Progress beyond SOTA and expected results are:
1.Safety-by-Design & Case Studies (CS) developed, validated/demonstrated within 4 separate companies.
2.Systems control optimisation to be introduced for first time in applying SbD to safe NM manufacture.
3.Online flow platforms for manufacturing NM for CSs for production of Ag/CuO in CS1 and TiO2 in CS4, have been built. A platform has been transferred to a CS company and a duplicate platform is due to be transferred to another.
4. SABYDOMA has coupled screens directly to NM production where the screen results 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 electroplating technology minimising waste & enabling maximum use of resources as well as improving 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 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 2 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/coatings manufactured will be subject to release study investigation. Release studies will be conducted within flow systems & 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 2 Case Studies. As a result, the NM production has the least damaging impact on the environment above all from NM released during use of the product. The continuous communication with the partner CS companies: APPNPS and NTC, ensures the impact of these technologies will be fully realised having been transferred.
4.Emphasis is on low cost towards developing methods & assays that are safe, fast, cheap, & providing high-quality information. The focus of developing online NM production technology & high throughput screens interfaced to the NM production line uses less staff & fewer materials, is faster & thus saves considerably on costs. This has a major societal and economic benefit.
