PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT OF ENGINEERED NANOMATERIALS IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are increasingly used in a wide variety of industrial applications and consumer products. The possible release of ENMs during the products life cycle raises concerns related to the uncertainties on the transformations of ENMs in the environment and how these can impact on the exposure and potential toxic effects on humans and ecosystems.
The course aims to provide students with a general framework of cognitive tools useful for assessing the environmental dynamics of ENMs, deepening the characterization techniques and approaches to study their intrinsic and extrinsic (in relation to environmental media) structural and functional properties. The topics will be framed in the current regulatory and application context aimed at risk assessment and support safe and sustainable by design strategies (SSbD).

At the end of the course the PhD students will acquire the knowledge of definitions and fundamental principles of nanotechnological applications, methods for the physico-chemical characterization of nanostructured materials, transformations of ENMs dispersed in environmental media and their effects on absorption and toxicity, risk assessment approaches.
The students will acquire the ability to identify possible exposure scenarios for human health and the ecosystem, and will be able to identify the most appropriate analytical and evaluation approaches for managing the associated risk.

The prerequisites include general knowledge of inorganic, analytical and environmental chemistry.

The course will include the following topics:
1. Introduction and physico-chemical properties of nanomaterials.
2. Counting techniques for sizing and determining other properties: TEM and SEM (EDX), AFM, spICP-MS.
3. Ensemble techniques for sizing (and other properties): DLS/MALLS, CLS, Analytical centrifugation, dialysis and ultrafiltration, SAXS.
4. Sample preparation for environmental matrices.
5. Physical alteration, chemical transformation, and ultimate fate of ENMs in the environment (e.g. aggregation/agglomeration, dissolution, photochemical degradation).
6. Tools to predict ecotoxicological effects (e.g. in silico, grouping and read-across approaches).
7. Regulatory framework (e.g. European REACH regulation) for risk assessment.
8. Procedure for human health and ecological risk assessment and management.

Lecture notes and scientific publications provided by the teachers.

Oral discussion of the topics covered during the various lectures of the course for the verification of the knowledge.

Frontal lessons and seminars.

oral