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ePaper created 2014-07-24, 14:56:51 | version 1.32.01
58 HIGHLIGHTs Nanosafety 2013 A. Kraegeloh Nanomaterials increasingly influence a broad range of industrial sectors, from energy, optics, electronics to food and biomedicine. Therefore questions about nanosafety are rapidly gaining importance. The conference Nanosafety 2013 addressed this important topic. It was held from November 20th to 22nd at the Saarbruecken Castle. The event was opened by the INM chairman (Eduard Arzt) along with representatives of the State Chancellery of Saarland (Susanne Reich- rath), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, Frank Wolf) and the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conser- vation and Nuclear Safety (BMU, Anke Jesse). Six major topics were discussed during seven oral and two poster sessions: Nano-objects: characterization techniques and standardization Human health: in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo testing Environmental impact of nanomaterials Detection and quantification of nano-objects in living systems Modelling and prediction of nanomaterials effects Safety, current regulation and social/ethical aspects In addition, three workshops served to deepen the topics “nano-object characterization”, “detection and toxic effects of nano-objects”, and “future needs in nanosafety”. Overall, the contributions covered ques- tions from basic research, like the intracellular transport of nanopar- ticles or the formation of the nanoparticle-protein corona, to aspects of regulatory relevance, such as e.g. risk assessment of nanomaterials un- der European Regulations. A focus was also set on material characte- rization in the regulatory context. The discussions revealed a need for further matching the interests of academia, regulators and industry. 117 participants from more than twenty countries attended the Nanosafety 2013 conference. The conference was organized by INM together with the Leibniz Research Alliance Nanosafety, an initiative of six Leibniz-institutes established in 2012. A strong contribution was also given by INM and its partners within the EU project “Insight”.