Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service announced on April 9, 2024, that ARS researchers published a study revealing the ability of cotton gin waste to synthesize and generate silver nanoparticles in the presence of silver ions. ARS states that cotton gin waste, also known as cotton gin trash, “is a byproduct of the cotton ginning process and occurs when the cotton fibers are separated from the seed boll.” Using a simple heat...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted a research update on April 2, 2024, entitled “Advancing Environmental Safety: Celebrating 20 years of Nanotechnology Research at EPA.” The item states that EPA collaborates across federal and state governments, industry, and the international community on nano-related research. In addition to its in-house nanotechnology research, EPA supports nano-related research through external grant programs such as the Science to Achieve Results...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Nanotechnology Research Center’s (NTRC) Field Studies Team (the Team) evaluates advanced materials and processes in workplaces ranging from large manufacturers, research and development labs, and government facilities, to schools, libraries, and other non-industrial settings. An April 1, 2024, NIOSH Science Blog item entitled “Celebrating 20 Years of Research: Highlights From NIOSH’s Nanotechnology Research Center’s Field...

On March 15, 2024, the European Commission (EC) published in the Official Journal of the European Union an amendment to the Cosmetics Regulation. The following nanomaterials have been added to Annex II (substances prohibited in cosmetic products). From February 1, 2025, cosmetic products containing these substances shall not be placed on the European Union (EU) market. From November 1, 2025, cosmetic products containing these substances shall not be made available on the EU market: The...

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published the report of the first Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) workshop on NanoCarriers. The report states that NanoCarriers (nano-scaled structures loaded with an active substance) “promise benefits for various fields of applications but they also present great diversity in terms of chemical composition, structural features, and applications.” The June 14-15, 2023, workshop included governmental...

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) is organizing a series of National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) webinars on nanometrology, metrological challenges, and recent advances in three topical areas: food, agriculture, and environment; nanoscale medical and pharmaceutical products; and nanoparticles in electronics. Registration is open for the fourth webinar in the series, Metrology of Nanoparticles in Electronics, which will be held April 5, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. (EDT). The...

On March 5, 2024, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) held a symposium entitled “Enabling the Nanotechnology Revolution: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act.” The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) posted a readout of the symposium on March 6, 2024. According to OSTP, during the symposium, “leaders from academia, government, and industry spoke about U.S. success in nanotechnology and future...

On March 5, 2024, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) published its supplement to the President’s 2024 budget request. NNI states that the President’s 2024 budget requests an “all-time record” of $2.16 billion for it, with a sustained investment in foundational research that will fuel new discoveries and increase investments in application-driven research and development (R&D) to advance technologies of the future and address national priorities. The President’s 2024...

In a March 4, 2024, blog item entitled “Sweating the Small Stuff: 20 years of NIOSH Research on Engineering Controls for Nanotechnology,” the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) highlighted the control approaches that it has recommended, “based on extensive research on the pharmaceutical, coatings, and cosmetic industries”: NIOSH states that following the publication of Current Strategies for Engineering Controls in Nanomaterial Production and Downstream...

The February 2024 issue of Nature Nanotechnology includes an article entitled “How nanoparticles are counted in global regulatory nanomaterial definitions.” Authored by Kirsten Rasmussen, Juan Riego Sintes, and Hubert Rauscher, European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC), the article examines differences between the definitions in various jurisdictions and how to achieve a global definition. The jurisdictions reviewed include Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development...