project
PROJECT

DIAGONAL aims to bring new methodologies to guarantee long-term nanosafety along the multicomponent nanomaterials and High Aspect Ratio Nanoparticles life cycle: from design and production to their application into nano-enabled products, the product use and end of life phases.

To be able to do so, DIAGONAL will analyse the materials’ physicochemical properties, toxicology, behaviour, and environmental exposure, as well as human safety along their life cycle. For that, the project will develop and validate multi-scale modelling tools able to predict and characterise nano-specific properties.

Additionally, DIAGONAL will build on seven industrial cases facilitating the re-design of nanomaterials, nano-enabled products design and manufacturing processes. The project will also approach the standardisation of risk management, assessment and governance facilitating their use by industry.

RELATED INITIATIVES

Anticipating Safety Issues
at the Design Stage of
NAno Product Development

Safety BY Design Of nanoMaterials -
From Lab Manufacture to Governance and Communication: Progressing Up the TRL Ladder

Simple, robust and cost-effective approaches
to guide industry in the development of safer nanomaterials and nano-enabled products

Computing infrastructure for the definition, performance testing and implementation of safe-by-design
approaches in nanotechnology supply chains

Advanced High Aspect Ratio and Multicomponent materials: towards comprehensive intelLigent tEsting
and Safe by design Strategies

Safe and sUstainable by desigN Strategies
for HIgh performance multi-component NanomatErials

The NSC is a high profile platform for the coordination of nanosafety research in Europe. It provides strategic direction for the EU and member states, enhances synergies between running and newly starting projects, preserves the outputs and data from ended projects and promotes FAIR data.

The InteRnatIonal ecosystem for accelerating the transition to Safe-and-Sustainable-by-design materials, products and processes

The non-profit Association, EMMC ASBL, was created in 2019 to ensure continuity, growth and sustainability of EMMC activities for all stakeholders including modellers, materials data scientists, software owners, translators and manufacturers in Europe. The EMMC considers the integration of materials modelling and digitalisation critical for more agile and sustainable product development.

Partnership for the Assessment of
Risks from Chemicals

NMBP-16 Ambassadors

DIAGONAL is an EU-funded Horizon 2020 project addressing the call topic “Safe by design, from science to regulation: multi-component nanomaterials” (NMBP-16, see EC information). This call funded two other projects in addition to DIAGONAL. Joining forces on the challenges related to safe and sustainable multicomponent nanomaterials, we are closely collaborating with our sister projects HARMLESS (“Advanced High Aspect Ratio and Multicomponent materials: towards comprehensive intelLigent tEsting and Safe-by-design Strategies”, GA no. 953183) and SUNSHINE (“Safe and sUstainable by desigN Strategies for HIgh performance multi-component NanomatErials”, GA no. 952924). 

 

To facilitate strong inter-project cooperation, so-called “Ambassadors” were nominated for different key topics. Ambassadors are experts from each project that work on a specific topic; they enable and foster knowledge exchange, aiming to harmonise the projects’ efforts and identify and positively use synergies.

 

The following NMBP-16 Ambassadors task forces have been established: 

 

◆  Stakeholder Engagement 

◆  Grouping and read-across (Hypotheses and IATA editing/development)

◆  Database Task Force

◆  Risk Management (incl. Exposure Assessment & Risk Assessment tools)

◆  MCNMs (Meaning of MCNM, case study comparison and sector-specific transparency)

◆  Hazard Assessment 

 

Each task force meets on a regular basis. In addition, bi-annual meetings bring together all the Ambassadors to discuss and exchange ideas, monitor the overall developments in each of the three projects (as far as confidentiality allows), and define their next steps.