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Safety Aspects of Bio-Based Nanomaterials

Moving towards a bio-based and circular economy implies a major focus on the responsible and sustainable utilization of bio-resources. The emergence of nanotechnology has opened multiple possibilities, not only in the existing industrial sectors, but also for completely novel applications of nanosca...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Catalán, Julia, Norppa, Hannu
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5746761/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29194367
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering4040094
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author Catalán, Julia
Norppa, Hannu
author_facet Catalán, Julia
Norppa, Hannu
author_sort Catalán, Julia
collection PubMed
description Moving towards a bio-based and circular economy implies a major focus on the responsible and sustainable utilization of bio-resources. The emergence of nanotechnology has opened multiple possibilities, not only in the existing industrial sectors, but also for completely novel applications of nanoscale bio-materials, the commercial exploitation of which has only begun during the last few years. Bio-based materials are often assumed not to be toxic. However, this pre-assumption is not necessarily true. Here, we provide a short overview on health and environmental aspects associated with bio-based nanomaterials, and on the relevant regulatory requirements. We also discuss testing strategies that may be used for screening purposes at pre-commercial stages. Although the tests presently used to reveal hazards are still evolving, regarding modifi­cations required for nanomaterials, their application is needed before the upscaling or commercialization of bio-based nanomaterials, to ensure the market potential of the nanomaterials is not delayed by uncertainties about safety issues.
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spelling pubmed-57467612018-01-03 Safety Aspects of Bio-Based Nanomaterials Catalán, Julia Norppa, Hannu Bioengineering (Basel) Opinion Moving towards a bio-based and circular economy implies a major focus on the responsible and sustainable utilization of bio-resources. The emergence of nanotechnology has opened multiple possibilities, not only in the existing industrial sectors, but also for completely novel applications of nanoscale bio-materials, the commercial exploitation of which has only begun during the last few years. Bio-based materials are often assumed not to be toxic. However, this pre-assumption is not necessarily true. Here, we provide a short overview on health and environmental aspects associated with bio-based nanomaterials, and on the relevant regulatory requirements. We also discuss testing strategies that may be used for screening purposes at pre-commercial stages. Although the tests presently used to reveal hazards are still evolving, regarding modifi­cations required for nanomaterials, their application is needed before the upscaling or commercialization of bio-based nanomaterials, to ensure the market potential of the nanomaterials is not delayed by uncertainties about safety issues. MDPI 2017-12-01 /pmc/articles/PMC5746761/ /pubmed/29194367 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering4040094 Text en © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Opinion
Catalán, Julia
Norppa, Hannu
Safety Aspects of Bio-Based Nanomaterials
title Safety Aspects of Bio-Based Nanomaterials
title_full Safety Aspects of Bio-Based Nanomaterials
title_fullStr Safety Aspects of Bio-Based Nanomaterials
title_full_unstemmed Safety Aspects of Bio-Based Nanomaterials
title_short Safety Aspects of Bio-Based Nanomaterials
title_sort safety aspects of bio-based nanomaterials
topic Opinion
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5746761/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29194367
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering4040094
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