by DIAGONAL, 0 Comments
The 11th International Conference on NanoToxicology – NanoTox 2024 – took place from September 23 to 25, 2024, in the historic centre of Venice at Centro Culturale Don Orione Artigianelli. The conference attracted more than 230 participants from research and academic institutions, as well as from industry, governmental agencies, and experts from 30 countries around the world.
The conference provided a valuable platform for convening leading experts focused on the challenges related to safe and sustainable multicomponent nanomaterials (MCNM) by developing novel tools for evaluating human and environmental hazards, alongside strategies for nanomaterial characterization, classification, grouping, and read-across for risk analysis and sustainability assessment.
NanoTox 2024 created an optimal environment for sharing developments in the areas of ecotoxicity and risk management of advanced nanomaterials. Key discussions centred on the latest research concerning hazard and exposure assessments, as well as innovative strategies for risk management and governance. The event emphasised the importance of grouping and read-across techniques, along with New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for enhanced risk assessments. Additionally, participants explored sustainability assessments through Safe(r)-by-Design (SbD) and Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) approaches, ensuring that safety is prioritised from the early stages of material development. The conference also examined the molecular mechanisms of toxicity, focusing on nanocell circuits that drive Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOP) and Modes of Action (MoA), in conjunction with big data management and modelling solutions that facilitate these advancements.
NanoTox 2024 proudly acknowledges the generous support of its sponsors, who play a crucial role in advancing the dialogue on eco-toxicity and risk management of advanced NMs. Our silver sponsors, EBRC and the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan bring invaluable expertise and resources to the event, enhancing the collaborative atmosphere. We also extend our gratitude to our bronze sponsors, QSARLab and Stat Peel, whose contributions help facilitate important discussions and innovations in the field. Additionally, we appreciate the participation of Cytek as an exhibitor, showcasing cutting-edge solutions that align with the NanoTox mission. Finally, our publication partnership with CSBJ ensures that the insights and findings shared at NanoTox 2024 reach a broader audience, furthering the impact of our collective efforts.
The event featured a comprehensive series of 122 oral and 80 poster presentations highlighting, among others, key findings from the three EU H2020 organising projects DIAGONAL, HARMLESS and SUNSHINE.
One highlight of the conference was the 24/7 poster pitch presentation session, where all poster authors got the chance to present their research in 24 seconds, followed by 7 keywords to highlight their work.
Special thanks to the four keynote speakers Sabina Halappanavar, (Health Canada and University of Ottawa, Canada), Mark Wiesner, (Duke University and University of Rennes), Chunying Chen (National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China),and Thomas Kuhlbusch (Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Germany) for their inspiring and insightful presentations, as well as to Georgios Katalagarianakis, (former European Commission) for his encouraging summarising words in the closing ceremony.
The scientific conference was followed by the highly successful NMBP-16 Final Public Event, where DIAGONAL, HARMLESS, and SUNSHINE presented their collaborations, mutual strengths, synergies and complementarities as well as their main results to a broad audience of stakeholders, fostering valuable discussions and insights.
Four Oral Presentation Prizes for Young Researchers, selected by the Scientific Committee, were given to:
Han Lianyong (Helmholtz Center Munich, Germany) – Presentation title “Pathogenic dynamics of lung macrophages during injury and regeneration caused by fiber-shaped nanomaterials”
Arianna Livieri (GreenDecision Srl, Italy) – Presentation title “Advancing the development of Safe-and-Sustainably-by-Design toolboxes for advanced materials: Similarities between the SUNSHINE SSbD approach and Early4AdMa”
Sara Marchetti (POLARIS Research Centre, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy) – Presentation title “How might exposure to PM2.5 increase the severity of SARS-CoV-2 viral infections?”
Elisa Moschini (Heriot-Watt University, UK) – Presentation title
“Streamlining the Safe by Design of multicomponent nanomaterials via grouping – case studies”
Four Poster Prizes, kindly sponsored by CSBJ: Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Section and selected by the Scientific Committee as well as the conference participants, were given to:
Lisa Kleon (University of Salzburg, Austria) – Poster title “How green zinc- and cerium-based nanomaterials relate to industrial benchmarks across safety and sustainability dimensions – identification of alternatives for potent antimicrobial agents”
Dawid Falkowski (QSAR LAB, Poland) – Poster title “A New Computational Approach for Toxicity Assessment of Binary Mixtures: Combining Dose-Response Curves with Mixture Toxicity Indexes”
Franz Friebel (femtoG AG, Switzerland) – Poster title “Nanoparticle release from pigments – introducing the absolute (nano)particle concentration in a powder”
Roshan Shrestha (Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, UMR 5086 CNRS, University of Lyon, France) – Poster title “Adsorption of Albumin on Graphene and Graphene Oxide: insight from molecular simulations”
The NanoTox 2024 conference was jointly organised by the three EU-funded H2020 projects DIAGONAL, HARMLESS, and SUNSHINE, and supported by the EU NanoSafety Cluster. The project partners as well as the members of their External Advisory Boards were heavily involved in the Organising and Scientific Committees.
