Supporting Safe-by-Design of Multi-Component Nanomaterials by Linking Functionality-Related Properties with Potential Safety Issues

Advanced materials, including multicomponent nanomaterials (MCNMs) are designed to show specific new or enhanced functionalities. They may contribute to solutions to current societal challenges, yet they represent a challenge themselves to safe innovation and risk assessment. One challenge is the lack of available toxicological information at early innovation stages. Instead, information on functionality and material properties is generally available at early innovation stages, but such information is typically not used in safety assessments. Safe-by-Design aims to improve the safety of materials and products by integrating safety considerations with functionality as early as possible in innovation. Here a conceptual approach is presented that uses functionality-related material properties to flag potential impacts on risks and guide Safe-by-Design. This approach relies on relations between material properties and their potential impact on release, fate/toxicokinetics and toxicity. These relations are illustrated for 21 new or enhanced material properties of MCNMs. Applicability of this approach was explored through several case-studies. The presented approach is designed to ‘flag’ potential aspects of risk for further consideration. Identified aspects may support application of Safe-by-Design for MCNMs, including grouping approaches to enable sharing of safety information. The approach is relevant at early innovation stages where toxicological information is largely absent.