Safe and sustainable nanomaterials: contribution of an SME in the EU Nanosafety Cluster

Lorenzo CALABRI, Tec Star Srl

Nanotechnology and in particular the use of nanoparticles in polymers formulations have a great potential for new applications, leading to products with new or enhanced properties, and opening new market opportunities. In particular in industries like packaging and paints and inks, nanoparticles are already widely used with broad applicability, providing the opportunity to develop new and innovative materials.

The polymer nanocomposite industry is, indeed, rapidly emerging because of the amazing benefits produced in terms of volume and surface properties, dimensional stability, chemical stability and other functional properties of the reinforced polymers, conferring photocatalytic, optical, electrical and thermal stability.

Alongside the benefits of nanofillers, there is an on-going debate about the potential effects of nanomaterials on human health and the environment. The uncertainties are exacerbated by the range of properties and their interaction with biological processes, which are often very different from those demonstrated by the larger-scale form of the same substance.

In order to address these major concerns, Tec Star starts to collaborate with other European institutions from year 2010 in order to deepen its knowledge on Nanosafety issues, in particular about the packaging and paints industries. For this reason, Tec Star participated to the FP7 Projects: NanoSafePack - Safe Handling and Use of Nanoparticles in Packaging and NanoMicex - Mitigation of risk and control of exposure in nanotechnology based inks and pigments.

The first project is primarily related to the packaging industry, with the aim to develop a best practices guide to allow the safe handling and use of nanofillers in the packaging industry, considering integrated strategies and best practices to control the exposure in industrial settings, and provide stakeholders with scientific data to minimize and control the release and migration of submicron sized particles from the polymer nanocomposites placed on the market.

The second is, instead, related to the inks and paints industry and had the main objective to reduce the potential risk of worker’s exposure to engineered nanoparticles through the modification of nanoparticle properties with effective surface modifiers, and to define practical and cost effective risk management strategies in the specific operative conditions of the inks and pigments industry.

Within this talk Tec Star, as an SME, will explain its own experience within these 2 FP7 projects, part of the Nanosafety cluster, showing the results obtained and the collaborative environment built up during the projects.

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