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Safety BY Design Of nanoMaterials - From Lab Manufacture to Governance and Communication: Progressing Up the TRL Ladder

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SABYDOMA (Safety BY Design Of nanoMaterials - From Lab Manufacture to Governance and Communication: Progressing Up the TRL Ladder)

Berichtszeitraum: 2020-04-01 bis 2021-09-30

SABYDOMA addresses Safety-by-Design (SbD) through 4 industrial case studies, where TRLs advance from TRL4 (lab-based) to TRL 6 (industry-based). A core theme is use of system control and optimisation theory, including Model Predictive Control (MPC), to bind together SbD from laboratory innovation to industrial production line and from decision-making processes to project governance. An equally important innovative step is the building of high throughput online platforms where nanomaterial (NM) is manufactured and screened at the point of production (PoP). In this, the screening signal controls the NM redesign within a feedback loop. Two industrial case studies will develop online nanoproduction lines coupled to online screens where the screening signals feed back to the production line to modify the NM design. The other 2 industrial studies include coating manufacture where the coating’s stability and toxicity will be tested using a microfluidic flow cell system coupled to online screens. This is part of the release/ageing investigations on NM and NM coatings and the results of these will feed back to the production line design. In-silico modelling will be applied to optimise/redefine the relevant activities. Regulatory and governance principles of SbD will also be used to refine the technology. The final deliverable will be 4 distinct technologies applying SbD to the 4 industrial processes respectively.

SABYDOMA is an innovation programme attacking Safety-by-Design using a novel approach, which is technologically based and involves the following objectives, to:
1. Model SbD protocols using the systems control and optimisation protocol with the MPC concept.
2. Design high throughput platform technologies progressing from TRL4 to 6.
3. Innovate technology to carry out short and long-term release studies on NM and NM derived materials matching the theme of online flow through platforms.
4. Develop SbD technologies within the context of four industrial case studies involving the production, use and function of engineered nanomaterials (NM).
5. Redesign the production lines in the electroplating technology at Cnano to an online high throughput mode to: speed up the production process, minimise volumes used, lower costs and minimise waste.
6. Extend the control system idea of SbD to a general philosophy applied to the manufacture and use of novel NM, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
WP1 - Has developed 2 online production lines for Ag and TiO2 NM materials. An auxiliary tank has been configured for use in electroplating of nanocomposite coatings. Development of online microfluidic cell-line modules in WP1 has begun which is to be coupled to nanoproduction lines.
WP2 - Has streamlined/duplicated the HISENTS biomembrane sensor for transfer to APPNPS in Feb-22; and Ag NM nanoproduction line to APPNPS in Mar-22. In-vitro models have been developed for assessment of ToxScores and the electroplating technology refined by Cnano under WP1 is being scaled-up.
WP3 - Begins in Period 2 of the project.
WP4 - Concerns release studies from NM, covering: (a) releases involved and their minimisation using new technology in the manufacture of the NM and the NM coatings; (b) the mini-release accelerator, being developed to screen the releases online from NM coatings. Plans are to couple the mini-release accelerator to the biomembrane sensor as a rapid online toxicity screen to be transferred to 2 case study partners.
WP5 - Aims to analyse requirements of the ΝΜ production processes with respect to design, optimisation and implementation of advanced control systems, which enable safe-by-product design (SbPD) and safe-by-process control (SbPC). A preliminary process model has been developed that is used to produce optimal control actions and directions for the experimental design at UNIVLEEDS.
WP6 - This WP is well advanced and is active on the regulation, governance and data management associated with SbD. A highlight is the first SbD legal workshop in which expert speakers spoke about the definition of, and the legal aspects of SbD.
WP7 - Concerns dissemination of SABYDOMA and its achievements, that are well ahead of expectations.
Progress beyond SOTA and expected results are:
1. Safety-by-Design and Case Studies developed, validated/demonstrated within 4 separate companies.
2. Systems control optimisation to be introduced for the first time in applying SbD to safe NM manufacture.
3. Online flow platforms for manufacturing NM for Case Studies for production of Ag and CuO in CS1 and TiO2 in CS4, are being built. These platforms will be transferred to 2 partner companies.
4. SABYDOMA will couple screens directly to NM production where the screen results will moderate NM production for safe NM as output using control system technology.
5. Interfacing ToxScore with NM design combining screening data as a toxicity ranking and feeding this back to NM design.
6. Integrated biological screens for more rapid/relevant bioactivity testing combining effective and toxicity relevant high throughput targets with flow-through platforms.
7. Release studies investigating 3 distinct release study areas directly associated with individual Case Studies.
8. Online systems embedded in industrial scale electroplating: SABYDOMA has introduced a reflow system into the electroplating technology minimising waste and enabling maximum use of resources as well as improving the coating quality.
9. A modified Stage-Gate model, incorporating TRL4 to 6 details with specific milestones for regulatory actions, is being devised. Modifications to this model include incorporation of the control system optimisation to each decision-making process.

Socio-economic/wider societal impacts include:
1. Development of an integrated platform which manufactures, screens, and re-designs NM online. Implicit in this is the principle of screening at PoP, which means the NM is screened at an early stage in its development, avoiding minimal change in its properties enabling the direct and rapid synthesis of safe-nano at site.
2. The online platform NM production technologies proposed are sealed systems and use the minimal ingredients with minimal manual handling. The coating technologies in two of the case studies will be converted from batch to online and as such alleviate manual handling and exposure and provide a safer working environment.
3. All NM produced and coatings manufactured us will be subject to release study investigation. Release studies will be conducted within flow systems, and any release of NM or toxicants above a safety threshold will be signalled and results fed back to the production line for redesign. The same protocol will be applied to the coating manufacture in two of the case studies. As a result, the NM production has the least damaging impact on the environment above all from NM released during the use of the product. The continuous communication with the partner Case Study companies: APPNPS and NTC, ensure the impact of these technologies will be fully realised when they are transferred in March 2022.
4. The emphasis is on low cost towards developing methods and assays that are safe, fast, cheap, and providing high-quality information. The focus of developing online NM production technology and high throughput screens interfaced to the NM production line uses less staff and fewer materials, is faster and thus saves considerably on costs. This has a major societal and economic benefit.
Coupling Biomembrane Sensor to Nanoproduction Line
SABYDOMA Project Video Screenshot
SABYDOMA Logo
Leeds 2021 BeCurious Interview
Ni SiC Coated Samples - 200um - New Method
SABYDOMA Icon
Joint NMBP-15 Logo
SABYDOMA Project Strategy
SABYDOMA Flow-cell
EuroNanoForum 2021 - Joint NMBP-15 Booth
In Vitro Barrier Models for Studying Permeation of NM through Gut and Lung Barriers