Despite broad application in everyday products and materials, safety and security issues of nanotechnologies have hardly been the subject of research to this day. The NanoTrust project has been ongoing since 2007 and represents a publicly accessible information platform aiming to identify the most pressing issues.
Nanotechnology promises new or improved materials and products, e.g. in medicine, cosmetics, optics, or construction. In order to ensure the safe and sustainable development of nanotechnologies, NanoTrust collects, analyses and communicates the current state of knowledge on possible health and environmental risks for decision-makers and the interested public, thus contributing to the organisation of an exchange of knowledge.
The field of nanotechnology is gaining momentum in the context of the development of technology. However, aspects of safety and security have not been sufficiently explored yet to be able to predict the potential risks and dangers involved. At the same time, the public debate has steered towards a critical view, and could easily take a turn towards the negative implications involved.
In light of our experience with genetic engineering in agriculture, we need to have a forward-looking nanotechnology policy that builds upon deep and well-prepared analyses. Thus, there is a great need for more research about, and communication of, the subject.
Within NanoTrust 5 accompanying research on approaches to the regulation of nanotechnologies, as well as the security and risk research of the innovation area of the so-called “advanced materials”, is conducted. An important task includes the dissemination of research results within the framework of scientific technology assessment, as well as the critical reflection of the national and international regulatory activities and feedback to the relevant Austrian actors.
For the first time in Austria, these important aspects of technology development are being investigated in a systematic way rather than on the level of individual R&D projects. We aim at making transparent possible gaps in research and identifying the most pressing issues that need to be addressed. The findings will also have national relevance, as project-coordinator André Gazsó has recently been made chair of the Nano Information Commission of the Austrian Ministery of Health.
If you would like to be informed about the latest NanoTrust activities and publications, you can subscribe to the NanoTrust Newsletter here: NanoTrust Newsletter (German)
Former NanoTrust researchers: Daniela Fuchs, Julia Haslinger, Ulrich Fiedeler, Myrtill Simkó
NanoTrust Dossiers – Results of the project "NanoTrust"
The team of the project NanoTrust offers on an irregular basis “Dossiers”, approximately three to six page summaries of the state of knowledge on current issues in the existing nano debate in an accessible language, but on a firm scientific base.
The NanoTrust Dossiers are published in german and english language and can be visited at EPUB.OEAW.
Within the framework of the project NanoTrust, we organise events of different kinds from conferences to special workshops; NanoTrust also contributes to conferences by third parties by organising special sessions.
Nanocarriers are innovative delivery and encapsulation systems with different chemical compositions and structures and are classified as advanced materials. They are used in a variety of applications, especially in medicine, cosmetics, and agriculture, as well as in food supplements and household products. Nanocarriers can protect sensitive active ingredients, delay their release, and even enable targeted delivery to the site of action, thereby increasing effectiveness and reducing any side effects. In the scientific literature, the term “nanocarrier” covers not only nanomaterials up to a size of 100 nm according to the definition proposed by the European Commission, but also structures up to 1,000 nm. At present, there is no uniform definition or categorisation of nanocarriers. In this dossier, they are classified on the basis of their origin and chemical composition, and categorised as organic, inorganic, and hybrid systems (material combinations of organic and inorganic materials) as well as supraparticles. To date, there has been little research on how nanocarrier systems behave in the various environmental compartments (soil, water, air). Analytical challenges and the lack of standardised test protocols make comprehensive risk assessments difficult.
Quantum dots (QDs) are increasingly widespread in medicine and environmental research. Because of their specific optical characteristics, QDs can be detected by fluorescence analyses, even in complex media, such as environmental or tissue samples. Their unique properties make them useful for a variety of applications, such as for the use as fluorescent markers for cells, as contrast agents in deep tissue and tumour imaging, in biosensing or photodynamic therapy, and for targeted drug delivery. As a result, QDs could potentially be used as detectable and clearly identifiable “nanotracers” to mark or detect specific targets or to be able to draw general conclusions about the fate of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in environmentally relevant media, e.g. in wastewater. QDs mainly consist of metallic semiconductor compounds, such as cadmium selenide (CdSe), cadmium telluride (CdTe), lead sulphide (PbS) or indium phosphide (InP), which can have toxic effects on cells and organisms. Research is therefore being conducted on nontoxic carbonbased QDs, amongst others. QDs are already being used in products, such as TV screens and novel solar cell technologies. However, with an increasing number of applications and thusan increase in production volumes, potential exposure is also intensifying. Consequently, risks to humans and the environment are increasing as accidental release and resulting negative effects cannot be ruled out. To date,however, only limited data exist on possible environmental and health risks.
Quantum dots (QDs) are increasingly widespread in medicine and environmental research. Because of their specific optical characteristics, QDs can be detected by fluorescence analyses, even in complex media, such as environmental or tissue samples. Their unique properties make them useful for a variety of applications, such as for the use as fluorescent markers for cells, as contrast agents in deep tissue and tumour imaging, in biosensing or photodynamic therapy, and for targeted drug delivery. As a result, QDs could potentially be used as detectable and clearly identifiable “nanotracers” to mark or detect specific targets or to be able to draw general conclusions about the fate of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in environmentally relevant media, e.g. in wastewater. QDs mainly consist of metallic semiconductor compounds, such as cadmium selenide (CdSe), cadmium telluride (CdTe), lead sulphide (PbS) or indium phosphide (InP), which can have toxic effects on cells and organisms. Research is therefore being conducted on nontoxic carbonbased QDs, amongst others. QDs are already being used in products, such as TV screens and novel solar cell technologies. However, with an increasing number of applications and thusan increase in production volumes, potential exposure is also intensifying. Consequently, risks to humans and the environment are increasing as accidental release and resulting negative effects cannot be ruled out. To date,however, only limited data exist on possible environmental and health risks.
10/2017 - 09/2020
The following collection contains links to national and international research institutions on nanotechnology, accompanying research and risk management. It focuses von Austrian organizations working on and providing informations on a variety of risk aspects and risk governance.
Austrian Workers' Compensation Board (dt. AUVA)
Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (dt. BfR)
Chamber of Labour (dt. BAK)
Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection (dt. BMASK)
Federal Ministry of Health (dt. BMG)
Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (dt. BMLFUW)
Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (dt. BMVIT)
Federal Ministry of Science and Research (dt. BMWF)
Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (dt. ITAS)
The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (dt. FFG)
NanoinformationsPortal (german only)
Austrian Society for Toxicology (dt.+en. ASTOX)
Environmental Agency Austria (dt. UBA)
Austrian Economic Chambers (dt. WKO)
Centre for Technology Assessment (dt. TA-SWISS)