Studies of safety evaluation of nanoproducts

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Photo: Brandão, Humberto

The safe use of nanomaterials is a set of actions to prevent, minimize or eliminate risks to human, animal or environmental health, during the course of research, production, technological development, providing services and trade of nanomaterials. Among global efforts to standardize safety tests, the European consortium NanoReg stands out in addressing international issues regarding regulation in nanotechnology. Recently, the Interministerial Committee for Nanotechnology (CIN) approved the accession of Brazil to the European project NanoReg. Assuming that Embrapa and the Agronano Network make up one of the major players in the development of nanotechnology products for agribusiness worldwide, it is important it remains technically prepared to generate response to national and international questions relating to health and safety (EHS) of its products. Thus, this project aims to implement international reference methods for assessing the safety of nanoproducts, training teams and disseminating knowledge in order to support the development of technologies, products and services containing agribusiness-related nanotechnology. To achieve this goal, the project covers important approaches. The first one aims at validating safety tests and physicochemical characterization of reference materials adopted by NanoReg in the Agronano Network laboratories. Conducting training courses for members of Agronano Network will ensure that this knowledge permeate and become used harmonically in several laboratories of the Network. In another approach, the project proposes to use the protocols already validated for nanomaterials generated by the Agronano Network. Synergistically, an additional approach aims at conducting further work on the development of alternative methods for nanomaterials safety assessment. These procedures have great potential to generate information that can support technology transfer processes that are in pre-escalation phase in the partner project named "Methods and Processes for Increasing Preparation Scale of Nanoproducts of Agribusiness Interest". Also, the evaluation of future scenarios involving the concept of safety in nanotechnology is planned in order to propose specific protocols for products released by the Network, generate decision trees and develop guidelines for decision making with respect to nanotoxicology. Finally, the project actions will evaluate the consumer's perception with respect to food products containing nanotechnology. This becomes important because acceptance and "market life" of a new product are marked by the consumer perception, and possible questions in this regard can be resolved with customized safety testing directed by the results of such an activity. Therefore, the project aims to contribute to the international harmonization of testing in toxicology and implement worldwide validated protocols in the Network laboratories, in order to assist in the safe development of nanomaterials by Embrapa and its partners, taking due care whenever necessary.

Status: Completed Start date: Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2015 Conclusion date: Sat Nov 30 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2019

Head Unit: Embrapa Dairy Cattle

Project leader: Juliana Carine Gern

Contact: juliana.gern@embrapa.br

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