Guest Editors:

Danail Hristozov, EMERGE Ltd, Bulgaria (danail.hristozov@emerge.bg)
Tobias Stoeger, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany (tobias.stoeger@helmholtz-muenchen.de)
Carlos Rumbo Lorenzo, ICCRAM – University of Burgos, Spain (crumbo@ubu.es)
Otmar Schmid, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany (otmar.schmid@helmholtz-muenchen.de)

The main scope of the special issue focused on ‘Next generation risk and sustainability assessment approaches for advanced (nano)materials’ is to offer highlights in the field covering the challenges of applying New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for risk assessment of safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) advanced nanomaterials (AdNMs).

Scope of the Special Issue:

In this special issue, we will explore the potential of bringing together diverse R&I communities into a single interdisciplinary environment that can stimulate safe and sustainable innovation in the field of AdNMs. The target communities include but are not limited to materials engineering, exposure science, environmental and human toxicology, data and computer science, risk assessment and governance, environmental, social and economic sustainability.

Possible research topics include but are not limited to:

* AdNMs: towards safe innovation

– Safety of advanced multicomponent nanomaterials, including mixture effects

–  SSbD strategies and case studies

* Hazard assessment

–  Novel mechanistic insights in AdNMs’ toxicity

–  Novel approaches and models for advanced in vitro testing

–  Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs)

–  Human health

–  Ecotoxicity

*  Grouping and read-across

–  Similarity assessment approaches

–  Grouping approaches (hypothesis-based and AOP/Mode of Action (MoA)-based grouping/multi-omics)

* Data analysis with big data management and modelling solutions

–  Multi-scale modelling

–  FAIR data and data management

–  Data-driven modelling

*  Risk assessment and management

–  Dose-response, biodistribution

–  Exposure assessment

–  Digital tools, including decision support systems

–  Implementation of NAMs for risk assessment

*  Risk governance

–  Towards Safe & Sustainable Innovation Approach (SSIA)

–  Prevention-based governance: Safe & Sustainable by Design

–  Horizon scanning and foresight

–  Regulatory perspectives

–  Harmonization & Standardization

* Sustainability assessment

–  Environmental sustainability, LCA

–  Socio-economic sustainability, societal acceptance of innovation

–  Circularity

–  Sustainability aspects into safety assessments

Submission deadline: 15 June 2025

We encourage researchers, engineers, scientists, clinicians, and students in related fields to submit their work for consideration in this special issue. All manuscripts will receive expedited handling and the accepted version will appear online within one week. Please note that every accepted paper is subjected to a processing fee as per Elsevier’s open access journal policies.