View article
Computational models in the safety assessment of nanomaterials
Scientists from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) have published a series of papers assessing the availability and applicability of computational models in the safety assessment of nanomaterials with a view to promoting their further development and use in regulatory decision-making.
Helsinki, 15 February 2019 – The safety assessment of nanomaterials has attracted significant interest in recent years. A key challenge in the field is how to address the potential variety in the properties of nanomaterials while at the same time limiting the use of animal testing. The use of computational models is one way to achieve this goal.
By reviewing scientific literature, JRC scientists have published overviews of different kinds of computational models. These include models that predict physicochemical properties and toxicity, as well as models that simulate the time-dependent distribution of nanomaterials in cell-based test systems, and in biological organisms and the environment. The information used to survey the “model landscape” is publicly available as a dataset in the JRC Data Catalogue.