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CC BY 4.0 · Sustainability & Circularity NOW 2025; 02: a26255344
DOI: 10.1055/a-2625-5344
Safe and Sustainable by Design
Original Article

Supporting Safe-by-Design of Multicomponent Nanomaterials by Linking Functionality-Related Properties with Potential Safety Issues

Elmer Swart  ‡
1   National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
,
Jan-Harm Westerdiep‡
1   National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
,
Elena Badetti
2   Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy
,
Andrea Brunelli
2   Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy
,
Virginia Cazzagon
2   Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy
3   LEITAT Technological Center, Barcelona, Spain
,
Teresa Fernandes
4   Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, The UK
,
Anniek M. C Gielen
1   National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
,
Danail Hristozov
5   EMERGE Ltd., Sofia, Bulgaria
,
Petra C. E. van Kesteren
1   National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
,
Nynke A. Krans
1   National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
,
Samia Ouhajji
1   National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
,
Willie J. G. M. Peijnenburg
1   National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
6   Center for Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
,
Hubert Rauscher 
7   European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
,
Lya G. Soeteman-Hernández 
1   National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
,
Vicki Stone
4   Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, The UK
,
Georgia Tsiliki
8   Athena Research Center, Marousi, Greece
9   Purposeful IKE, Athens, Greece
,
Agnes G. Oomen 
1   National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
10   Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
› Author Affiliations
Supported by: EU H2020 SUNSHINE 952924
Funding Information This work is part of the SUNSHINE project and has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 952924.
› Further Information
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Abstract

Advanced materials, including multicomponent nanomaterials (MCNMs), are rationally designed to show specific new or enhanced functionalities. They are considered key in solving current societal challenges, such as the energy transition, yet they represent a challenge themselves to safe innovation and risk assessment. One challenge is the lack of available toxicological information at early innovation stages. Instead, information on functionality and related material properties is generally available at these early innovation stages, but such information is typically not used in safety assessments. Safe-by-Design (SbD) aims to improve the safety of materials and products by integrating safety considerations with functionality as early as possible in the innovation process. To exploit the information on functionality for SbD purposes, a conceptual approach is presented that uses functionality-related material properties to flag potential impacts on risks and guide SbD. This approach relies on insights into relations between material properties and their potential impact on release, fate/toxicokinetics, and toxicity. These relations have been illustrated for 21 new or enhanced material properties that are incorporated in the design of MCNMs. For example, a set of “mechanical properties” was identified as likely to have an impact on release and fate/toxicokinetics of MCNMs, while “reactive properties” were expected to be able to affect their toxicity. The applicability of this approach was briefly explored through several case studies. The presented approach is designed to “flag” potential aspects of risk that require further consideration. These identified aspects can then support the application of SbD for MCNMs, including grouping of similar MCNMs to enable sharing of safety information. The approach is relevant at early stages in the innovation process, where toxicological information is still mostly absent.

Keywords

Material properties - Safe-and-sustainable-by-design - Safe innovation - Risk - Physicochemical properties - Advanced materials

Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 20 January 2025

Accepted after revision: 31 March 2025

Accepted Manuscript online:
02 June 2025

Article published online:
30 June 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

Bibliographical Record
Elmer Swart, Jan-Harm Westerdiep, Elena Badetti, Andrea Brunelli, Virginia Cazzagon, Teresa Fernandes, Anniek M. C Gielen, Danail Hristozov, Petra C. E. van Kesteren, Nynke A. Krans, Samia Ouhajji, Willie J. G. M. Peijnenburg, Hubert Rauscher, Lya G. Soeteman-Hernández, Vicki Stone, Georgia Tsiliki, Agnes G. Oomen. Supporting Safe-by-Design of Multicomponent Nanomaterials by Linking Functionality-Related Properties with Potential Safety Issues. Sustainability & Circularity NOW 2025; 02: a26255344.
DOI: 10.1055/a-2625-5344
 

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