Timing, hosts and locations of (grouped) events of NanoImpactNet

NanoSafetyCluster - Compendium 2012
2 Background
In recent years, nanotechnology has been a hot topic in the
scientific community due to the specific properties in the
nanoscale and has become an enabling technology for numerous
applications. Especially engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) have
shown various beneficial properties. In many fields of application,
these ENPs have left the scientific laboratories and made their way
to consumer products 1 . Beside their advantages, ENPs are under
discussion in the scientific community due to possible unforeseen
hazards and an unknown disposition in living organisms and the
environment. Nanoparticles (NPs) have drawn vast public
attention due to their application in many consumer products (e.g.
cosmetics, food and food packaging, drinks). Following the
“Opinion of the Scientific Committee on the Potential Risks Arising
from Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies on Food and Feed
Safety” released by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in
2009 2 , the European Commission tackles this arising matter of
public concern within the current FP7 NMP theme.
One of the key challenges is the detection, identification and
quantification of engineered nanoparticles in complex matrices,
such as products, food and the environment. However, currently
none of the existing techniques allows for a holistic approach
which is able to analyze all ENPs’ properties in a single step.
3 What is INSTANT
INSTANT will face this challenge by developing a fully integrated
tool for the extraction of ENPs from complex matrices and their
subsequent detection and identification. The device will be tailored
to be used as a cost-effective monitoring tool, allowing for
analytics of food and cosmetics close to the point of need (Pointof-Product
Testing POPT and Point-of-Food Testing POFT).
Accordingly, the project INSTANT is organized in a workflow using
complementary expertise of well-known partners in their fields
from all over Europe.
The detection and identification of ENPs in cosmetic products,
food and/or drinks require an efficient sample preparation and
extraction of ENPs from these complex matrices. Especially the
size distribution of ENPs in the sample and the influence of the
matrix on chemical and physical properties of the ENPs have to be
taken into account. INSTANT will develop a generalized extraction
protocol to isolate and pre-concentrate ENPs from food and
cosmetic samples. An extraction protocol, as generalized as
possible, will be developed for the extraction of ENPs from
complex matrices. This generalized protocol allows for an
extension in the future to a wider range of samples (e.g. for
environmental monitoring).
1 Tran, Lang; Chaudhry, Qasim, RSC Nanoscience & Nanotechnology,
(2010), 14, 120-133
2 Scientific Opinion of the Scientific Committee on a request from the
European Commission on the Potential Risks Arising from
Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies on Food and Feed Safety. The
EFSA Journal (2009) 958, 1-39.
After extraction and pre-concentration of ENPs, an innovative,
cheap and robust sensor device is used for their detection. This
sensor will be developed within INSTANT. For the detection of
ENPs, recognition structures with a high affinity to ENPs are
mandatory. INSTANT will use two different types of recognition
elements (REs) with different selectivity combined on an array. On
the one hand, technologies will be applied to for generating REs to
distinguish between size, shape and material. On the other hand,
REs will be chemically modified in order to generate a material for
selective sorption of targeted ENP species.
Also, the sensor will combine two complementary transduction
principles, an optical and an electrochemical one. Electrochemical
sensing is sensitive to ENPs’ speciation including conductivity,
surface properties and chemical composition. Optical transduction
will provide information on ENP size, size distribution and
refractive index. Both transduction principles will be adapted to a
sensor array, which allows for simultaneous detection of various
ENPs.
By combining two transduction principles with two types of
recognition elements on a single array, a huge amount of data will
be produced. In order to reduce redundancies, to separate noise
from signal and to extract relevant information, strong
chemometric techniques for the detection, identification and
quantification of these ENPs will be needed.
3.1 Summary of INSTANT`s key strengths
• Develop a simple and fully integrated sensing system,
together with a suitable number of sensor elements for
the detection and identification of ENPs in one device.
• Combine two complementary transduction principles to
create a robust sensor system providing high-content
information about ENPs.
• Implement innovative recognition elements (REs).
• Improve and modify sampling and separation techniques
in regard to the complex matrices.
• Develop advanced chemometrics to extract information
from the complex data sets.
• Provide characterized and standardized ENPs for the
comparison of their properties as pure material used as
product and food additives as well as during storage and
processing.
4 Organization of INSTANT
INSTANT merges high ranked European partners with remarkable
knowledge in each area of the proposed work. Abundant
complementary expertise is provided by an interdisciplinary
working group of researchers, whose contribution is essential for a
successful outcome of the project. The combined resources
mobilized completely fulfill all the requirements of the Programme
in terms of facilities, equipment, personnel and resources. On a
national level it would not have been possible to gather a
consortium of this high quality and complementarity.
SMEs and research institutions are brought together to cover the
various tasks by distributed expertise and to carry out
54 Compendium of Projects in the European NanoSafety Cluster