the world working to develop new materials with potential applications across a wide variety of sectors, including healthcare, electronics and manufacturing. While engineered nanomaterials (ENM) have a lot of potential, it’s also important to consider their safety and wider impact, a topic at the heart of the NanoInformaTIX project. “In the project we have created a modelling framework to predict the safety profiles of nanomaterials, a sort of decision support system for manufacturers of new materials and products,” explains Lisa Bregoli, the project’s dissemination manager. A lot of data is currently available from the characterization and testing of nanomaterials, the result of decades of research all around the globe, says Bregoli. “This huge amount of relevant data has to be exploited in such a way that it can be used by manufacturers of new products containing ENM, as a guide in their product development phase,” she outlines.
Nanomaterials
This forms the backdrop to the NanoInformaTIX project’s work, in which researchers have connected the dots between the available data and models. This has led to the development of a web-based platform designed to support manufacturers and help them understand and predict the safety profile of their ENM-containing products during their development pipeline. ENM have at least one dimension between 1-100 nanometres and very specific properties. “They may have surface energies for example that cause different types of physical interactions with the surrounding molecules, leading to specific behaviours,” says Bregoli. “These behaviours can be beneficial, for example in creating self-cleaning materials, or for delivering drugs precisely to the site of disease, avoiding side-effects.”
On the other hand, the standard models used for assessing safety cannot be applied to nanomaterials, an issue that Bregoli and her colleagues have addressed in NanoInformaTIX. “In the project we
integrated data from several relevant EU (and US) databases with validated nanoinformatics models,” she says. “We have also created new models and in vitro/in vivo extrapolations to support the prediction of biological effects and exposure of ENM at various stages of their life cycle.”
The project was structured into six technical ‘workpackages (WP)’, or groups of activities, the first of which was devoted to data and databases. Existing databases such as eNanoMapper bring together biological and toxicological information on nanomaterials, as well as characterization data. “Every single dimension and property of a nanomaterial can really make a difference in terms of interaction with the surrounding environment, so you have to describe the nanomaterial in a very detailed way, including characteristics like size and shape,” outlines Bregoli. For this reason, a lot of the NanoInformatIX team’s attention was centered on developing a standardised way of describing nanomaterials and reporting data on the databases in a way which meets
Nanomaterials can be engineered to have unique properties relevant to specific applications, but it’s also important to consider their safety and wider impact. We spoke to Lisa Bregoli about the NanoInformaTIX project’s work in developing a framework and a web-based platform to predict the behaviour of nanomaterials, which will support their safe-by-design development.
Safe by design for the next generation of nanomaterials
the FAIR (Findable Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles. “This means it can be understood and used by other scientists in the world,” continues Bregoli.
The project’s agenda also included modelling, with researchers creating informatics tools that use several variables and descriptors, the data, and predict how the ENM will interact with specific environments, providing a reliable safety profile. Researchers also investigated exposure and biodistribution modelling, looking at how these nanomaterials will affect the natural environment. “A nanomaterial can end up in the environment in different ways and mix with different materials, depending on the way in which it is used. So modelling is also about exposure and bio-distribution,” says Bregoli. Some nanomaterials might be ingested by fish for example, while others will simply agglomerate and sit in sediments.
“The possible safety of a nanomaterial in the environment can be modelled, based on information about its structure and how it enters the environment,” continues Bregoli. This research could bring significant benefits to a variety of stakeholders, including regulatory bodies, industry and academia, as well as civil society more generally. NanoInformaTIX researchers have been working to deliver a platform that meets
practical needs, so a lot of effort in the project has been devoted to understanding the priorities of different stakeholders. “This platform has been developed in consultation with external stakeholders,” stresses Bregoli. The NanoInformaTIX platform is based on sound, validated methodologies, giving regulators confidence in its results, which leads to wider benefits for civil society. “It will improve the safety of products available
and keep costs down, while reducing their reliance on animal testing. This is one of the prime motivations behind NanoInformaTIX and is actually a priority for the European Union. “We have developed a web-based platform to connect databases to in silico models. So different models for the structure and the exposure were created and brought together,” outlines Bregoli. The models have also been tested on
researchers, industries and the next generation scientists who will carry this work forward.
on the market, enhancing transparency and trust,” continues Bregoli. “The academic sector will benefit from the availability of curated data and tools to perform modelling and conduct focused research into the key mechanisms of toxicity and adverse outcome pathways (AOPs).”
Web-based platform
The platform will also have a positive impact on industry, helping companies developing nanomaterials to work more effectively
NanoInformaTIX Project Partners
selected real-life use cases, to verify that they reflect what happens in practical scenarios. “Every new impact assessment strategy based on modelling needs to be validated and demonstrated in real life,” says Bregoli.
A web-based modelling platform will enable the identification of any issues with nanomaterials at an early stage in development, rather than only finding that a material doesn’t have a good toxicological profile at the end of the development phase.
• Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas
• Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM)
• European Research Services GmbH
• Aarhus University
• German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment
• GreenDecision Srl
• Thomas More Kempen University of Applied Sciences
• Tel-Aviv University • University of Gdansk
• University College Dublin, National University of Ireland
• Universitat Rovira Virgili
• Ideaconsult Ltd.