Watch our video here:
DIAGONAL was heavily involved in the organisation of the NanoTox 2024 conference.
The following project partners were part of the Organising Committee: Sonia Martel Martin, Carlos Rumbo Lorenzo, Beatriz Lapuente de Ojeda (UBU ICCRAM), Beatriz Alfaro and Susanne Resch (BNN).
Next to that, the following project partners were part of the Scientific Committee: Andreas Falk & Susanne Resch (BNN), Sonia Martel Martín, Carlos Rumbo Lorenzo and Laura Gómez Cuadrado (UBU), Carlos Fito (ITENE), Alicja Mikołajczyk (QSAR Lab), Stefanie Prenner Stefanie (Brimatech), and Jo Anne Shatkin (Vireo). Similarly, the members of the External Advisory Board Mustafa Culha (Augusta University, US), Mark Wiesner (Duke University, US), Robert Rallo (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, US), Ramjitti Indaraprasirt (National Nanotechnology Center, TH), and Paul Westerhoff (Arizona State University, US).
The DIAGONAL findings and results were presented in 5 oral presentations, 4 poster presentations and 1 exhibition booth where our experts engaged with the conference participants explaining and demonstrating our Decision Support Tool.
Oral presentations:
– Alberto Bianco (CNRS) “Immune responses and biodegradability of graphitic carbon materials”
– Carla F. Martins (ISQ) “Real-time monitoring of airborne nanoparticles supporting the implementation of SSbD strategies during the production of MCNMs and HARNs”
– Gunther Van Kerckhove (OCSiAl) “Risk assessment along the life cycle of TUBALL™ nanocomposites”
– Alicja Mikołajczyk (UG) “New Nanoinfomatics Approach for Joint Effect Prediction of Advanced Multicomponent Nanomaterials: Computational Tool to Support SSbD Strategy”
– Santiago Aparicio (UBU) “Nanoparticles: Implications for Stability, Electronic Properties, and Biological Interactions”
Posters:
– Laura Gomez Cuadrado (UBU) – “Biological impact evaluation of titanium carbide nanoparticles applying in silico and in vitro models”
-Dawid Falkowski (QSAR Lab) “A New Computational Approach for Toxicity Assessment of Binary Mixtures: Combining Dose-Response Curves with Mixture Toxicity Indexes”. His poster was awarded with one of the poster prizes sponsored by CSBJ, the exclusive journal partner of NanoTox 2024
– Henk J. van Lingen (WUR) “Short and long term gene expression profiles in earthworms after exposure to ZnO and ZnO:Mn nanomaterials”
– Santiago Aparicio (UBU) “Unveiling Graphene Nanoparticles: First Principles Atomistic Insights and Toxicity Predictions Using QSAR/QSPR Models”
Mark Wiesner (Duke University), member of our External Advisory Board, joined the event as keynote speaker with his presentation entitled “Environmental Nanotechnology: A Case study in Sustainability by Design”.
Additionally, several DIAGONAL partners co-chaired scientific sessions in the conference: Susanne Resch (BNN), Carlos Fito (ITENE), Carlos Rumbo and Santiago Aparicio (UBU – ICCRAM), and Alicja Mikolajcyk (QSAR Lab).
Furthermore, on 25 September, the three NMBP-16 projects DIAGONAL, HARMLESS, SUNSHINE held their NMBP-16 Final Public Event, where the projects’ ambitious goals and key achievements as well as their complementary perspectives and their key collaborations were presented. More details on this event here.
Right after their Final Public Event, the three sister projects organised the NMBP-16 Ambassadors Final Meeting, as reported here, where the main accomplishments, collaborations and success from each of the Ambassadors’ task forces were discussed.
The day after, DIAGONAL partners held their M41 General Assembly. The day was filled with very interesting presentations showing the latest progress in the project, along with constructive and fruitful discussions towards the finalisation of the project.
It was a great opportunity to meet the project partners, to have offline discussions on the upcoming developments, to discuss the next steps and to interact with the nanosafety community on different topics!
Some impressions from NanoTox 2024
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement | 1 year | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
lang | session | This cookie is used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_gat | 1 minute | This cookies is installed by Google Universal Analytics to throttle the request rate to limit the colllection of data on high traffic sites. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_ga | 2 years | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors. |
_gid | 1 day | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form. |