Industry News

Showing 1–9 of 62 articles

Commission releases revised nanomaterial definition

The EU has published its updated nanomaterial definition, replacing the original 2011 text after a multi-year review process involving three JRC studies and a formal stakeholder consultation.Key changes address longstanding ambiguities around particle size boundaries, the particle number concentration threshold, and the treatment of materials like graphene and carbon nanotubes.A guidance document to support implementation is due before year end, and NIA members can access a dedicated factsheet breaking down what has changed and what it means in practice.

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The assessment of the environmental behaviour of the registered zinc oxide nanoforms concluded by Germany

German regulators have concluded that zinc oxide nanoforms carry the same aquatic toxicity classification as other zinc compounds, but stopped short of ruling out particle-specific effects that could add to their overall hazard profile.The finding that toxicity varied between individual nanoforms points to the complexity of treating nanoforms as a single regulatory category, a question with broad implications for how nanomaterials are classified across the EU.

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nanoPASS Hosts Webinar on Advanced Methodologies for Regulatory Testing of Nanomaterials

A landmark milestone was reached with the first ever nanomaterial-relevant Adverse Outcome Pathway receiving endorsement, signalling growing regulatory acceptance of animal-free safety assessment tools.The webinar made the case that AOPs can bridge the gap between molecular-level chemical interactions and real-world health outcomes, giving regulators a credible framework for accepting New Approach Methodologies.

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Ensuring OECD Guidelines for nano and advanced material

Seven years in, the Malta Initiative has released its first Priority List, giving scientists, funders, and regulators a shared roadmap for the nano and advanced materials safety tests that are still missing.Without these tests, innovations in advanced materials face a compliance deadlock, and the Priority List is explicitly designed to break that logjam by directing effort where it is most urgently needed.The NIA helped shape the list from the inside, ensuring that the gap between what industry needs to bring products to market and what regulators can actually test for is front and centre.

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DoD Awards Seven Bioindustrial Manufacturing Contracts

The U.S. military is investing $23 million across 13 bioindustrial firms to build domestic production capacity for defense-critical materials, from smokeless propellants to high-performance fabrics.Selected companies could unlock follow-on awards of up to $100 million each to construct full-scale U.S. manufacturing facilities, signaling the program's long-term ambitions.The push is explicitly designed to cut Pentagon dependence on overseas supply chains for biotechnology inputs deemed essential to national security.

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nanoPASS Project Unveils the Importance of the Bionano Interface in Nanosafety

The invisible boundary where nanoparticles meet biological systems may hold the key to safer products across medicine, cosmetics, and food, and EU researchers are now building the computational tools to decode it.Better models of the bionano interface could accelerate risk assessments and reduce reliance on animal testing, two goals that have long eluded the field simultaneously.

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Advancing Nanomaterials Testing: Insights from the Second Harmonisation Workshop

Researchers are making tangible progress on replacing animal tests in nanomaterial safety assessment, with biomarker-based and invertebrate models emerging as credible regulatory alternatives.The workshop spotlighted a push to move harmonised test standards from research into regulatory frameworks, with EU-funded projects nanoPASS and iCARE driving much of the practical groundwork.

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ECHA Highlights Regulatory Challenges and Research Needs for Nanomaterials

ECHA is sounding the alarm over critical gaps in analytical methods for nanomaterials, warning that without urgent action the foundations of chemical safety regulation could be undermined.The agency is pressing for faster completion of OECD test method revisions under the Malta Initiative, flagging the work as overdue and essential to keeping regulation functional.Key unresolved areas include toxicokinetic characterisation, biodegradation, bioaccumulation, and long-term effects on soils and sediments, alongside the validation of new approach methodologies for regulatory acceptance.

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NIOSH Celebrates 20 Years of Nanotechnology Research with Engineering Controls and PPE Highlights

NIOSH is marking 20 years of nanomaterial workplace safety research with a look back at its respirator guidance and a roadmap for closing remaining gaps in worker protection.A new testing method for portable field instruments is already in development, with plans underway to build a more reliable aerosol test that reflects real workplace nanomaterial exposures.