• University of Helsinki
• Leiden University
• SINTEF
• Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata
• National Technical University of Athens
• University of Aveiro
• Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt
• UppinTech OÜ
• National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”
• Politecnico di Torino
• Warrant Hub SpA
• TEMAS Solutions GmbH
• Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics-National Research Council
• National Research Centre for the Working Environment
• Tyoterveyslaitos
• Swansea University
• Aix Marseille University
• DST/Mintek Nanotechnology Innovation Centre
• Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
• East European Research and Innovation Enterprise
• The National Center for Nanoscience and Technology
• National Cheng Kung University
• Sorbonne Université
• Université Catholique de l’Ouest-Association Saint Yves
“The sooner in the development phase you know whether a material meets all the safety and sustainability criteria, the better,” stresses Bregoli. This rigorous approach to risk assessment will strengthen confidence in nanomaterials as a whole, and encourage their ongoing development. “There will be more materials based on nanomaterials in future. Companies will know that they can be more efficient in their development, thanks to this decision-support tool,” continues Bregoli. The workshops held during the project have provided an invaluable opportunity for researchers to present the platform to those who could benefit from it and get their views on how it could be improved.
“We got some important information and feedback from stakeholders at the first workshop. That feedback informed the development of the platform during the second part of the project,” says Bregoli. The platform is now nearly finished, with researchers fine-tuning certain aspects, and while NanoInformaTIX itself has concluded, Bregoli says researchers are now looking to build on the project’s work. “We developed a sustainability plan during the project,” she outlines. This includes plans to make the platform available to interested parties for use in modelling the safety of nanomaterials,
while there is also interest in establishing a spin-off company, extending the impact of NanoInformaTIX beyond the duration of the project. At the same time the models will need to be updated in line with new knowledge as further experiments are conducted and more data on nanomaterials is produced. “The models will constantly need to be improved,” acknowledges Bregoli. Three Nanosafety training schools were held during the project, helping the next generation of researchers develop the skills they will need to improve the models, Moreover, a cross-projects Early Career Researchers group was created and a dedicated event provided them with the opportunity to build relationships and lay the foundations for further collaborations. “The ECR group will continue to exist and grow after the end of NanoInformaTIX, linking to ongoing and future EU-funded projects. This will be our legacy,” continues Bregoli. A number of other EU-projects have been established in the field of nanosafety, and in many cases these initiatives are very close to each other, with researchers sharing information and insights. NanoInformaTIX is part of the EU NanoSafety cluster, which is designed to harmonise the work of EUfunded projects.
NanoInformaTIX
Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Modelling Platform for NanoInformatics
Project Objectives
NanoInformaTIX develops a web-based Sustainable Nanoinformatics Framework (SNF) platform for risk management of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) in industrial manufacturing. The tool will be based on the significant amounts of data on physicochemical and toxicological and ecotoxicological properties of ENM generated over the last decades, as well as new data coming from research. The final aim is to provide efficient user-friendly interfaces to enhance accessibility and usability of the nanoinformatics models to industry, regulators, and civil society, thus supporting sustainable manufacturing of ENM-based products.
Project Funding
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 814426.
Project Website https://www.nanoinformatix.eu
Contact Details
Lisa Bregoli, PhD
European Funding Development Engineering Manager Warrant Hub S.p.A. Casalecchio di Reno (BO) -ITALY
Director of European Funding Development Engineering: Isella Vicini E: isella.vicini@warranthub.it W: https://www.warranthub.it/en/
Mediated Bacterial Biofilm Inhibition via Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Statistical Determination". PLOS ONE. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0065704., CC BY
Lisa Bregoli has been an expert in EU-funded projects design for over 10 years working at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and as advanced postoc at Brigham and Women’s Hospital teaching affiliated Harvard Medical School. She was appointed as head of the Health Technology unit of Veneto Nanotech SCpA-ECSIN (Rovigo, Italy) where she participated in several FP7 European projects in the nanomedicine and nanosafety sector. She is now Manager of the Engineering area of the European Funding Development Business Unit of Warrant Hub. She holds a Laurea degree in medical Biotechnology and a PhD in Human and Molecular Morphological Sciences (University of Bologna, Italy).
There is a lot of collaboration in the nanosafety field. With NanoInformaTIX we bring our results toTEM (a, b, and c) images of prepared mesoporous silica nanoparticles with mean outer diameter: (a) 20nm, (b) 45nm, and (c) 80nm. SEM (d) image corresponding to (b). The insets are a high magnification of mesoporous silica particle. Wikipedia Commons By NIST - Gold Nanostars Outshine the Competition, Public Domain, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=24131637 By Verena Wilhelmi, Ute Fischer, Heike Weighardt, Klaus Schulze-Osthoff, Carmen Nickel, Burkhard Stahlmecke, Thomas A. J. Kuhlbusch, Agnes M. Scherbart, Charlotte Esser, Roel P. F. Schins, Catrin Albrecht - "Reactive Oxygen Species 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77428789