The production and use of nanomaterials (NMs) has increased over the last decades posing relevant questions on their risk after release and exposure of the population or sub-populations. In this context, the safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) approach framework requires to assess the potential hazard connected with intrinsic properties of the material along the whole life cycle of the NM and/or of the nano enabled products. Moreover, in the last years, the use of new advanced methodologies (NAMs) has increasingly gained attention for the use of alternative methods in obtaining relevant information on NMs hazard and risk. Considering the SSbD and the NAMs frameworks, within the ASINA H2020 project, we developed new NAMs devoted at improving the hazard and risk definition of different Ag and TiO2 NPs. The NAMs are developed considering two air liquid interface exposure systems, the Vitrocell Cloud-α and the Cultex Compact module and the relevant steps to obtain reproducible exposures are described. The new NAMs build on the integration of environmental monitoring campaigns at nano-coating production sites, allowing the quantification by the multiple-path particle dosimetry (MPPD) model of the expected lung deposited dose in occupational settings. Starting from this information, laboratory exposures to the aerosolized NPs are performed by using air liquid interface exposure equipment and human alveolar cells (epithelial cells and macrophages), replicating the doses of exposure estimated in workers by MPPD. Preliminary results on cell viability and inflammatory responses are reported. The proposed NAMs may represent possible future reference procedures for assessing the NPs inhalation toxicology, supporting risk assessment at real exposure doses.

Nanomaterials (NMs), including nanoparticles (NPs), offer promising potential in achieving the European Commission’s Green Deal goals of climate-neut

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are among the most widely used metal-based nanomaterials (NMs) and their applications in different products, also as antibacterial additives, are increasing. In the present manuscript, according to an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) approach, we tested two safe-by-design (SbD) newly developed Ag NPs coated with hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), namely AgHEC powder and AgHEC solution. These novel Ag NPs were compared to two reference Ag NPs (naked and coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone—PVP). Cell viability, inflammatory response, reactive oxygen species, oxidative DNA damage, cell cycle, and cell–particle interactions were analyzed in the alveolar in vitro model, A549 cells. The results show a different toxicity pattern of the novel Ag NPs compared to reference NPs and that between the two novel NPs, the AgHEC solution is the one with the lower toxicity and to be further developed within the SbD framework.

Understanding the interactions between carbon quantum dots (CDs) and promising food preservatives (FPs), like pyrogallol (PG), benzoic acid (BA), and gallic acid (GA), is highly relevant. This knowledge is crucial for designing CD-based sensors capable of determining the safe levels of these molecules in food and beverages. Additionally, such sensors could be exploited in the development of sustainable, intelligent packaging that controls food shelf life. Based on those considerations, in this study, we post-functionalized blue-emitting CDs, prepared according to a synthetic approach previously developed, with the FP molecules PG, BA, and GA to obtain CD-(FP) systems. UV-vis absorption and FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the presence of the FP molecules on the CD surface. The appearance of a new vibrational band at 1196 cm⁻¹ in the FTIR spectra of all CD-(FP) systems suggested that the three FP molecules interact with the CD surface via electronic interactions between the aromatic and delocalized electron systems. Further electrochemical analyses of the CD-(PG) and CD-(GA) systems show that the interactions between PG and GA benzene rings and CDs prevent their oxidation to the corresponding quinone forms.